This sumptuously staged photograph by Cecil Beaton shows models wearing ball gowns Charles James created between 1946 and 1948.
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cecil Beaton/ CondeNast
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CHARLES IN CHARGE: The designer with models wearing dresses from his collection, circa 1950.
Eliot Elisofon/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
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CHARLES JAMES WITH MODEL, 1948: “Even if you know nothing about making clothes, [the exhibit] allows you access to what makes this guy so special,” says Koda. “We want everyone to understand that it is possible to work in the medium [of fashion design] and be an artist.” Here, James poses with a model sporting one of his structured designs, which — true to style — exaggerates the woman’s natural silhouette.
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cecil Beaton/ CondeNast
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James with two of his models wearing more casual daywear styles during a fashion show, 1953.
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AUSTINE HEARST IN CHARLES JAMES CLOVER LEAF GOWN, CA. 1953: Parisians had Dior, but well-bred New Yorkers looked to James for their evening best. Topping his client roster was Austine Hearst, pictured wearing the Clover Leaf gown, which the designer considered his crowning achievement. She was a society columnist and the wife of millionaire publishing scion William Randolph Hearst Jr. “From the beginning he had a very social clientele,” says Koda. “His mother was an heiress from Chicago. His world was very social-registered and refined.”
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bettmann/Corbis
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James with Mrs. Howard Reilly wearing one of his Butterfly-style gowns to the ballet, 1957.
Chicago History Museum/Getty Images
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CHARLES JAMES BUTTERFLY GOWN, 1954: While James’ gowns might seem outmoded in modern society, his techniques are still relevant. His Butterfly dress uses fabric and a complicated tucking system to gracefully conceal structural elements.
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby’s
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NANCY JAMES IN CHARLES JAMES SWAN GOWN, 1955 (RIGHT): Though openly gay, in 1954 James married Nancy Lee Gregory, a woman from a wealthy Kansas family, with whom he had two children. Here, she wears his Swan dress in his showroom on East 57th Street.
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby’s
![CHARLES JAMES WITH MODEL, 1948: “Even if you know nothing about making clothes, [the exhibit] allows you access to what makes this guy so special,” says Koda. “We want everyone to understand that it is possible to work in the medium [of fashion design] and be an artist.” Here, James poses with a model sporting one of his structured designs, which — true to style — exaggerates the woman’s natural silhouette.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/05/james22.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=456)
