The site Glamour Daze is a wonderful source of primary materials, including rare films of fashion, makeup and hair guides. This month’s treasure is included in their feature “Evolution of women’s Dress 1914-1929.” The first section, 1914, shows clothes by British designer Lady Duff Gordon, mostly known as Lucile. I don’t remember coming across any filmed designs of her before, which makes this quite a rare gem.
Lady Duff Gordon with model in her New York design studio, 1916. source: http://www.lucileladyduffgordon.com/
At the beginning of the twentieth century Lucile was one of the most innovative, forward thinking designers. Much like her contemporary, Paul Poiret, she designed clothes for the modern woman. Lucile offered an alternative to the sculptured, curvaceous silhouette that most other fashion houses of the period were showing. She was also one of the first to show her creations on slender, tall models, in many ways foreshadowing the modern ideal fashionable body, and she is also often credited for being one of the first to stage fashion shows.
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Dance Dress, 1915. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Irine Castle, 1947. CI47.57.3ab
Evening dress, 1914. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, CI44.64.43
The Special Collections and FIT Archive holds a beautiful collection of illustrations of wedding gowns designed by her.
