Design & Desire in the Twentieth Century

A blog devoted to Twentieth Century Architecture and Design History.

[dd20century]

Michael Graves' The Warehouse

Michael Graves, The Warehouse (1977), Princeton, New Jersey. Image source.

Check out this post on the Hidden Architecture blog about Michael Graves's 1977 restoration and adaptive reuse of a 1926 hollow-clay block warehouse surfaced with brick and stucco. The result is this stunning residence that comfortably houses two adults and four children.

Read the post and see more images on Hidden Architecture.

[dd20century]

Henry Dreyfuss: Groundbreaking UI Designer Part One

Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on January 8, 2024.

When the point of contact between the product and people becomes a point of friction, then the industrial designer has failed.” – Henry Dreyfuss

To say that Henry Dreyfuss was one of the most influential designers of the Twentieth Century may sound like an overstatement until one considers his portfolio of iconic designs. Dreyfuss and his firm were responsible for products that were ubiquitous during the past century, including the Model 500 telephone and Honeywell’s circular thermostat. Both products were found in many American homes until digital products replaced them. Dreyfuss designs ranged from clocks and vacuum cleaners to locomotives and steamships. As if this is not impressive, Dreyfuss is considered a pioneer in user experience design. (1)

Henry Dreyfuss (c. 1940). Photographer unknown. Image source.

Henry Dreyfuss as a Young Man

Henry Dreyfuss was born in Brooklyn on March 2, 1904. Not much is known of his early life, but his family had a theatrical supply business which may have connected young Henry with one of his earliest jobs, “designing sets for stage presentations at a Broadway motion-picture theatre”(2).  Dreyfuss later studied as an apprentice with Norman bel Geddes. After leaving bel Geddes, Dreyfuss continued on with theatrical design, producing “250 stage sets for a number of theatres before 1928”(2). during this time received special recognition for “the cellblock set for The Last Mile, a 1930 production starring Spencer Tracy. (3)

Dreyfuss was offered a job on the design staff of the Macy Company, but turned it down because, in 1929, at the age of 25, Dreyfuss opened his own design firm. That same year he won a telephone design contest held by Bell Laboratories and “began work in 1930 in collaboration with Bell staff”(2) to produce the Model 300 telephone; “molded in black phenolic plastic”(2) the phone had a transmitter and receiver housed together in the same handset. (2)

As Dreyfuss’s business grew, he recognized the need for a business manager. Doris Marks, “the daughter of the former borough president of Manhattan”(2) was recommended by one of Dreyfuss’s old schoolmates. Dreyfuss hired her, and the two hit it off immediately. They later married and had three children: a son and two daughters. (4) Doris remained involved in the design business and assisted Henry in publishing several books. She also served on the boards of several philanthropic organizations. (6)

Design Breakthroughs in the 1930s

Remarkably The Great Depression in the 1930s was a period of great productivity and success for Dreyfuss. In 1933, he designed a “flat top” refrigerator for General Electric that hid the “previously exposed refrigeration unit by placing it beneath the cabinet”(2). In 1935 Dreyfuss designed an alarm clock for Westclox, and four years later he designed their iconic Big Ben alarm clock. (2)

The following year he developed “Model 150 upright vacuum cleaner with the first plastic hood in Bakelite”(2) for the Hoover company. In the same year he was commissioned to design products for the American Thermos Bottle Company. (2)

Henry Dreyfuss, Big Ben alarm clock for Westclox (1939). Image source.

Henry Dreyfuss introduced one of his most impressive works “his design of a Mercury locomotive [which] featured cutout holes in the ‘white-walled’ driver wheels, lit by concealed spotlights at night”(2). The train represented the epitome of streamlined Art Deco design. New York Central introduced the Mercury train in 1938 “for its Twentieth Century Limited New-York-Chicago run”(2).

In 1937 Elmer McCormick an engineer with the Deere & Company tractor company, travelled to New York City from his company’s headquarters in Iowa for design advice from Dreyfuss. This meeting resulted in making Dreyfuss one of his most important and lucrative clients. “In 1938 Dreyfuss’s John Deere Model A tractor was introduced”(2), and Dreyfuss would eventually redesign Deere’s entire line. (3)

Henry Dreyfuss, New York Central Mercury Train (1936). Image source.

“Dreyfuss’s approach to creating products was based on a logical functionality that he would call ‘human factor’ (or ergonomic) design”(3). He preferred combining form and function rather than follow showy design trends, (3) an approach that would influence designers for decades to come. “Dreyfuss was much more than a stylist; he applied common sense and a scientific approach to design problems”(4). This resulted in developing products that were not only elegant, but safer and featured ease of use and maintenance. (4)

For the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City, Dreyfuss “designed the Democracity model in the Perisphere, representing an American city and its surrounding suburbs of the year 2039” (2). He also designed the AT&T Pavilion at the Fair. (2,3) Dreyfuss’s mentor, Norman bel Geddes’s contribution to the World’s Fair was the iconic Futurama city for General Motors. (5)

Read part two of “Henry Dreyfuss: Groundbreaking UI Designer”.

References

Curtis, M. , (11 November, 2020). The original UX designer: Henry Dreyfuss (1904–1972). https://bootcamp.uxdesign.cc/the-original-ux-designers-henry-dreyfuss-1904-1972-8444a1769d11

Industrial Designers Society of America, (2023). Henry Dreyfuss, FIDSA. https://www.idsa.org/profile/henry-dreyfuss

Uhle, F. (n.d.). Henry Dreyfuss Associates, LLC. https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/henry-dreyfuss-associates-llc

Wikipedia, (24 February, 2023). Henry Dreyfuss. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Dreyfuss

Futurama, of the city of, designed by Norman Bel Geddes for the General Motors Exhibit at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. New York, 1939. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2012645722/.

Dreyfuss, J. (22 October, 1972). Henry and Doris Dreyfuss. https://calteches.library.caltech.edu/2944/1/dreyfuss.pdf

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[dd20century]

Animator Barry Caldwell Dies

A sad story came to us by The Wrap and Y!Entertainment. Animator Barry Caldwell died at age 68 on March 24, 2026 in California. Caldwell studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. His career included positions at Warner Bros. Animation, Walt Disney Television Studios, Filmation, Ruby-Spears, and DreamWorks. His credits include “The New Adventures of Zorro”, “The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show”, “He Man and the Masters of the Universe”, “The Smurfs” and “Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers”. According to Caldwell's biography on IMDB, his most recent projects were "The 7D" and "DreamWorks Dragons" (2015) television series.

Read Barry Caldwell's obituary on The Wrap.

View animator Deborah Anderson's interview with Barry Caldwell.

Image source: Onii-Chan on Facebook

[dd20century]

Isamu Noguchi: I am not a designer

Isamu Noguchi with Akari Light Sculptures (circa 1951). Photo credit: SFO Museum. Image source.

Artist Isamu Noguchi's  Playscapes was a bicentennial gift for the City of Atlanta commissioned by the High Museum in collaboration with the City of Atlanta Parks Department. It's the only Noguchi-designed playground built in the United States during his lifetime. To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Playscapes, the High Museum in Atlanta, Georgia will hold an exhibition, "Isamu Noguchi: I am not a designer."

While Isamu Noguchi stated in 1949, “I am not a designer,” he produced work ranging from architecture and furniture to ceramics and stage sets. The show will feature products designed for manufacturers like Herman Miller and Knoll; and a house model Noguchi designed in collaboration with architect Kazumi Adachi. Several large-scale installations will also be included.

"Isamu Noguchi: I am not a designer" opens on April 10, 2026 and runs through August 2, 2026 at the High Museum in Atlanta, Georgia. The exhibit will travel to the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, in September 2026, and to the Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, in February 2027.

For more information, visit the High Museum's website.

[dd20century]

The Sullivan Building

According to a post on the Wright Society Newsletter, the Sullivan Building in Newark, Ohio, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's mentor Louis Sullivan, has undergone a $14 million, decade-long restoration to transform it into a unique tourism center. A rededication ceremony was held for the building in October 2025.

Louis Sullivan, The Home Building Association Company Building (1914), Newark, Ohio. Photo Credit: W. Lemay. Image source.

The Sullivan Building was built in 1914 and opened its doors on August 25, 1915, as The Home Building Association Company. According to the Licking County Foundation website, in addition to the bank, the building was also home to "a butcher shop, jewelry store and ice cream parlor ...before it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973." The building, which serves as a visitor welcome center for Licking County, also hosts pop-up galleries featuring artists and music on the first Saturday of each month.

For details, read a story on the Newark Advocate website and visit the Licking County Foundation website.

Read about the building's restoration on the Architect's Newspaper.

[dd20century]

What is Tufa-casting and How is It Done?

If you enjoyed our recent post on Hopi artist and jeweler Charles Loloma, you recall that Loloma used the Tufa-casting technique on many of his early works. In this fascinating video from the Museum of Northern Arizona, Hopi artist and craftsman Jonah Hill of the Rabbit Clan demonstrates how Tufa-casting is done.

[dd20century]

Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy's Price Tower Related Litigation Resolved

According to a recent post on the Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy's website, "All Conservancy litigation related to Price Tower has been resolved as of March 11, 2026." If you've been following our coverage of the legal battles over Frank Lloyd Wright's Price Tower skyscraper in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, this is happy news indeed! The conservancy is dedicated to supporting "the building's new owners, McFarlin Building LLC, as they work towards a bright future for this architectural treasure."

In the fall of 2024, the fate of the Price Tower was very uncertain. The former owner of the building sold off many interior items that Wright designed specifically for the Price Tower, resulting in the suit brought against them by the Conservancy. An auction to sell the structure was scheduled for October 2024 but was then postponed to 2025. McFarlin Building LLC expressed its intention to buy the skyscraper in January 2025. At that time, there were, however, disputes between the former and current owners over who was responsible for the debts that the former owner incurred.

For a detailed timeline on the events leading up to the resolution, visit the Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy's website.

Frank Lloyd Wright, Price Tower (1956), Bartlesville, OK. Photo credit: John H. Waters, AIA. Image source.

[dd20century]

Charles Loloma: Breaking Barriers with Beauty

“What I’d like to be known for is beauty.” – Charles Loloma

Artist and designer Charles Loloma was born on January 7, 1921, “near Hotevilla, Hopi Third Mesa [in Arizona], to Rex Loloma and Rachel Kuyiyesva Loloma, to the Badger clan” (1). He was not only the most influential of native American jewelers, but one of the most influential jewelers of the Twentieth Century. Best known for his use of unconventional and exotic materials in his work, Loloma, however, did not start his career in jewelry; as early as high schoolhe showed exceptional talent as a painter and muralist. (1)

Portrait of Hopi Jeweler Charles Loloma. Image source.

Loloma’s Early Life

Growing up on the Hopi Reservation, Loloma was exposed to its rich culture which greatly influenced him throughout his career. (2) In high school, Loloma spoke very little English and was befriended by a young teacher Lloyd Kiva New whose mother was Cherokee. The two would be life-long friends. “He introduced Loloma to classical music and Frank Lloyd Wright” (3). Later in life Loloma would make a connection with Mrs. Olgivanna Wright.

A big break for Loloma happened in 1939, at the age of eighteen he was one of three Native American Artists “to be invited to paint installations for the [Golden Gate International Exposition in] the Indian Court of the Federal Building on Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay” (2). The trip was a great adventure for the young man and he remained in San Francisco for three months. In 1941, Loloma worked on another important Native America art exhibition, this time it was for the Museum of Modern Art in New York. (2) There along with other Native American artists he studied advanced mural painting techniques under Olle Nordmark. (3) in 1942, Loloma married Otellie Pasivaya, a potter from a nearby Hopi village. (4)

Charles Loloma, Glazed Ceramic Bowl, (c. 1950). Image source.

Loloma Turns to Pottery

At the age of twenty-one Loloma was now an experienced muralist having participated in two prestigious shows, but World War II would have a profound influence on the trajectory of his career. “He served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1945 with the 331st Army Engineers, … stationed in the Aleutian Islands.” After the war Loloma and Otellie settled in Shipaulovi on the Second Mesa. At that time he did illustrations and murals for the Verde Valley School” (4).

In 1946, the “GI Bill and a scholarship enabled Loloma and his wife to continue their education… [at] the School for American Craftsmen (SAC) [now Alfred University] in western New York State, where they studied ceramics from 1947-1949. Embarrassed that they had never used a potter’s wheel, they went in early before school to practice their skills. Embarrassed that they had never used a potter’s wheel, they went in early before school to practice their skills” (3). The Lolomas were exposed to modernist design ideals. Charles began thinking “thinking about the possibilities of form and material in art” (2) and the possibilities of combining these modernist concepts with his traditional Hopi heritage. (2)

During this time the couple often traveled to New York City to experience the art scene. There they “met Philip Morton, an instructor in metal design and proponent of the wearable art movement”. (3) Morton’s work was featured in a “1946 exhibition of Modern Handmade Jewelry” (3) at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Loloma’s subsequent work would be influenced by Morton’s use of silver and ebony. (3)

A photograph from 1949 shows Loloma making jewelry as early as that time; but “he and his wife remained focused on their pottery into the early 1950s” (3). The pair received attention from the art world on their use of  “new techniques, materials and designs which they incorporated into traditional Hopi pottery” (3), but they were harshly criticized by the Hopi for their departure from traditional methods. (3)

Exterior of Kiva Craft Center, (c. 1950). Image source and © Scottsdale Historical Society.

“In 1954 [Loloma and Otellie] opened a pottery shop in Scottsdale, becoming the first tenants of the successful Kiva Craft Center, founded by [Charles’s old friend] Lloyd Kiva New” (4). The Lolomas developed and sold a successful pottery line that  they marketed as “Lolomaware.” During the six years that the shop was in operation, Loloma also taught “at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe” (2) and “at the University of Arizona, Tucson and at Arizona State University at Tempe (4).

Loloma Turns to Silversmithing and Encounters Mrs. Olgivanna Wright

During his time in Scottsdale, Loloma became interested in silversmithing. He “followed the traditional Navajo method of tufa-casting, … [a] method of silversmithing produced a textured surface on the metal. Loloma would then work in Hopi overlap designs” (3).

Around 1956 Loloma met the wife of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Mrs. Olgivanna Wright was an important early client. Bracelets designed for Mrs. Wright “set with turquoise and coral, give a glimpse of the iconic cuff bracelets for which Loloma would become famous” (3).  A fortuitous accident resulted in one of Loloma’s signature pieces. “When a bracelet…cast for Mrs. Wright accidentally formed a hole in the metal, she insisted he just insert a stone rather than recast the piece. This resulted in a colorful hidden inlay of various hardstones like turquoise, lapiz and coral set beneath a silver tufa-cast ‘accident’ (3).”  Another of Loloma’s techniques was that “of including ‘inner gems’ on the interior surfaces of his pieces expressed his belief that ‘people have inner gems’” (1).

Charles Loloma, Silver Tufa Cast Cuff Bracelet with Turquoise and Gold (c. 1955). Image source.

Like his pottery, Loloma’s stunning jewelry creations also “encountered resistance and hostility” from the Hopi Community. His work was “denied entry by the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial” (3). In 1959, however, his work was included in the Rockefeller Foundation-funded “Directions in Indian Art: A Conference on Arizona’s Position on Southwest Indian Art Education”  at the University of Arizona (3).

Loloma’s Jewelry Becomes Haute Couture

In 1963 Loloma finally got his wish to visit Paris. His benefactors paid for travel and included letters of introduction to the leading fashion houses. Soon Loloma bracelets and earrings could be seen on Paris runways. He had arrived as an international jewelry designer. (3)

Charles Loloma, Bracelet with silver alloy, stone, and ivory, (1960). Collection of the Smithsonian Museum of Art. Image source.

The following year Loloma “built a home and studio close to his childhood home in Hotevilla” (3). He stopped teaching to concentrate on his jewelry, but his wife did not make the move from Sante Fe with him; the couple divorced shortly thereafter. (3).

In 1968, Loloma met Eveli Sabatie, a Sorbonne educated young woman of French-Spanish descent who came to Arizona work with him. Ms. Sabatie’s limited resources resulted in her use of “bleached bones and ivory to highlight the silver in her designs” (3). Loloma in turn was influenced by the used of dark and light in Sabatie’s work. “It was at this point he became fascinated with stacking stones, a now iconic Loloma design” (3). Loloma and Sabatie collaborated until 1972 when she struck out on her own. (3)

Loloma’s Work Reaches its Peak in the 1970s

During the 1970s Native American silver and turquoise jewelry was all the rage, and Loloma was its most famous designer. “In June 1973, he was the keynote speaker for the American Craftsmen Council convention in Fort Collins, Colorado. Later that year, his work was exhibited in Houston, Texas and the following January through March, at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts in New York [now the Museum of Art and Design]” (4). In 1978, the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, held an exhibition of his work. Loloma “ he held shows across 9 states and in Germany in 1979” (3).

Charles Loloma, Gold and Multi-stone Inlay Cuff, (c. 1975). Image source.

Loloma Remains Faithful to His Hopi Heritage

Athough Loloma had achieved much success and celebrity for his work, he “continued to have a deep reverence for Hopi beliefs and the ceremonies, which express them. In the midst of his successful 1971 Paris show, he flew home so that he might take part in the Bean Dance” (4). He lived by “the Hopi calendar, its cycles of birth, death, and regeneration. There is a seeming disparity between this way of life and the sophisticated world in which he moved” (4). He constantly struggled to remain rooted in the Hopi traditions while continuing to evolve as an artist. (3)

Charles Loloma, Bracelet with badger paw in Gold, coral, turquoise, lapis lazuli, (1985). Image source.

At a show in Denver in 1979, Loloma met Georgia Voisard, a teacher who was studying Native America. The couple fell in love, Georgia moved to Hotevilla and became Lolma’s his partner and manager “and they later married. Georgia encouraged Loloma to invest in finer quality materials” (3). Loloma’s work from the 1980s is his most colorful, bold, and dramatic of his career.

Tragedy Strikes Charles Loloma

In 1986 Charles Loloma was injured in a serious automobile accident which left him unable to work. “He still attended his exhibitions, but his mind would wander. In 1988, the Loloma Studio was closed. In 1991, the Wheelwright Museum presented ‘Jewelry of the Southwest: Pueblo Tradition and Innovation’, which highlighted the work of Loloma and another artist” (3). Unfortunately, he did not live to see this show, it opened a few weeks after his death on June 9, 1991 in Phoenix, Arizona. (5)

Charles Loloma's personal silver belt buckle, (c. 1970). Image source.

Charles Loloma’s Influence Lives On

Through his teaching at the Institute of American Indian Arts and at the University of Arizona and “through his...experimental use of diverse stones, unusual materials, and modernist forms” (3), Charles Loloma influenced a new generation of Native American designers. (3) Verma Nequatewa, Loloma’s niece and apprentice is an highly esteemed jeweler whose own work, like her uncle’s , “is inspired by her culture and the rich environment and landscapes she sees from her studio at Third Mesa on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona”(6).

Perhaps Charles Loloma’s most important contribution was elevating the world’s perception of Native American silversmithing from craftwork to fine art. His influence however, “extended beyond jewelry. He demonstrated that Native American artists could work within …global art movements while maintaining a distinct cultural identity” (2).

References

Wikipedia, (2 February, 2026). Charles Loloma. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Loloma

The Rogue Art Historian (18 November, 2024). Charles Loloma. https://roguearthistorian.substack.com/p/charles-loloma

William Doyle Galleries, (2026). Charles Loloma: Native American Visions.  https://www.doyle.com/story/charles-loloma-native-american-visions/

AmericanMastersofStone.com, (24 July 2008). Charles Loloma. https://web.archive.org/web/20080724101608/http://www.americanmastersofstone.com/Biographies/Charles%20Loloma.htm

Smithsonian American Art Museum, (2026). Charles Loloma. https://americanart.si.edu/artist/charles-loloma-33638

The Eddie Basha Collection, (2024). Verma Nequatewa. https://eddiebashacollection.com/collection/verma-nequatewa

[dd20century]

Norman Foster Designs Time Capsule for United States' 250th Birthday Celebration

Norman Foster, Time Capsule for 250th Anniversary of the United States' Independence (2025). Image source.

Dezeen.com reported,

"British architect Norman Foster has created a time capsule set to be buried under the Washington Monument to celebrate the USA's 250th anniversary of independence...[It] will be buried under the plaza at Washington Monument and is destined to be reopened on 4th July 2276."

The time capsule is a sister to the one that Foster designed for the restoration of the George Washington statue and plinth in Trafalgar Square.

Read the post on Dezeen.com.

[dd20century]

Trailblazing Hollywood Architect Paul R. Williams

Design and Desire in the Twentieth Century would like to recognize the work of architect Paul R. Williams in celebration of Black History Month. Williams was the first successful African-American architect in Los Angeles and the first African-American member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He faced the same prejudice that other talented, ambitious members of his race faced in the United States during the Twentieth Century.

Williams was unable to live in the neighborhoods where he built homes for his celebrity clients. He also learned to draw upside down so that he could sit across the table from his white clients instead of next to them. Despite the many disadvantages Williams faced, he became not only an influential and inspirational architect but also a leading member of the black community in Los Angeles.

Read our 2021 post on architect Paul R. Williams.

Watch this Lost LA video on Paul R. Williams and his work.

Charles Alston, Paul R. Williams Illustration (1943). National Archives. Image source.

[dd20century]

Forgotten Harry Bertoia Sculpture Back on Display

Sarah Kuta of the Smithsonian Magazine recently posted a story online about a 1970 Harry Bertoia sculpture. The sculpture had been commissioned for the food court of a shopping mall in Southfield, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.

When the mall was renovated in 1980, the sculpture was moved to a second mall but was never displayed there. The piece had been languishing in storage since that time. In 2015, the second mall closed and was purchased by the city of Southfield. Until recently, no one realized Bertoia's masterpiece was in the mall's basement.

According to the article in the Smithsonian Magazine, "The dramatic 26-foot-tall piece, created in 1970, now hangs in the seven-story atrium of General Motors’ new global headquarters, in Detroit..."

Read more on the Smithsonian Magazine website.

Read about the sculpture on the General Motors website.

Read more about sculptor Harry Bertoia.

[dd20century]

John Michael Welton of Architecture + Artisans Dies

Design and Desire in the Twentieth Century has sad news to share about the death of John Michael Welton, a design and architecture writer who founded the Architecture + Artisans blog in 2010. Mr. Weton died on November 18, 2025.

According to an obituary on the Architecture + Artisans blog, "Mr. Welton was a writer whose work on architecture, art, and design appeared in regional, national, and international publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Interior Design, Architectural Record, Architectural Digest, Metropolis, Dwell..." and other publications. Additionally, Welton served as the architecture critic for The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina, from 2015 to 2020.

Mr. Welton was 74 at the time of his death and is survived by his wife, Ann Mabey Welton, their children, and a grandchild.

Read more about John Michael Welton and his career on the Architecture + Artisans blog.

[dd20century]

The Last Emperor of Fashion, Valentino Garavani Dies

The Guardian's website reported on January 19, 2016, that fashion designer Valentino Garavani died at the age of 93. Known as Valentino, the designer is remembered for "his opulent and elegant take on fashion".

Valentino's career spanned over four decades. While Coco Chanel was best known for her little black dress, Valentino's signature piece was the red dress in a vivid shade of "Valentino Red". His client list included Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Princess Diana, Julia Roberts, Laura Linney, and Penélope Cruz.

In her tribute to Valentino, Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, was quoted as saying, "Today Italy loses a legend, but his legacy will continue to inspire generations."

For more on Valentino Garavani's life and work, read his obituary on TheGuardian.com.

Valentino Garavani poses with models wearing his gowns in "Valentino Red" (c. 1990). Photographer unknown. Image source.

[dd20century]

Madeleine Vionnet: When Fashion was Flowing

“When a woman smiles, her dress must smile with her.” - Madame Madeleine Vionnet

Madame Madeleine Vionnet was one of the most influential designers of women’s wear in the Twentieth Century. Among the innovations she introduced were the handkerchief dress, the cowl neck, and the halter top. Pioneered and perfected the bias cut, allowing fabrics to cling to and move with the body resulting in garments that both embraced and moved with the wearer's body. (1) If Ms. Vionnet’s work has influenced generations of fashion designer and continues to do so today, why do we not know more about her?

Madeleine Vionnet draping the pattern for her design on an articulated artist model, circa 1923. Image source.

Mme. Vionnet’s Early Career

Madeleine Vionnet was born on June 22, 1876 in Chilleurs-aux-Bois, Loiret in north central France to a desperately poor family. When her parents separated in 1881, Madeleine was sent to live with her father in Aubervilliers, Seine-Saint-Denis. At the age of twelve, her career began as she embarked on an apprenticeship as a seamstress. (1)

Madeleine’s life took a tragic turn at age 18 she found herself “dealing with a broken marriage and the loss of a child” (2), so she departed France for London to start over. She found work as a seamstress in a hospital, and was later employed as a fashion fitter for couturier Kate Reily in 1897. 2 Upon returning to Paris Mme. Vionnet served as a toile maker for the house of the Callot Sisters. “After a disagreement with a manager of the house, Vionnet threatened to leave her post” (1), but the oldest Callot sister, Marie Callot Gerber, not only persuaded Mme. Vionnet to stay, but promoted her! It was under the Callot sisters that Vionnet began “improvising draped designs on a live model” (1). She eventually left because “Her desire for simplicity” conflicted with the lace and frills the Callots were known for” (1).

Madeleine Vionnet, Beaded Evening Dress (c. 1920s). Image source.

Vionnet Incorporates the Bias Cut

In 1907 Mme. Vionnet went to work for the designer Jacques Doucet. During this time she took inspiration from the graceful movements of Isadora Duncan and “from ancient Greek art, where garments seemed to gracefully float around the body” (3).  It was during this period that Mme. Vionnet began experimenting with cutting fabric on the bias (at a 45 degree angle) which allowed fabric to flow around a woman’s body to create the classical look that she was enamored of. Mme. Vionnet was not only interested in beauty, but in allowing for the “potential for expression and motion, integrating comfort and movement as well as form into her designs” (1). Unfortunately, this style conflicted with that of Doucet’s house, so Vionnet decided to finally strike out on her own. In 1912 she opened her own shop but had to close it after the start of World War I. (1)

Mme. Vionnet was able to reopen her business in the early 1920’s, and the timing couldn’t have been better. In the post-war world where women began to embark on a more liberated lifestyles, Vionnet’s elegant simplicity and comfortable designs quickly became the vogue. Her “new premises at [50] Avenue Montaigne, … became known as the ‘Temple of Fashion’” (1).  In 1925 she opened a boutique in New York City. “Characteristic Vionnet styles that clung to and moved with the wearer included the handkerchief dress, cowl neck, and halter top” (1). She employed exotic luxurious fabrics like “crêpe de chine, gabardine, and satin to make her clothes; fabrics that were unusual in women's fashion of the 1920s and 30s” (1).

Madeleine Vionnet, Evening gown, silk chiffon, (c.1932), Collection of Rhode Island School of Design. Image source.

Vionnet’s Business Reforms

Mme. Vionnet’s innovations where not isolated to dressmaking. In 1921 she established the Association for the Defense of Fine and Applied Arts in 1921 to protect her designs against copyists. Her “advocacy laid the groundwork for protecting the originality and innovation within the realm of fashion” (3).

According to Mme. Vionnet’s goddaughter novelist Madeleine Chapsal, at the height of the house’s popularity over 1000 couturières and seamstresses were employed there. (4) Their welfare was important to Mme. Vionnet. “She instituted what, at the time, were considered revolutionary labor practices: paid holidays and maternity leave, day-care, a dining hall, and a resident doctor and dentist for her workers” (1). Mme. Vionnet even opened her vacation home in the south of France to her employees. (2)

Madeleine Vionnet, Carnival evening dress, (1936). Image source.

Shunning the Spotlight

Madeleine Vionnet was “an intensely private individual, [who] avoided public displays” (1). She did not believe in self-promotion or “chasing publicity” (2). Instead, she let elegance of her design speak for itself, “preferring to remain true to her own vision of female beauty” (1). Perhaps this is one reason why she is not as recognized today as her iconic contemporary Coco Chanel. Mme. Vionnet also “found disdain in the cyclic nature of fashion, constantly discarding and recreating” (3).

Vionnet’s Famous Clientele

Vionnet fashions remained very popular during the 1930s, as modern women continued to move away from the constraints of the past century. She developed a following with several Hollywood movie actresses such as “Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, and Greta Garbo” (1). One can see Vionnet’s influence on-screen as well in the flowing gowns worn by these same actresses in many of their films of that period.

Madeleine Vionnet, Evening Dress in indigo silk satin, (1933), Collection of Foundataion Azzedine Alaïa. Image source.

Sadly as World War I interrupted Vionnet’s career, the Second World War put an end to it. In 1939, she closed her shop and retired from the fashion business. In 1971 the V&A Museum in London held a retrospective of her work, and three years later, the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York held a show of her work as well. She died in her Paris home on March 2, 1975 at the age of 98. (6)

Vionnet’s Influence Continues

With her cut on the bias technique, dedication to elegant draping, and iconic designs, "Madeleine Vionnet is considered one of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century” (1). She influenced Elsa Schiaparelli who emerged in the late twenties with her own take on beautiful dresses of draped fabric. Designers who have named Vionnet as an important influence include Halston, John Galliano, Azzedine Alaïa, Issey Miyake, and Yohji Yamamoto” (1).

Diana Vreeland, former editor in chief of Vogue and former fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar had this to say of Mme. Vionnet, “She was the quintessence of elegance—there is no one to compare her with” (6).

Azzedine Alaïa, Evening Dress, Winter 2010. Image source.

References

Wikipedia.com, (24 August, 2025). Madeleine Vionnet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_Vionnet

Lesso, R., (29 October, 2024).  The Architect of Couture: Madeleine Vionnet. https://web.archive.org/web/20250905005006/https://blog.fabrics-store.com/2024/10/29/the-architect-of-couture-madeleine-vionnet/

Arts to Hearts Project, (2025). Madame Vionnet: The French designer who revolutionized clothing with her master skills.  https://artstoheartsproject.com/madame-vionnet-the-french-designer-who-revolutionized-clothing-with-her-master-skills/

Avenuemontaigneguide.com, (9 November, 2011). Madeleine Vionnet, a Giant in French Fashion. https://web.archive.org/web/20140106194634/http://www.avenuemontaigneguide.com/eng/eng/nosguides/madeleine-vionnet-a-giant-in-french-fashion

Eilber, J., (12 December 2013). Channel/Vionnet Smackdown! From Jet Set Sewing blog: https://jetsetsewing.com/2013/12/12/chanelvionnet-smackdown/

New York Times Online Archive, (Original publication date: 5 March, 1975). Vionnet, Couturier, Dies at 98; Innovator Created the Bias Cut. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/05/archives/vionnet-couturier-dies-at-98-innovator-created-the-bias-cut.html

[dd20century]

The Aluminaire House

Albert Frey and Lawrence Kocher's 1931 Aluminaire House was a sensation when it was built, but in later years fell into disrepair. This report from CBS Sunday Morning that highlights the house's remarkable preservation efforts.

The Aluminaire House is currently in the collection of the Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Springs, CA. Museum visitors can view the exterior of the house. For details, visit the museum's website.

For more on the history of the Aluminaire House, visit worldarchitects.com.

Albert Frey and Lawrence Koche, Aluminaire House (1931), Palm Springs, CA. Image source.

[dd20century]

New Plans for Frank Lloyd Wright's Price Tower

The new year is bringing much-needed new hope for the preservation of Frank Lloyd Wright's Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Last year at this time, the fate of Wright's only realized skyscraper was mired in legal controversy. According to a report published in archdaily.com, the building's new owners, the preservation-minded Snyder Family, along with Tulsa-based McFarlin Building, recently released plans to the public for a $10 million restoration effort. The project's goal is to stabilize the building and eventually reopen it.

Last summer the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy acquired eleven items from the Price Tower that Wright had designed specifically for that site, including several embossed copper panels. According to the Conservancy's website, "the Conservancy is committed to working with the new owners to return the pieces to public display in Bartlesville when the time is right."

Read the article on the Price Tower on archdaily.com.

Read the latest on the Price Tower on the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy website.

Watch a video on the Price Tower plans on newson6.com.

Frank Lloyd Wright, Price Tower (1956), Bartlesville, OK. Image source.

[dd20century]

Antony Price Designer Known for 1980's Glam Style Dies.

Antony Price, British fashion designer, died on December 16, 2025, at the age of 80. Price is best known for incorporating music and theatrics into his fashions. He was responsible for defining the "glam style" look for rock bands such as Roxy Music and Duran Duran. His career took off when he opened his London shop "World's End" in the 1970s. He was credited with designing the T-shirt shown on the back cover of Lou Reed’s 1972 classic "Transformer" album, and later Price worked with David Bowie. In 1989, Price was awarded the Evening Glamour Award by the British Fashion Council.

Read Antony Price's obituary on The Guardian website.

Antony Price, Bird's Wing Dress in silk taffeta (1986). Photo credit: V&A. Image source.