San Francisco's de Young Museum exhibit to showcase fashion history

The de Young Museum will host a special exhibit called “Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style” starting Saturday until Aug. 11.

The exhibition will cover the history of women’s fashion in San Francisco beginning around the time of the 1906 Earthquake to today. It will showcase pieces of high fashion and haute couture, like ball gowns, from designers like Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, and Vivienne Westwood.

“The exhibition doesn’t represent all stories of San Francisco fashion,” says Laura Camerlengo with the museum, “But instead, it looks at our collection as a way of exploring the city’s history such as the rise of women in the public sphere, and the rise of avant-garde in cutting edge fashion.”

To make the exhibition even more interesting, it’s including an interactive augmented reality installation from Snapchat. Visitors will be able to see how three gowns presented in the exhibition will look on them.

Many people have never tried on couture before, says Rajni Jacques with Snapchat, “So it’s literally a place where you can come, have fun, engage… through the power of AR.”

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco said this “costume collection is one of the strongest in the country.”