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| Original Lucile designs on display at the Titanic Museums |
Step into a captivating
world filled with grace and glamour as well as hardship and tragedy during the current
presentations at the Titanic Museums in both Branson, Missouri and Pigeon
Forge, Tennessee. “The Amazing Women of 1912 on Titanic” highlights unique stories of 19 groundbreaking women on
board the legendary ship—like British barrister Elsie Bowerman, American
missionary Sylvia Caldwell, best-selling author Helen Candee, and silent-film
star Dorothy Gibson.
However, the elegant
centerpiece of this event showcases a singularly “amazing” woman: Lucy, Lady
Duff Gordon, the celebrated British couturiere who, under
the name of Lucile, “was known for her innovative and provocative designs plus
savvy self-promotion, attracting royalty, socialites and entertainment figures
to her coveted brand—women whose influence set the fashions of the day,”
explains her biographer Randy Bryan Bigham. “She helped usher in sexy lingerie,
looser corsets, and the modern runway show,” he shares in Lucile – Her Life by Design.
Presented through November
2018, the “two-years-in-the-making” exhibits display a rare collection of
original Lucile designs: beautiful evening gowns, wedding dresses (worn by the
rich and famous), lingerie, accessories (including two fabulous hats), and
charming ephemera—most items from Bigham’s own collection. Other garments and accessories
from FIDM Museum in Los Angeles; Canada’s Fashion History Museum in Ontario;
and private collectors Inger Sheil and Lisa Kominek.
To get a sense of the
unprecedented scope of Lucy Duff Gordon’s achievements, Bigham remarked: “Lucile
was one of the first important female haute couture designers, the first major
London-based couturiere, and the first leading designer to open full scale
branches in America. She also was the first top name in fashion to do
lower-priced lines and to launch perfumes and cosmetics.”
By the time Lucy boarded
the RMS Titanic in April of 1912 with
her husband and secretary, she was acclaimed and wealthy—“a celebrity in her
own right,” Bigham explained, with Lucile salons in London, Paris, New York and
Chicago. She was traveling to New York incognito, away from the usual media
spotlight that followed her, to be able to rest and relax on the grand luxury
liner. Fate, however, would intervene! ~
Photo credit for all exhibit images above:
Titanic Museum Attractions
Article printed in the Summer/Fall 2018 issue of Season Magazine
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