Made It: The Women Who Revolutionized Fashion
Exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum USA
21.11.2020 – 14.03.2021

This fall, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) goes behind the seams to reveal the often-overlooked contributions of women in the fashion world with its headlining exhibition, Made It: The Women Who Revolutionized Fashion. From 19th-century White House seamstress Elizabeth Keckley to Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel and contemporary labels like Chromat, women designers continue to radically transform our ideas about identity and presentation. Through more than 100 works, Made It celebrates the stories of women who revolutionized many aspects of the fashion industry and traces how these efforts parallel the history of women’s global struggle for equity and opportunity. Show-stopping ensembles, street fashion, ready-to-wear and haute couture illuminate issues of representation, creativity and consumption. The exhibition is organized in association with Kunstmuseum Den Haag and will be on view at PEM from November 21, 2020 through March 14, 2021.

Madelief Hohé, Curator of the Collection of Fashion and Costumes at Kunstmuseum Den Haag is the exhibition’s organizing curator and author of the exhibition concept. Petra Slinkard, PEM’s Nancy B. Putnam Curator of Fashion and Textiles, is the exhibition co-curator. The exhibition features ensembles from the Kunstmuseum Den Haag, PEM’s renowned fashion collection as well as private and public collections around the world.

“This exciting and thought provoking exhibition celebrates female fashion designers who have worked to shape societal norms and shift cultural perspectives. Reflecting on generations of design, we can see how fashion continually mirrors the values and struggles of its day and consider how we might envision our own future, boldly,” says Brian Kennedy, PEM’s Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Director and CEO. “We are honored to share stories and garments of women who forged their own path and did so with incredible determination, focus, and vision. We hope visitors will be inspired by their enterprising spirit and lasting legacy.”

The exhibition covers 250 years of fashion through the eyes of women, some famous, some not so famous, whose experiences intersect with the history of women’s ongoing struggle for equality. 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The landmark legislation granted some women the right to vote and the historic milestone provides an occasion to think about the ways in which women — including women in fashion — have pursued equity and greater opportunity.

Peabody Essex Museum
East India Square
161 Essex Street,
Salem, MA 01970, US
https://www.pem.org/