The stunning garments worn on the silent-era silver screen relied on thousands of workers—primarily women—who labored in Hollywood studio wardrobe departments. While some film-worn garments from the silent era survive today, the names of the employees who created them typically went unrecorded. Drawing on archival footage, period press coverage, and photographs from wardrobe departments in New York and Hollywood, Goddesses in the Machine cocurator Emma Cormack will explore the critical role that these women played in the emerging studio system. She will also spotlight a durational project that accompanies the exhibition: BGC doctoral students Sydney Maresca (a costume designer) and Jaya Misra (a textile conservator) are reconstructing two film-worn gowns from 1921 and 1926—both on display in BGC’s Gallery—in order to produce new knowledge about the garments, their designers, and the makers.
Emma Cormack (BGC MA 2018) is associate curator for exhibitions and Study Collection curator at Bard Graduate Center. With a background in decorative arts, design history, and material culture, her research specialties include the history of fashion and textiles with a particular interest in department stores, consumer culture, and print advertising in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century France and the United States. At BGC, she was the cocurator of Threads of Power: Lace from the Textilmuseum St. Gallen (2022–23) and coeditor of the accompanying publication; assistant curator of French Fashion, Women, and the First World War (2019–20); and curatorial and editorial assistant for Eileen Gray (2020). With Michelle Finamore, she is cocurator and coeditor of Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent Film (2026).
Gallery Visits with BGC Educators
Drop by the exhibition Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent Film at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery between 5 and 6 pm at no extra charge! Gallery educators will be stationed throughout the exhibition to share a few highlights.
September 23 and October 28
18 West 86th Street, New York
5–6 pm |
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