A MOHAI Exhibit Explores Seattle’s Fashion History
It's not all about flannel and Gore-Tex
By Gavin Borchert May 15, 2019
What is the defining characteristic of Seattle’s fashion sense? Not caring about fashion? (Or merely pretending not to care?) Taking on this slippery question, the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) ransacked its holdings of clothing and accessories, from the mid-1800s to today. The result is the carefully curated exhibit, Seattle Style: Fashion/Function, running through October 14.
You’ve probably heard the jokes about Seattle fashion, most of them with “fleece” in the punch line. And it’s true that the prioritization of practicality has been a hallmark of the way we dress—and of how we think about the way we dress—since Seattle was a city, as quotes on the gallery walls from Seattleites make clear. My favorite, from designer Marie Hills, from 1956: “Women here want a skirt that will get them from a muddy driveway to a wiener roast.”
Clothes on display range from snowsuits to couture, from a seersucker gym-class frock to a Generra Hypercolor sweatshirt, c. 1991. The most fun is the display of evening wear; without looking at the wall labels, see if you can guess which gowns are 10 years old and which are 110. (I bet you can’t.) There are nods to our iconic suppliers (Eddie Bauer, REI), our manufacturers (UNIONBAY, Tommy Bahama, B.U.M., Shah Safari) and our grand downtown temples of retail, especially those no longer with us (Frederick & Nelson, I. Magnin, The Bon Marche).
Behind-the-scenes videos salute designer Luly Yang and high-end outerwear maker Filson, and flamboyant suit jackets pay homage to John Doyle Bishop (1913–1980), fashion guru to Seattle’s upper crust. Marvel at a World’s Fair-patterned day dress; shirts from 1952 covered in Seattle centennial logos; author Lindy West’s actual flower-bedecked wedding dress; and (the exhibit’s climax) a cap and cardigan owned by Kurt Cobain, recalling that brief shining moment when grunge, an anti-fashion movement if ever there was one, rose from the Northwest’s Value Village outlets to conquer the runways of the world. MOHAI is even looking to the future of local fashion, hosting a show of designs by Seattle Pacific University students this Friday, May 17, at 7 p.m. ($10–$20).
Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI), South Lake Union, 860 Terry Ave. N; 206.324.1126; mohai.org
Follow Us
Still Googling Vendors? Here’s How Seattle’s Best Planners Find Theirs
The executive assistant who runs your company’s annual retreat has a secret. So does the board member who somehow pulls off your fundraiser every spring. And the ops lead who makes the holiday party look effortless. They’re not figuring it out alone. They have a secret team. A caterer who remembers the CEO is gluten-free….
A New Home for Seattle Artists in Pioneer Square
Actualize AiR expands its footprint with studios and a public gallery
Three years after launching Actualize Artist in Residency (Actualize AiR), founder Kate Bailey has relocated the venture to Pioneer Square. The women-led arts organization, originally opened in downtown’s Coliseum Theater, focuses on supporting emerging artists through long term residencies in free or low-cost studios. Early this year, Actualize AiR opened its new space—which spans 14,000…
Driftwood Dreams
Cascadia Art Museum uncovers the lost Surrealist who spent 40 years painting in Seattle.
One of the most compelling parts of Objects of the Elements: The Art of Elsa Thoresen at Cascadia Art Museum in Edmonds is a display case filled with the actual pieces of driftwood artist Elsa Thoresen used as source material, mostly in the 1930s and ’40s. They’re ordinary enough at first glance—knotted and gnarled by…
The Secret Lives of Spiders
A new Pacific Science Center exhibit asks visitors to trade fear for fascination.
Every year, spiders kill about 20 people worldwide. That’s fewer than scorpions, lightning strikes, or hippos—and a tiny fraction of the 17.9 million deaths caused by cardiovascular disease. Yet spiders might still be the creatures we fear most. Pacific Science Center’s new exhibition, Spiders: From Fear to Fascination, aims to change that. Created by the…