Fashion at the Ford

March 4-July 13, 2005

Fashion is a reciprocal.  Fresh off the fall runways are a look back at history's past trends and patterns.  Currently designers pull from past decades to influence their collections.  Even if you aren't one of fashion's elite, I am sure you can sense a bit of the 80's making a comeback.  A new exhibit which may normally go unnoticed is at The Henry Ford Museum.  This show features Elizabeth Firestone's vast collection of couture clothing and gowns. Mrs. Firestone is none other than the wife of Harvey Firestone, of Firestone Tires and Rubber.  Check it out at The Henry Ford Museum.

 

Enter the world of high fashion and sophisticated style as you explore fifty dresses and two hundred accessories from one of America's best dressed women, Elizabeth Parke Firestone. Showcasing the amazing design mastery of such fashion designers as Christian Dior,

Cristobal Balenciaga, Peggy Hoyt and Carrie Munn-it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view this never before exhibited collection.

 

Prior to her death, Mrs. Firestone and her family realized that the clothing she owned offered a rich and sweeping view of fashion history to future generations, and a large segment of her wardrobe was donated to The Henry Ford. Today that collection includes over 1,000 dresses, shoes, gloves and other accessories, from early home-sewn creations including her wedding dress to custom-made American and European designer fashions. Each dress is truly a work of art--crafted by inventive couturiers for a patron who not only collaborated on the result, but well understood the contribution each made to the life of her family and the society of the day. Don't miss this showcase of her dynamic high-style fashions on exhibit in Henry Ford Museum.