Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent Film

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Curated by fashion historian Michelle Finamore with Bard Graduate Center's Emma Cormack, this exhibition traces how costume in early Hollywood evolved from actors' personal wardrobes into the work of professional studio designers. Rare surviving garments by Travis Banton, Henri Bendel, and Clare West appear alongside pieces tied to lesser-known figures such as Natacha Rambova and I. Miller, shown together with period film clips, photographs, and design sketches documenting fashion's growing role in cinematic storytelling.