Monthly Archives: September 2026

ADRIAN: DESIGNING HOLLYWOOD, DRESSING AMERICA

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ADRIAN: Designing Hollywood, Dressing America is the title of the new exhibition at the ASU Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Museum in Los Angeles. On exhibit are Gilbert Adrian-designed Hollywood costumes,  his salon label fashions,  along with rare memorabilia, costume sketches, and his line of men’s shirts and ties. Curator Kevin Jones organized the exhibition with help from his staff, sourcing items from various collectors and the Museum’s own collections. A recent large and significant donation of Adrian materials had been made by Adrian scholar Richard Adkins. Noted Hollywood costume collector Larry MacQueen lent two spectacular costumes, and collector Brandon Johnston loaned an extremely rare silent era high-collared coat designed for Marion Davies for the never released M-G-M film Rosalie. Several Adrian pieces were loaned by The Timeless Vixen Vintage Couture of Los Angeles, and by Steven Porterfield / The Cat’s Meow.

Such an exemplary exhibition had not been seen west of New York since the Met’s Adrian Exhibition of 2003 and FIT’s Adrian Exhibition of 2017.  The Photographs below are courtesy of Christian Esquevin.

Adrian designed coat for Marion Davies for Rosalie, 1929 but never released. Loaned by Brandon Johnson.

 

Adrian costumes for M-G-M’s Queen Christina. The Greta Garbo robe at left from The Collection, Larry McQueen, and John Gilbert’s costume.

 

Adrian design from fall 1942 named “It’s Not True.” A silk taffeta and silk crepe dress purchased by Ginger Rogers.

 

Adrian’s “Modern Museum” dress, one of the few in the 1943 series made of fabric shapes sewn in piece-work, including the brown shape trailing to the skirt hem. Courtesy The Timeless Vixen.

 

Adrian’s sculpted taffeta gown from 1948, from the FIDM Museum’s collection
Adrian’s playful “If I Went to Dinner” dress.

And an Adrian exhibition can not be complete without showing his favorite use of gingham, as shown below in a brown gingham, short-sleeved suit-dress with  a decorative use of pockets and pocket flaps.

If you are in or visiting the Los Angeles area, this is a must-see for fans of fashion. Open through December 12, 2026.

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