|
|
|
|
|
Opening tomorrow and already making headlines!
Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent Film
On view September 18, 2026–January 3, 2027
“The costume designers for these movies made clothes that spoke loudly when leading ladies could not.”
—Rachel Syme, The New Yorker
When films were silent, fashion was anything but. Through costumes, film clips, posters, photographs, and ephemera, Goddesses in the Machine brings the dazzling sartorial world of early Hollywood vividly to life.
The exhibition traces the transformation of screen fashion from actors’ personal wardrobes to the imaginative work of professional costume designers. It reveals how clothing communicated character, identity, desire, and drama before dialogue, and helped create the enduring language of movie glamour.
Goddesses in the Machine is curated by Michelle Finamore, independent fashion and design historian, and Emma Cormack, associate curator for exhibitions and Study Collection curator at Bard Graduate Center.
Support for Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent Film is generously provided by the Coby Foundation and the Wyeth Foundation for American Art, with additional support from Camilla Dietz Bergeron, Ltd., and other donors to Bard Graduate Center.
Get your tickets now! →
Save $3 on all tickets purchased online by using promo code BGCFA26
Bard Graduate Center Gallery, 18 West 86th Street, New York, NY 10024
New Gallery Hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 11 am–5 pm
Wednesday: 11 am–6 pm
Thursday: 11 am–5 pm
Friday: 11 am–8 pm, *Free admission all day, every Friday
Saturday–Sunday: 11 am–5 pm
|
|
|
Related Events
Fashion Shows on Film: An Evening of Silent Serials
An annotated screening of three films, live scored by Makia Matsumura, with Goddesses in the Machine cocurator Michelle Finamore.
September 23, 6 pm
Dressing the Goddesses: Wardrobe Departments in the Silent Era
A lecture by Goddesses in the Machine cocurator Emma Cormack (BGC).
October 28, 6 pm
MATERIAL WORLD
An evening of objects, ideas, cocktails, and dancing at Bard Graduate Center—where THINGS matter.
Come curious. Stay late.
November 5, 7:00 – 11:00 pm
Join us after dark for Material World, a new BGC celebration bringing together artists, designers, collectors, scholars, and the culturally curious. Creatively directed by internationally acclaimed artist Richard Tuttle, the evening will transform Bard Graduate Center into an immersive world inspired by Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent Film.
Drinks, light bites, dancing, a fantastical photo booth, playful encounters with objects, unexpected connections, and special after-hours access to the BGC Gallery. Music by DJ Holly T.
Thursday Tours
Explore the Goddesses in the Machine exhibition with a BGC Gallery Educator.
Thursdays, October 8–December 10, 12:30–1:15 pm
|
Buy the Catalogue
Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent Film
An engaging exploration of fashion in silent film that uncovers the innovation, artistry, and entrepreneurship behind Hollywood costume design, edited by Michelle Finamore and Emma Cormack.
|
|
COPY AND PASTE CODE BELOW TO MAILCHIMP
|
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Instagram