Woman's Swimsuit

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© Margit Fellegi Estate. Reproduced with permission of The Warnaco Group, Inc. All rights reserved. For Authentic Fitness Corp., Cole of California
My gallery Comment Tag Order Photography*
© Margit Fellegi Estate. Reproduced with permission of The Warnaco Group, Inc. All rights reserved. For Authentic Fitness Corp., Cole of California
My gallery Comment Tag Order Photography*
© Margit Fellegi Estate. Reproduced with permission of The Warnaco Group, Inc. All rights reserved. For Authentic Fitness Corp., Cole of California
My gallery Comment Tag Order Photography*
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Woman's Swimsuit

United States, California, 1950-1951
Costumes; principal attire (entire body)
Lurex and lastex knit (lamé)
Center back length: 15 1/2 in. (39.37 cm)
Gift of Esther Ginsberg and Linda Davis in honor of Jennifer Blake (AC1998.117.9)
Costume and Textiles
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

Hollywood glamour was distilled, translated, and transmitted in swimsuits such as this glittering lamé example, which was probably made as a promotion for Million Dollar Mermaid, starring cinema’s aqu...
Hollywood glamour was distilled, translated, and transmitted in swimsuits such as this glittering lamé example, which was probably made as a promotion for Million Dollar Mermaid, starring cinema’s aquatic icon Esther Williams. Mutually beneficial relationships between movie stars and swimwear companies such as Cole of California and Catalina (the latter sponsored the Miss America pageants) emerged in the late 1920s and were instrumental in perpetuating the world’s perception of Hollywood as the epicenter of fame, sex, and stupendous wealth.

(California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way," 2011-12)
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Bibliography

  • Kaplan, Wendy, ed. California Design, 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way. Los Angeles: Los  Angeles County Museum of Art; Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2011.
  • Kaplan, Wendy, ed. Living in a Modern Way: California Design, 1930-1965.  Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2013. 

Exhibition history

  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way" Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 1, 2011 - June 3, 2012
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way" Tokyo, Japan, The National Art Center, Tokyo, March 20, 2013 - June 3, 2013
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way" Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 1, 2011 - June 3, 2012
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way" Tokyo, Japan, The National Art Center, Tokyo, March 20, 2013 - June 3, 2013
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way" Auckland, New Zealand, Auckland Art Gallery, July 6, 2013 - September 29, 2013
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way" South Brisbane, Australia, Queensland Art Gallery, November 2, 2013 - February 9, 2014
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way" Salem, MA, Peabody Essex Museum, March 29, 2014 - July 6, 2014
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