el jay opens it's archives...

Any big vintage fan will be very familiar with wondering along Auckland's Kingston Street and lingering outside the House of El Jay. Peering through the dusty windows at the mannequins elegantly posing in 70's day dresses and wondering what is up those step stairs and beyond in the darkness. Well finally a chance to look into El Jay's fascinating history has come - in the form of New Zealand's first Fashion Museum...

Friday night saw excited fashion fans gather at the Gus Fisher Gallery on Shortland Street to view over 50 amazing vintage garments arranged in a timeline which definitely added to the understanding of how influential El Jay was in New Zealand's fashion history. The 1940's was interpreted by stunning wool suits and coats, but all with a touch of glamour - diamante trims, velvet collars and camel hair. The 50's offered beautifully simple wool velour coats, cocktail dresses in silk, taffeta and brocade, the early 60's (my favourite vintage era) brought us simple two piece suiting in wool blends, shift dresses with bow details and a very classy selection of to die for cocktail dresses. The 70's gave us jersey knit day dresses, corduroy, polyester, trouser suits, leisure suits and the emergence of 'louder' prints. El Jay's 1980's Ultra Suede range was a firm favourite in it's many guises - matching skirts and coats, capes and dresses. Nautical-inspired day dresses got a look in, as well as geometric prints and ruffled cocktail dresses in candy shades of pink.

So what was El Jay do you ask? Gus Fisher opened The House of El Jay in the 1950's in Auckland, he held the only NZ license to give him exclusive rights to manufacture and sell Christian Dior originals and Christian Dior prêt a porter to the NZ market. Gus's own label El Jay designed in line with what was happening in the French and European markets - simplicity and elegance in garments was the look he wanted to offer to New Zealand women. The El Jay label was sold in NZ for 50 years and is synonymous with fashion in this county.

Enter NZ fashion design maven, Doris de Pont, Doris is the curator of the 'Looking Terrific: The story of El Jay' and the brainchild behind NZ's first Fashion Museum, which will hold 'pop up' exhibitions around the country, “All exhibitions will be free to the public and being responsive, relevant and accessible to all New Zealanders are important concepts to the fashion museum,” de Pont says. “I think this moveable museum with no permanent home is the first of its kind anywhere,” de Pont says. “Because it is very much about sharing fashion experiences anyone can be part of it. The museum’s website has details on how people can stay informed and get involved.”

PUBLIC EVENTS

Saturday 5 June, 1pm
Curator Doris de Pont will conduct a floor talk in the exhibition, explaining the finer points of “Looking Terrific”.

Saturday 19 June, 1pm
Centre for New Zealand Art Research and Discovery Director Linda Tyler will present her paper on the calico printing technologies of botanist and illustrator John Buchanan (1819-1898) from the 2010 New Zealand Costume and Textile Association conference “Hanging by a Thread”.

Saturday 3 July, 1pm
“My El Jay” – personal histories from those who worked for Gus Fisher and El Jay. Attendees are invited to wear their Ultra Suede or other garments from the House of El Jay to this event.

Saturday 10 July, 1pm
Lecture: Taking off the black singlet
The black singlet is a ubiquitous garment in the imagining of New Zealand. Rural, masculine, and hard-wearing, it is the woollen equivalent of number eight fencing wire. This lecture, by History Department Associate Professor Caroline Daley, will argue that the black singlet has straight-jacketed the writing of New Zealand’s history. Thankfully, a new generation of historians are delving into the wardrobe of the past and finding that satin and sparkles were also part of the country’s story.

Saturday 17 July, 1pm
Curator Doris de Pont will lead a tour around the garments in the exhibition, outlining the contribution of Gus Fisher to fashion design in New Zealand.

All exhibitions and public programmes are free and take place at the Gus Fisher Gallery unless otherwise noted.

For more information please check out the following websites -