During the mid-twentieth century, examples of international dress could be found throughout the halls and classrooms of Martha Van Rensselaer Hall (MVR). Initially, these objects were used to illustrate lectures, educate students, and inspire designers in the classroom. Students in search of design inspiration were directed to use the collection as both reference and inspiration, and to identify different colors, designs, forms, and textures for class projects, which led to the normalization of cultural appropriation within mid-twentieth century fashion design curricula. For example, the case off to the far left illustrates how dress from around the world, more specifically, China, was incorporated within design curricula at Cornell. The traditional qipao photographed on the pedestal was collected by Blackmore in Peiping and later used as a source of inspiration by Jean Allanson ‘45 for a class project on draping. By appropriating the asymmetrical neckline and frog closures characteristic of the qipao, Allanson reduced this form of cultural expression to a mere aesthetic or fashion statement. However, the modern qipao pinned to the partition behind Allanson tells a different story. Donated by Olivia Pei-Heng Wu ‘39, a graduate student from Peiping, this ensemble is an example of transculturation, the process whereby certain cultural forms and practices come in contact with and are transformed by one another’s materials and systems of production. While Blackmore sought to collect examples of “traditional” Chinese clothing and textiles, the fashions worn and donated by international students demonstrated how international communities responded to social, cultural, economic, and political events through dress.

Pajamas Set paired with Simplicity commercial pattern

B. Altman & Co., United States

CFTC# 2007.24.002abc

Gift of Frances E. Young

This cotton pajama set was purchased by Frances E. Young from B. Altman & Co. in New York City in the 1930s. The emergence of pajamas in Western fashion is the direct result of Britain’s imperial rule over India in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Initially sold to European men in the 1870s as a form of loungewear, pajamas drew inspiration from the loose-fitting trousers worn by Indian citizens under British rule. Moving forward into the twentieth century, pajamas became a fashionable item for women to wear around the home or at the beach. The design of pajamas for women brought together the more relaxed silhouette characteristic of the breeches worn by Indian men and women with softer, more supple fabrics like silk and satin. They also drew heavily from the design and construction of clothing worn by men and women in Japan, China, India, and Turkey. For example, this pajama set and commercial pattern both appropriated the style and silhouette of the tangzhuang, a type of coat that was first worn by Manchu men at the end of the Qing dynasty.

“Styles in the sari do not change, although the sari is worn in various ways. They are made of a variety of materials and worn according to the occasion, as here you women wear clothes of different materials depending on the type of dress.” —Anjani Jivraj Mehta ‘48

Sari paired with choli and slippers

Unknown designer, India

CFTC # 2048, 256, 252

Gift of Beulah Blackmore

Blackmore collected this ensemble in order to document the dress practices of Indian women who she considered to be of the upper class. Blackmore collected pieces during the end of the British Raj (1858-1947), just before Indian and Pakistani independence and partition. During this period, caste and class structures functioned to structure one’s position of privilege within Indian society. Colonial administrators exploited the caste system to aid in the regulation of Indian peoples and during this period economic divisions were expanded due to the British’s focus on cash crops. Blackmore described this ensemble along with the other sari installed by Anjani Jivraj Mehta ‘48 as “patrician costumes.” This was perhaps due to the fact that both were made out of fine silk and decorated with gold and silver supplementary threads that were woven into the border of each sari. In order to highlight the original context in which this sari would have been worn, Blackmore purchased a gold lame jacket after returning to the United States that she believed aligned with those styles worn by upper class women living in Mumbai. However, as indicated by Mehta’s own dress practices, this sari would have only been worn for special occasions and therefore provided insight into one particular facet of India’s upper class.