Paper Fashion Exhibition at the Phoenix Art Musuem

Karen's Fashion Backward Shop

Karen's Fashion Backward Shop

VFG Member
In February, my husband and I vacationed for the first time in Arizona. The Phoenix Art Museum had some amazing fashion on view - an exhibition in the Ellman Fashion Design and Harnett Galleries entitled "Generation Paper: Fast Fashion of the 1960s." Amazing outfits, though they did stretch the meaning of "paper" just a bit. (The pics are of my favorites.) The show is on through December 2022 if anyone is in the area and wants to see it.

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This last pic is of a Chanel dress that is a new museum acquisition. Not quite vintage yet (2009), but just glorious! And not paper as the other dresses; it's some kind of ribbed knit.

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Wow! That last one is remarkably un-paper-like! Thank you for posting these photos Karen!
 
denisebrain said:
Wow! That last one is remarkably un-paper-like! Thank you for posting these photos Karen!
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I should have been more accurate in my description. The Chanel isn't from paper; it's a knit of some kind, I think. Still, the ribbing was exquisite.
 
Jonathan said:
There are two I have never seen before, and we have 63 paper dresses here at the museum!
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There were quite a few that I hadn't seen before. Some metallic ones that didn't turn out well in my pics. Some of the "fabrics" had ingredients that took them well beyond paper, IMO, including rayon, cotton, nylon and polyester.
 
Karen's Fashion Backward Shop said:
There were quite a few that I hadn't seen before. Some metallic ones that didn't turn out well in my pics. Some of the "fabrics" had ingredients that took them well beyond paper, IMO, including rayon, cotton, nylon and polyester.
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The initial paper dresses that came out in late 1966 were paper with a rayon scrim to make them unrippable. There was a paper shortage in the late 60s so a lot of makers dabbled with substitutes for paper including cotton/nylon and polyester - the thing was none were woven - they were all pressed, like paper, so although not wood pulp, they were made in the same manner as paper.
 
Jonathan said:
The initial paper dresses that came out in late 1966 were paper with a rayon scrim to make them unrippable. There was a paper shortage in the late 60s so a lot of makers dabbled with substitutes for paper including cotton/nylon and polyester - the thing was none were woven - they were all pressed, like paper, so although not wood pulp, they were made in the same manner as paper.
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Thank you for that information, Jonathan. Very interesting!
 
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