Academic Journal
The Pursuit of Art and Professionalism: Dressmaking, Millinery, and Costume Design at Pratt Institute, 1888–1904.
| Title: | The Pursuit of Art and Professionalism: Dressmaking, Millinery, and Costume Design at Pratt Institute, 1888–1904. |
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| Authors: | Researcher, Alison KowalskiIndependent AlisonLKowalski@gmail.com |
| Source: | Journal of Design History. Nov2018, Vol. 31 Issue 4, p305-327. 23p. 7 Black and White Photographs. |
| Abstract: | The first sixteen years of the Pratt Institute Department of Domestic Art—one of the earliest programmes of its kind—were characterized by continual reorganization and shifting purposes. The department initially set out to prepare women for housework or industrial work while promoting a reform of women's fashion and aligning itself with the Arts and Crafts movement. Over the years, the department increasingly associated dressmaking and millinery with art. Eventually, inspired by the Domestic Art department's relationship with the Art Department and the teachings of Arthur Wesley Dow, the Domestic Art faculty cautiously embraced fashion and industrialization. A separation between the conceptual designing and physical making of dress took place, and curricular developments reiterated the widely established hierarchy of art, design, and craft. By the early twentieth century, the Domestic Art department was committed to forming its students into intellectual and business-minded professional artists. This paper argues that the ideology and efforts of the Domestic Art faculty during Pratt's formative years intended to legitimize the image of dressmaking, millinery, and costume design. The continual attempt to garner respect for the work taught in the department reflects women's changing place in society and sheds light on understudied aspects of contemporary design movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Subject Terms: | *Dressmaking, *Millinery, *Costume design, *Art movements, Professionalism |
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| ISSN: | 09524649 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/jdh/epy018 |
| Database: | Art & Architecture Complete |
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