Iconic American designs are coming to the American Heartland. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, opens its first exhibition dedicated to fashion: Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour. Featuring more than 90 designs of iconic American labels, including many CFDA members, the exhibition explores and celebrates the nation’s diverse fashion heritage and spirit of invention while spotlighting the untold stories of underrecognized and underrepresented designers, important contemporary movements shaping the industry, and American fashion’s resonance in global trends and visual culture.
The exhibition will feature pieces from CFDA designers Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, Carolina Herrera, Anna Sui, Christian Siriano, Natalie “Alabama” Chanin, and the late Virgil Abloh, Halston, Rudi Gernreich and Isabel Toledo, among others. Seven themed sections showcasing the expanse of American fashion — from denim jeans to bathing suits, sneakers to cowboy boots, zoot suits to leisure suits, sportswear to underwear, and Hollywood glamour to street style — will emphasize the work of Black and Native American designers and features geographical representation of fashion designers and histories from across the country.
The exhibition will also tell stories of women designers and female-led businesses that found great success within the male-dominated fashion industry, as well as representation of queer culture, gender non-binary inclusivity, body positivity, social activism, and sustainable fashion.
“I always think of Crystal Bridges as a platform for inclusive storytelling, and we are thrilled to present our debut fashion exhibition boldly focused on the diverse origins and untold narratives of American fashion,” says Olivia Walton, museum board chairperson. “Fashion is very much the art of our everyday lives, a medium of self-expression and culture, a wellspring of creativity and vision. We are so excited to bring these voices and stories to the heartland of America.”
As previously reported, in concert with the exhibition, the newly created CFDA x Crystal Bridges Heartland Scholars Award — through a gift at the direction of Olivia Walton — will foster design talent in students based, studying, or raised in the American Heartland. An annual call for applications and all scholarship information will launch via CFDA.com in January 2023.
A fashion symposium is planned in partnership with the CFDA for October 26, which will bring together leading industry voices to celebrate American fashion design and share stories, experiences and insights on sustainability, diversity, equity, and inclusivity. The day will culminate with the museum’s first-ever gala to support museum education programs.
Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour will be on view September 10, 2022 to January 30, 2023.
