Post by Diamond Girl on Jul 7, 2005 21:50:49 GMT -5
Supreme couture just keeps hanging on at new fashion exhibit
Mary Wilson's dresses from her Motown years go on display at Detroit Historical Museum.
By Susan Whitall / The Detroit News
Pounds of glitter, miles of bugle beads, and enough feathers to cover Woodward Avenue have descended on Detroit this week as a selection of Supremes dresses goes on exhibit today at the Detroit Historical Museum. The show, "Reflections: The Mary Wilson Supreme Legacy Collection," runs through February.
Wilson will appear at the museum from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday to greet fans and sign autographs. Copies of her CDs and books will be available for sale.
"Reflections" features more than 50 Supremes costumes, as well as memorabilia from Wilson's years as a Motown star. The exhibit opened at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland last year.
A few of the dresses were worn by Wilson when the group was still called the Primettes. Many were bought off the rack at Detroit department stores and trendy boutiques, and she says it wasn't always easy to find something that flattered three very different figures.
"We dressed as glamorously as we could; with the butterfly dresses and the swirls," Wilson says. "Michael Travis started designing our gowns -- he was the Bob Mackie of the day. Later on, Bob Mackie did some sexy things for us."
Detroit fashion historian and author Sandy Schreier was there when Wilson, Diana Ross and Florence Ballard were first honing their style at the Queen's Lair, a "wild, very mod" boutique on Wyoming Avenue near Curtis Street in northwest Detroit.
Schreier was a teenager attending Mumford High School in the late '60s when she started hanging out at the Queen's Lair, watching the Supremes and Temptations try on glittery, psychedelic outfits.
"I'd watch and say, 'Don't do that, why don't you do this?' And they'd say, 'Aha, she knows what she's talking about.' "
Schreier went on to help the Supremes select or modify some of their clothes, pinning white feathers on one dress and taking Ross to Oscar de la Renta to pick out a swirling, psychedelic minidress.
The historian still has several of Ross' Supremes dresses in her collection, alongside vintage couture worn by Hollywood stars.
Of the Supremes' influence on fashion in the 1960s, Schreier says: "The Supremes were to America what Carnaby Street in London was to the girls in Europe. I can't remember any model or movie star who had more influence in 1968. Twiggy had a great influence ... but not as great as the Supremes."
That influence wasn't just on teenagers. When designer Leo Narducci appeared at Hudson's in Northland in 1968 and was quizzed by a middle-aged woman about whether she should be uncovering her knees, according to Schreier, Narducci replied, "Madame, think of the Supremes! You should be uncovering your thighs!"
Mary Wilson's dresses from her Motown years go on display at Detroit Historical Museum.
By Susan Whitall / The Detroit News
Pounds of glitter, miles of bugle beads, and enough feathers to cover Woodward Avenue have descended on Detroit this week as a selection of Supremes dresses goes on exhibit today at the Detroit Historical Museum. The show, "Reflections: The Mary Wilson Supreme Legacy Collection," runs through February.
Wilson will appear at the museum from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday to greet fans and sign autographs. Copies of her CDs and books will be available for sale.
"Reflections" features more than 50 Supremes costumes, as well as memorabilia from Wilson's years as a Motown star. The exhibit opened at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland last year.
A few of the dresses were worn by Wilson when the group was still called the Primettes. Many were bought off the rack at Detroit department stores and trendy boutiques, and she says it wasn't always easy to find something that flattered three very different figures.
"We dressed as glamorously as we could; with the butterfly dresses and the swirls," Wilson says. "Michael Travis started designing our gowns -- he was the Bob Mackie of the day. Later on, Bob Mackie did some sexy things for us."
Detroit fashion historian and author Sandy Schreier was there when Wilson, Diana Ross and Florence Ballard were first honing their style at the Queen's Lair, a "wild, very mod" boutique on Wyoming Avenue near Curtis Street in northwest Detroit.
Schreier was a teenager attending Mumford High School in the late '60s when she started hanging out at the Queen's Lair, watching the Supremes and Temptations try on glittery, psychedelic outfits.
"I'd watch and say, 'Don't do that, why don't you do this?' And they'd say, 'Aha, she knows what she's talking about.' "
Schreier went on to help the Supremes select or modify some of their clothes, pinning white feathers on one dress and taking Ross to Oscar de la Renta to pick out a swirling, psychedelic minidress.
The historian still has several of Ross' Supremes dresses in her collection, alongside vintage couture worn by Hollywood stars.
Of the Supremes' influence on fashion in the 1960s, Schreier says: "The Supremes were to America what Carnaby Street in London was to the girls in Europe. I can't remember any model or movie star who had more influence in 1968. Twiggy had a great influence ... but not as great as the Supremes."
That influence wasn't just on teenagers. When designer Leo Narducci appeared at Hudson's in Northland in 1968 and was quizzed by a middle-aged woman about whether she should be uncovering her knees, according to Schreier, Narducci replied, "Madame, think of the Supremes! You should be uncovering your thighs!"
