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This silk damask dress is a typical silhouette from the 1700s, but it’s an unusual example of fashion created by a woman—textile designer Anna Maria Garthwaite. “Textile designers work so far in advance, they’re often the ones setting trends,” Sorkin explains. “But the public rarely knows who’s behind that great print.”
This 1970s double-faced wool suit by Mila Schön was owned by Vogue editrix Diana Vreeland. “It’s very simple, but this electric shade of green is incredibly modern,” says Sorkin. “You can just picture Ms. Vreeland, with her jet-black hair, wearing this fantastic color.
Vivienne Westwood’s rocking-horse boots from 1987 are one of the godmother of punk’s signature accessories. Says Sorkin, “I actuallysaw someone wearing them at FIT the other day.”Vivienne Westwood’s rocking-horse boots from 1987 are one of the godmother of punk’s signature accessories. Says Sorkin, “I actually saw someone wearing them at FIT the other day.”
Designed by Louise Boulanger in 1929, this floral frock was worn by American costumer Muriel King, who created Katharine Hepburn’s look in Sylvia Scarlett. “It’s typical of King’s own style,” Sorkin notes. “In the 1920s, you had these shorter dresses. Then the back of the hemline started to drop—Boulanger was one of the first to do that.”