RISD Museum Exhibits Dazzling Gilded Garments from the 1920s and 1930s

When Laurie Brewer, RISD Museum's assistant curator for costume and textiles, joined us as guest speaker at the Downton Abbey On-Stage Dinner Party in December, she promised a special exhibit at the RISD Museum in early 2015.

To coincide with the 1920s fashions seen in Downton Abbey Season 5, the subject of Laurie's presentation was - and the exhibit will be - the gilded fashion style of Newport socialite Edith Stuyvesant Vanderbilt Gerry. That exhibition of a unique collection of garments opens Friday, March 13 and runs through Sunday, July 5.

Golden Glamour: The Edith Stuyvesant Vanderbilt Gerry Collection is an intimate peek into the wardrobe of an extraordinary woman. Golden Glamour features dazzling gilded garments given to the RISD Museum from the estate of American philanthropist and Rhode Island native Edith Stuyvesant Vanderbilt Gerry (1873-1958).

This luminous installation includes early-1920s through 1930s fashions from the premier design houses of Europe - Elsa Schiaparelli, Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo of the Fortuny label, the House of Worth, Callot Soeurs, Paul Poiret, and Edward H. Molyneux - all speaking to Edith Stuyvesant Vanderbilt Gerry's impeccable and cosmopolitan taste for fashions of lamé, silk, and velvet.

Visit the Museum site for directions and hours.