I was not alive during San Francisco’s glamour era. In the 1950s, women regularly donned pillbox hats, pearls, furs, and gloves while walking alongside partners in 3-piece suits and fedoras — just to pick up milk, or so I imagined. And that was just one of many decades where some streets of San Francisco doubled as catwalks.
The de Young’s latest exhibit — Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style — invites us to glimpse even more rarified creations that ladies wore and continue to show off at fancy affairs during our city’s many high society soirées. A description on the museum’s second floor reminds us when department stores like I. Magnin & Company and City of Paris served as go-to suppliers of couture gowns for San Francisco’s latest galas.
These pieces are quite clearly works of art deserving of this showcase, and I hope to return during its run through August 11. But I suppose any good exhibit also provides a lot to ponder, and I left the de Young deeply considering San Francisco’s local fashion scene. First let’s look at some pretty dresses:
This glittery gown by Christian Dior stood out first because I saw it last year at the SF Ballet. “It’s been reproduced for about a decade,” Tanya Powell told me at this year’s opening gala; and indeed I quickly discovered that Miley Cyrus and Natalie Portman also wore versions of it in 2009 and 2023, respectively. The garment looks jeweled perhaps in part by Swarovski crystals, but on close inspection I could only see hand-stitched sequins in midnight blue, silver, and pearl.
My boyfriend felt inspired by this high neckline coat from Chinese American designer Kaisik Wong, and while I also enjoyed it, the outfit honestly made me think of that spitting dinosaur from Jurassic Park. Lo and behold though: It was the first of three pieces that attendees could digitally wear in an augmented reality setup—
Wong grew up locally in San Francisco’s Chinatown and launched a label that focused on wearable art pieces as a teenager; he was HIV positive and sadly died of leukemia at a young age. The de Young showed his collection in the mid-1990s in an exhibit tiled True Couture: The Wearable Art of Kaisik Wong.
Absent this discovery, I wondered why more local designers were not prominent in this exhibit. (I did learn belatedly that local designer Richard Tam also appeared.) As I perused incredible looks by Karl Lagerfeld, Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier, Rei Kawakubo and Yves Saint Laurent, I thought: Why not Jessica McClintock, Colleen Quen or Karen Caldwell?
This isn’t a criticism of the Fashioning San Francisco because we are simply viewing what San Francisco’s wealthiest women wore to galas; and as I understand it, many of these looks were donated from a single large private collection. So the onus — to me — is on high society and equally the rest of us to show support to local creators.
Visit de Young’s exhibit because as I said, it is a rarified up-close look at these stunning pieces. But implicit in its title, Fashioning San Francisco got me thinking:
What is San Francisco fashion?
To me there’s the finery we see at San Francisco society events versus our casual daywear, nightlife looks, and all the party attire that a typical San Franciscan will don during their residence here.
My generation missed the glamour era not just thanks to Levi Strauss and GAP, but the tech industry that matured around the retail empires they created. Nowadays, a t-shirt and jeans in San Francisco can be as much a statement of wealth as a $15,000 gown.
So, too do we take costume culture seriously thanks to events like Bay to Breakers, How Weird, and Burning Man. And lest I forget that San Francisco is ridiculously queer, bringing along with it a groundswell of local fashion and designers worthy of our attention, praise, and celebration.
Among the many San Francisco and Bay Area-based designers I admire, I encourage you to check out the following. And I hope a local museum showcases these talents in the near future.
- Jordan Joel AKA Jubilee, whose designs are available online and at Queer Arts Featured.
- Paul Gallo, illustrator, draper, and fashion designer who teaches at City College. His designs are available online, too, and by commission.
- Yuka Uehara creates high-end looks inspired by nature, mythology, and the wearer’s personal history under her label, Tokyo Gamine.
- Autumn Adamme founded Dark Garden Corsetry and makes exquisite, intricate bodices, dresses, and other finery.
- Colleen Quen is another well-known, high-end designer. In addition to her creations, she teaches haute couture locally.
- Kate Tova, a fine artist who recently transitioned somewhat into design. Some of her apparel is for sale online. Ask her privately about a couture piece though because some of those dresses are really very stunning.
- Karen Caldwell right now feels like the most active designer name right now on the society circuit.
- Christopher James Dunn has a very quiet online presence but I’ve often seen him selling at the Castro Art Mart.
- Ryan Hill owns Knobs on Castro, which focuses on queer nightlife and festival attire. He sources a lot of overseas manufacture, but also works with local seamstresses for a “Made in San Francisco” collection.
Three local drag designers instantly come to mind, too. They are all probably too busy to take on commissions, but here are their names:
- Amie Sarazan is currently designing for Trixie Mattel.
- Dallas Coulter is another notable designer with many pieces on RuPaul’s Drag Race and alumnus queens.
- Jon Livingstone AKA Lindsay Slowhands makes every piece that they wear onstage.
Saul Sugarman is editor in chief of The Bold Italic.
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