Saturday, August 6, 2016 

10 a.m. Check-in      10:30 a.m. Program

Reigning Men:
Fashion in Menswear, 1715–2015
with 

Sharon Takeda & Kaye Spilker
Exhibition curators
 Department of Costume & Textiles, Lacma

The exhibition Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715–2015 explores the history of men’s fashionable dress from the eighteenth century to the present, and re-examines the all-too-frequent equation of “fashion” with “femininity”. Beginning with the 18th century, the male aristocrat wore a three-piece suit conspicuous in make and style, and equally as lavish as the opulent dress of his female counterpart. The 19th-century “dandy” made famous a more refined brand of expensive elegance, which became the hallmark of Savile Row. The mid-twentieth-century “mod” relished in the colorful and modern styles of Carnaby Street, and the 21st century man—in an ultra-chic “skinny suit” by day and a flowered tuxedo by night—redefines today’s concept of masculinity.  Drawing primarily from LACMA’s renowned collection, Reigning Men makes illuminating connections between history and high fashion.  Curators Sharon Takeda and Kaye Spilker will give TMA/SC members and guests an exclusive lecture program on how the exhibition traces cultural influences over the centuries, examines how elements of the uniform have profoundly shaped fashionable dress, and reveals how cinching and padding the body was, and is, not exclusive to women. The exhibition features 200 looks, and celebrates a rich history of restraint and resplendence in menswear.

Sharon Sadako Takeda is Senior Curator and Head of the Department of Costume and Textiles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Her most recent exhibitions at LACMA include Kimono for a Modern Age, RODARTE: Fra Angelico Collection, African Inspiration: Kuba Textiles and European Modernism, Miracles and Mischief: Noh and Kyōgen Theater in Japan, and Japonism in Fashion: The Influence of Japan on Western Dress.  Along with her exhibition catalogues, Sharon’s publications include Japanese Fishermen's Coats from Awaji Island for UCLA’s Fowler Museum, and articles in American Craft, Hali, The Dictionary of Art, Edo: The Art of Japan 1615-1868, and The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japan.  She currently serves on the directing council of the Centre International d'Etude des Textiles Anciens (CIETA).

Holding a B.F.A. from Syracuse University and an M.A. in art history from University of California, Los Angeles, Kaye D. Spilker, curator of costume and textiles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, pursued an earlier career in Belgium as an artist before joining the museum in 1987.  She has curated exhibitions on Los Angeles designer Gilbert Adrian, on LACMA’s holdings of Ballets Russes and Erté theater costume, and on ancient Andean textiles, Art Deco textiles, and children’s quilts.  Ms. Spilker co-curated Breaking the Mode: LACMA’s Contemporary Fashion Collection as well as the acclaimed Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915.  At present, she is co-curating “Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715-2015,”a major exhibition opening in 2016 of fashionable men’s dress in Europe and the United States.

*Brown Auditorium, lower level  
LACMA   5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036

*Enter the Brown Auditorium via the INDOOR corridor of the Bing Building; take the stairway or elevator down from the Cafeteria foyer (The garden entrance will be closed!)
Pay parking is available in the lot at the corner of Wilshire & Spaulding, or in other museum lots

Admission to tma/sc lecture:    TMA/SC members  Gratis . . . . .  Guests  $10

*** IMPORTANT DETAILS on LACMA MUSEUM ADMISSION: 

LACMA MEMBERS:   Please obtain your own Museum Admission Ticket if you wish to visit the galleries.  If you have NOT already used your single free admission to “Reigning Men,” you can also get a free entry to the exhibition.  If you have already seen the exhibition, and want to see it again, you must purchase a SEPARATE special exhibition ticket at one of the LACMA ticket booths.  

IF YOU ARE NOT A LACMA MEMBER, and would like to see the “Reigning Men” exhibition on the day of the program, we would be able to get a Group Rate, which includes Museum General Admission + Specially Ticketed Exhibitions, ordinarily $27, for $20, including Adults, Seniors (65+ with ID), and Students (18+ with valid ID).  If there are at least 10 TMA members and guests (or more,) we can get this special Group Admissions rate, and you can see the exhibition any time on the day of the program.  Otherwise, MUSEUM ADDMISSION FOR NON-LACMA MEMBERS, INCLUDING THE “REIGNING MEN” SHOW, is $27.  Museum admission only, is $15 Adults; $10 Seniors (65+)

   If you would like to be included for a discounted group ticket, please send an email in response to this announcement to info@tmasc.org BY THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, and BRING $20 CASH with you to the program.  We will organize for one of you to buy the tickets for the group after the lecture.  The “Reigning Men” exhibition admission also includes the “Maplethorpe” exhibition.