labricoleuse | USITT: Floor exhibit highlights

My grand plans for writing about the conference while at the conference really went the way of the dodo, given how much truly fabulous stuff there was this year in the programming schedule, and how many old friends, colleagues, and former students i met up with.

So, perhaps this coming week or so i can play catch-up and do a series of posts on the conference. I have dozens of photos, piles of literature, links to resources in abundance, and a wealth of notes on panels and sessions, many of which were just stellar. (For example, at some point i'll be covering Disney's panel on their digitally-printed fabric division, and two brilliant presentations by renowned puppetmaster and mask artisan Bob Croghan! Too cool!)

Let's start though with the visual and the pretty: floor exhibits! Last year, you may recall (or wish to now peruse) the photopost i shared of these elements of the Stage Expo, in which temporary exhibitions of collections of work are set up for the duration of the conference.

The Gene London Collection

Costume collector Gene London generously loaned selections from his huge (over 60,000 garments) collection of fashion and costume, thanks to a serendipitous encounter with a member of the Costume Commission who repaired and restored some of his pieces. Conference attendees who got into the "Examining the Personal Collection" session had the privilege of seeing the interior construction of these pieces and how they were exhibited on the forms. Here are some highlights from the exhibit:

Embellished velvet gown by Erte

Velvet and satin Erte gown and millinery design
(could've used a good steaming, huh?)

Ballet doublet designed by Erte

Silk jersey and charmeuse gown designed by Helen Rose
for Anne Sheridan in The Opposite Sex
(Back view of a Bob Mackie design for Raquel Welch in the background)

Bob Mackie design for Raquel Welch

Schiaparelli design for Joan Crawford

Beaded gown and jacket worn by Clara Bow to a film premiere in the 1920s

Another beaded 1920s confection and the (rather unattractive) back view of that earlier Erte gown.

Too Much is Not Enough: Exploring Harriett's Closet

Harriett Lake's enormous wardrobe of 4500 items spanning six decades provided the pieces for this exhibit, which varied from Chanel designs to off-the-rack items. I took a couple pictures for future reference:

I loved the construction of this swag of necklace chains mounted on the collar band.
The hat featured some great hand-forming but didn't photograph well.

Heavily-beaded fur-trimmed jacket with peacock feather motif

John C. Scheffler: Designs for Stage and Street

Scheffler's exhibit was subtitled, "The 55-Year Parade," featuring costumes from the Legends of Gold Mardi Gras krewe. There were some truly incredible renderings, and a krewe costume with a huge feathered fantail on exhibit for close inspection:

costume designs

more costume designs

still more designs

train embellishment designs

...and, one bit of own-horn-blowing, an image of my contribution to the Cover The Walls exhibition of all areas of theatrical design (sets, props, costumes) by USITT members: