Has anyone ever seen a Delaunay in real life? I'd love to see an example of "simultaneous clothing" up close or even in good photos. I wonder if the Met Costume Institute has any??? <img src="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian/issues96/jul96/images/dresses.jpg">
She is one of those designers that gets refered to in fashion history books but I think she was so incredibly non-prolific in her day that she really didn't make much of an impact and very little survives of her work. Another one like that is what's his name... the illustrator who did all the Vogue covers in the 1910s... oh god I am getting old... you know... that guy... it will come to me... Anyway, he did lots of fashion illustrations but never made one dress. I believe his designs were used for broadway and the theatre, but never put into production. ERTE, that's the guy I am thinking of... I saw a Sonia Delauney at FIT when I was in NY in APril, on display downstairs in their women couturier exhibition. It was a knitted sweater coat and hat from the mid 1920s. Very nice, but it had also been from her personal wardrobe. It wasn't commercially produced. There is a book on her work, and I believe they have 3 pieces of clothing by her illustrated in the book, and that's it. The rest of it is all culled from design illustrations
Wow, I'm always forgetting about the FIT space. I have got to make sure I get there more often! I wonder if the Delaunay is part of the permanent collection? thanks Jonathan!
