FASHIONING SAN FRANCISCO

A Century of Style, de Young Museum, San Francisco, 20 January – 11 August 2024

Think of fashion in San Francisco, and crochet and tie-dye might come to mind. Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style at the de Young Museum tells a different story. From the late 19th to the 20th century, San Francisco was a mecca for luxury fashion, rivalling Paris, London, and Milan. Through the patronage of fashion designers by the city’s wealthy elite, San Francisco became the place to see cutting-edge couture. This exhibition draws from the de Youngs’ rich costume holdings, showcasing the work of over 50 fashion designers, from power suits to frothy ball gowns.

Curated by Laura L. Camerlengo, the sartorial narrative places couture clothing against the backdrop of a city in constant flux while also focusing on the women who donated their collections to the museum. These women were more than clothes horses: “They were civic, social, cultural, and sartorial leaders,” Camerlengo says. This perspective is an unexpected shift from the usual celebration of the (male) designer’s genius.

San Francisco has a history of devastation, reinvention, and economic resilience. California’s Gold Rush of the 1850s brought prosperity to the city, but growth was disrupted by the 1906 earthquake and fire that ravaged nearly 500 blocks of the city. World War I, 1914-18, came next. The city has always quickly bounced back from disaster with incredible alacrity. A demand for luxury goods accompanied its economic recovery. Entrepreneurial merchants were key players in creating a high fashion scene, establishing exclusive contracts with France’s Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode to feed the Bay’s burgeoning upper class in the early 20th century. Department stores were showcased for the latest trends: City of Paris, I-Magnin & Co., and White House stores were built in the Neoclassical style, with grand entrances and spacious interiors, unlike other retail buildings worldwide. These department stores were highly influential in shaping taste.

The show opens with fashion from the early 20th century, exhibiting extremely fragile evening dresses from the museum’s vaults. A yellow silk dress (1915-16) by Callot Soeurs belonged to Ethel Crocker, one of the most prominent philanthropists in California history. There are examples of Lucile gowns from the 1910s and 1920s owned by Phyllis de Young Tucker, daughter of M. H. de Young, the founder of the San Francisco Chronicle. The city had a full calendar of formal philanthropic events, with women – mostly affluent and White – emerging as social leaders, able to participate to a limited degree in cultural and political organisations.