Thanks to a fashionable collaboration between Philadelphia University and the East Falls Historical Society, we have yet another reason this spring to celebrate our city’s most beloved princess.
Each floor of the university’s Paul J. Gutman Library houses a slice of the sweet exhibit “The Swan: Grace Kelly and a Century of Bridal Thirteen ensembles are featured in “The Swan,” but a replica of the dreamy, lace gown Kelly wore the day she married Prince Rainier of Monaco – April 19, 1956 – is meant to be the sartorial draw.
That’s because the original gown, by MGM costume designer Helen Rose as a gift to Kelly, with its nipped-at-the-waist precision, inspired generations of women determined to live their own modern-day fairy tale.
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One such woman is Elizabeth Barranca – possibly Grace Kelly’s biggest fan ever, despite her Frederick County, Md., address. Barranca spent $25,000 to commission the gown that she donated to the East Falls Historical Society to celebrate what would have been the royal couple’s 60th anniversary.
“It’s a very, very, very close replica,” said Marcella Martin, curator of Philadelphia University’s textile collection. “The lace, the sleeves . . . even the undergarments on this mannequin resembles what Kelly would have worn on a special day.”
(Last year, Barranca donated dozens of Playbills, textiles, and Grace Kelly-theme dolls to the historical society. The pieces are housed in the lobby and alcove of the Falls Center on Henry Avenue.)
Kelly’s replica inspired Martin to create a show, which includes three Philadelphia University student white prom dresses uk and nine from the university’s collection. The exhibition, by the way, takes its name from Kelly’s 1956 movie about a princess who marries a prince.
Three contemporary wedding gowns by the design students – fashioned from plastic bags, hot glue, wire, and thread – greet visitors upon entering the library.
In that grouping, a long-sleeve and midriff-baring two-piece with florals fluttering about the bodice totally trashed my long-held notion that one should never wear a wedding frock fashioned from recycled material.
Fashion historians and those who love to gaze at wedding gowns will really appreciate the additional gowns Martin selected from the university’s impressive 35,000-piece collection.
The oldest among them is a silk-taffeta wedding dress with adorable capped sleeves and some major crinoline action – that looked like it would fit a 12-year-old. Martin chose this 1854 gown, a gift from the Du Pont family, to represent the extravagant yet virginal fashions popular with well-to-do brides after Queen Victoria’s wedding to Prince Albert more than a decade earlier.
The late 19th century – also referred to as the Gilded Age – was a time of loud luxe. The trends in women’s special-occasion gowns, however – big bustles, corseted waists, and luxe fabrics – stayed pretty much the same throughout that time. There is a gown from 1886 that has a padded backside and dramatic sleeves. A gown from 1892 has a similar silhouette but no bustle.
“Weddings were extravagant during this era in the decades before the wars and the Depression,” Martin said.
“The Swan” jumps to the third floor and showcases gowns illustrative of the decades: 1920s dropwaist flapper, 1930s body-skimming satins, and 1940s shoulder pads and full skirts.
“The Kelly replica represents the 1950s,” Martin said, “and that signifies a return to glamour and extravagance after the hard times.”
The exhibition closes with a 1966 two-piece wedding gown courtesy of former State Rep. Lita Indzel-Cohen.
“See the lace and the glitz in the details?” Martin asked. “It was finally OK for Americans to celebrate weddings again.”
Indeed, we haven’t stopped since.
“The Swan: Grace Kelly and a Century of Bridal Fashion”: Through June 24 at Philadelphia University, Paul J. Gutman Library, 3201 School House Lane. From 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the library, H. Kristina Haugland will present a lecture about the exhibit.
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