I will be designing and creating a collection of 10 looks that will be modeled and shown to the Cornell University community during the CFC 36th Annual Runway show in the Spring of 2020.
This collection is a historical retrospective of the 1950’s lifestyle specifically analyzing and interpreting the role of women during the 1950’s. The 1950’s are typically thought of as the “happiest decade,” in American history; sandwiched in-between the depression, WWII and the turmoil of the 1960’s it is easy to see why we look back to the 50’s as a happy time in US History. During the 50’s, in the United States, industries were booming- cars, microwaves, jello mold foods and colored televisions were found every suburban household. The concept of the “American Dream” was processed, packaged and sold as a white picket fence, car in the garage and a happy American family. But this lifestyle also came with many restrictions for women. Women in the 1950’s found themselves imprisoned holed in this “suburban coffin.” This new lifestyle was confining, and diminished some of the independence women had acquired in the 1940’s. This version of the ideal American lifestyle was a graveyard for women’s rights and aspirations.
This collection is inspired by this complex dichotomy of the 1950’s. I intend to explore and share my interpretations, as both a designer and historian, of this complex struggle between women’s rights and American cultural trends.