FIDM Museum & Galleries

My husband’s parents were in town for a couple of days for their annual West Coast visit, so we planned for a few local sightseeing adventures for them to enjoy during their short stay. Fortunately, their annual visit coincided with two new gallery showings: “The 25th Art of Motion Picture Costume Design” Exhibition and “Exotica: Fashion & Film Costume of the 1920s” Exhibition.

I was personally determined to take them to the FIDM Museum & Galleries this time around since it has been six years since their last visit to this local gem. The FIDM Museum never fails in showcasing unique and interesting fashion-related exhibitions.

I also needed to do some personal shopping at the nearby FIDM Scholarship Store, the on-campus clothing boutique where Los Angeles locals can find unbelievable deals on designer clothing. Today is one of my best friend’s birthday, and since she is difficult to shop for, I have yet to find that perfect something for her. I really wanted to buy something that would go nicely with her new adoration of the Sorel Joan of Arctic Suede Wedge Boots that she got for Christmas. More on this later.

My father-in-law decided to stay at their AirBNB to finish reading his mystery novel. Great, a girls day out to enjoy fashion! My mother-in-law decided she wanted to travel to Downtown LA via the relatively new Expo Line, so this desired mode of travel dictated our plans to visit Downtown to the morning hours, only, because we needed to return to the Westside in good time to pick up my daughter at 1:30. Luckily for us, FIDM Museum opens at 10:00 a.m., so after dropping off the kids at school for the day, my mother-in-law hopped onto the Expo at 9:30 a.m. to travel 45 minutes Eastbound to the Metro/7th Street Station. After a 10 minute walk south, we finally made it to the FIDM campus at 10:30 a.m.

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I must admit that we entered the FIDM Museum & Galleries Gift Shop first. I am glad we did because the employees were very helpful in telling us about their featured products on display and/or for sale. This beautiful hand beaded ensemble by current FIDM student, Duston Jasso, caught my eye. We learned that this item is not for sale (yet), but this “fallen angel”-inspired jewelry, along with a few other Duston Jasso-designed pieces (on display on the Campus’ Fourth Floor), were official entries to the Supima Design Competition.

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We also learned about how the gift shop features fashion items created by FIDM alumni. There was a line of hand painted leather wallets by a former alum, and another alumni-created line of furry keychains. However, other notable items on sale at the gift shop caught my eye (swayed, no doubt by my personal interests in feminism, afternoon tea and anything related to Andy Warhol).

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Yeah! I found a set of retro-inspired bamboo plates (suitable for tapas and miscellaneous appetizers) that would be a perfect Valentine’s Day gift for my husband! However, I still had no luck finding a birthday gift for my friend. The FIDM visit is not over yet, so I wasn’t worried!

We finally meandered to the FIDM Museum & Galleries. The Curator did a wonderful job with displaying information about the subject matter, from the visual timeline of costume design history, how the costumes from recently produced motion pictures are narrowed down and finally selected for this exhibition, why some costumes from the past no longer exists, etc.

Can I just say we walked into two awesome exhibitions this year and show you my photos?

Here are various photos from The 25th Art of Motion Picture Costume Design:
Celebrating the Costumes from the Outstanding Films of 2016 Exhibition. Films included in this photo collection include:

Mad Max: Fury Road

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La La Land

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The Huntsman: Winter’s War

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Live by Night

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Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

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Alice Through The Looking Glass

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Zoolander 2

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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

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Love & Friendship

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Doctor Strange

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Suicide Squad

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Hidden Figures

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Kubo and the Two Strings (yes, even puppets have costumes!)

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Florence Foster Jenkins

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Last, but not least, Hail, Caesar!

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Special mention has to be made to this beautiful necklace-bodice, which was worn by Q’Orianka Kilcher during her portrayal of “Pocahontas” in the 2005 film, The New World. It caught my eye not only because this beautiful piece of jewelry was made mostly of pearl, my June birthstone, or that I have a strong affinity towards anything having to do with American indigenous cultures, but also because the literature showcased alongside this display disclosed how The New World Costume Designer, Jacqueline West, arranged for the entire Pocahontas costume to be donated to the FIDM Museum as part of its permanent collection after its 2006 participation of the Museum’s Art of Motion Picture Costume Design.

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Exotica: Fashion & Film Costume of the 1920s, is the second temporary exhibition showcased here. Housed in the smaller gallery space, Exotica takes museum visitors on what seemed like a 1920s time capsule of film, fashion and foreign influences of global adventures. What a treat to fantasize how actors from that time influenced what every day people choose to wear to invoke the persona of a stylish foreigner and/or world traveler.

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We spent a good 1.5 hours at FIDM Museum & Galleries before realizing that we needed to leave Downtown L.A. soon in order to make it back in time for my daughter’s after school pick up. Is it possible to squeeze in a short shopping spree at FIDM’s Scholarship Store?

Of course!

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Yes! I knew I was going to find that perfect Size 0 outfit for my dear Megan. After fifteen minutes of scouring the racks, I found the outfit ensemble I had envisioned in my mind. I cannot wait to see these pair of Marna Ro cigarette pants and the Michael Stars blouse on her when we celebrate her birthday next weekend.

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By the way, all sale proceeds at the FIDM Scholarship Store go directly back to the fashion design students at FIDM. Check it out sometime if you fancy an adventurous shopping excursion in Downtown LA’s South Park District. A win-win for everyone!

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FIDM Museum & Galleries
919 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90015
213-623-5821
FIDMmuseum.org

Current Exhibitions:

The 25th Art of Motion Picture Costume Design:
Celebrating the Costumes from the Outstanding Films of 2016
Free & Open to the Public
February 7, 2017 – April 22, 2017
Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Exotica: Fashion & Film Costume of the 1920s
Free & Open to the Public
February 7, 2017 – April 22, 2017
Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

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FIDM Scholarship Store
919 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90015
213-623-5840
fidmscholarshipfoundation.org
Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

© Copyright 2012-2017 by Deborah Kuzma, californianative.com and californianativeblog.wordpress.com. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Deborah Kuzma, californianative.com and californianativeblog.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 

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