We revisit a 2021 episode with guest Ayaka Sano who joined us to discuss the early years of the career of Japanese designer Hanae Mori, the first Asian designer admitted to the ranks of French haute couture. Mori's career spanned five decades and the globe, enjoying international success thanks to her seamless and signature blending of euro-American styles with distinctively Japanese textiles and aesthetics. 

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In part II of this week's episode in commemorating the 113th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire which occurred in Lower Manhattan on March 25, 1911, we examine how the fire started, hear from some of the survivors and learn about the sweeping labor reforms and worker protections which followed in its wake.

Recommended resources:

Cornell University's The 1911 Triangle Factory Fire online portal

PBS American Experience: Triangle Fire

Department of Labor/OSHA's The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire portal

Dedication of the Triangle Fire Memorial

Von Drehle, David. Triangle: The Fire that Changed America. New York: Grove/Atlantic Inc., 2003.

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As the 113th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory approaches in a few short days, this week we bring you a two-part episode on the nature of the New York City garment trade at the turn of the 20th century, and how a horrific workplace accident on March 25, 1911 reshaped the landscape of workers rights and protections.

Recommended resources:

Cornell University's The 1911 Triangle Factory Fire online portal

PBS American Experience: Triangle Fire

Department of Labor/OSHA's The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire portal

Von Drehle, David. Triangle: The Fire that Changed America. New York: Grove/Atlantic Inc., 2003.

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This week we chat about the latest in fashion history news including Norma Kamali training an AI to design her legacy, the Oscar nominees for Best Costume Design, a new YSL bookshop in Paris and some of the spectacular pieces up for sale at recent fashion auctions.

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We continue our conversation with Isabel Attyah Flower and Marcel Rosa-Salas about nameplate jewelry, addressing its central and even controversial role in both sub and mainstream cultural expressions, including hip hop. 

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Isabel Attyah Flower and Marcel Rosa-Salas join us to discuss their book The Nameplate: Jewelry, Culture and Identity, which celebrates the myriad of meanings embedded in the multi-cultural and cross-generational phenomenon of nameplate jewelry.

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In the wonderful and often bizarre world of fashion fads from history, we ask the question: which should live on to wear another day and which should be left to history?

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Maison Margiela's Spring/Summer Paris 2024 Haute Couture collection show delivered a haunting jolt that is hard to forget. Whether you loved the show or hated it, it was a moment. And that moment–which will undoubtedly go down in fashion history–was also packed with references to the history of fashion itself. Alexandre Samson, Curator of Haute Couture from 1947 to Contemporary Design at the Palais Galliera in Paris joins us to decode the collection.

April and Cassidy also address John Galliano's troubled history of anti-semitism and his restitutive work with the Anti-Defamation League who have publicly lauded the designer's "arduous work to change his world view."

Maison Margiela Artisanal 2024 collection

Givenchy: The Complete Collections

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An exceptionally famous milliner in her day, the life and career of Mildred Blount has been somewhat lost to history. Curator Taylor Bythewood-Porter joins us to shine a light on the first African-American to be admitted to the Motion Pictures Costumers Union and her glorious on-screen creations for films including Gone With the Wind and Gigi as well as her offscreen successes designing hats for Hollywood stars and Harlem high society.

Mildred Blount Millinery Competition

Mildred Blount Scholarship Fund

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In the early years of the twentieth century, Madam C.J. Walker built an international, Black hair care empire from the ground floor up, transforming herself from a laundry work making $1.50 a day to the woman Guinness World Records identifies as the “first self-made millionairess.” This week, we learn all about her extraordinary life in an interview with her biographer—and great, great granddaughter—A’Lelia Bundles. 

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