As the “original fashion publicist,” Eleanor Lambert was a defining character of twentieth century American fashion. Over her seventy-five-year career, Lambert helped establish a number of organizations and initiatives that shaped the American fashion landscape, including the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the International Best Dressed List, the Coty American Fashion Critics’ Award, and Press Week, which evolved into the current New York Fashion Week. Lambert worked to elevate the American fashion designer to celebrity status, and her clientele included such influential designers as Stephen Burrows, Halston, and Claire McCardell. Eleanor Lambert: Empress of Seventh Avenue is the first exhibition to explore her tireless work in establishing New York as an international fashion capital, while simultaneously pioneering the profession of fashion publicist.
The exhibition will be accompanied by three events in March 2020:
- “All About Eleanor,” a documentary screening of the film Eleanor – Godmother of American Fashion and panel discussion with Moses Berkson, the director of the film and Lambert’s grandson and her former personal assistants John Tiffany, author of Eleanor Lambert: Still Here, and James LaForce, CEO and founder of LaForce Communications;
- a “Fashion Media: Discourse on Diversity” panel discussion;
- and The International Best-Dressed List: The Official Story book talk with Amy Fine Collins.
Image: Halston, evening gown, 1972, USA, Gift of Lauren Bacall, 74.107.30
