Articles tagged as Fashion | Smithsonian Magazine

Energy company NRG has made a pair of sneakers from carbon emissions

September 21, 2016

Fabric containing the same material as plastic wrap was found to make human skin almost 4 degrees Fahrenheit cooler.

Is Plastic the Secret to Clothes That Will Keep You Cool?

Because it allows infrared radiation to escape your body, polyethylene could become key to what we wear in a warming world

September 1, 2016

This 2,000-year-old scroll is covered with mysterious words in Aramaic.

Cool Finds

A Guide to Ancient Magic

In antiquity, love or revenge was just a spell away

August 22, 2016

A reconstruction of Ötzi the Iceman at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology.

New Research

DNA Analysis Reveals What Ötzi the Iceman Wore to His Grave

He rocked surprisingly complex fashion for the Copper Age

August 18, 2016

Cool Finds

The Robe Volante, the First Comfortable Dress in France, Sells for $150,000

The sweatpants of its day for courtiers, the style was a rebellion against the elaborate, corseted dresses of Louis XIV’s court

August 11, 2016

The Paris Olympics

How Chuck Taylor Taught America How to Play Basketball

A shoe-in for the first ever basketball game in the Olympics, Converse All Stars have a long history both in and out of sport

August 8, 2016

A newly promoted group of petty officers stand in formation in Yokosuka, Japan. The blue working uniforms they are wearing will start to be phased out this October.

Aquaflage is so 2010

August 5, 2016

Pure Human features clothing made from leather that is produced from the DNA of designer Alexander McQueen—and that includes freckles, realistically placed tattoos and even sunburns.

The late designer’s DNA is part of a bizarre experiment in fashion ethics

July 20, 2016

New Research

Study Shows Knights Were Pretty Spry in Their Suits of Armor

Researchers studied the range of motion of fighters in suits of armor, finding they were heavy but allowed freedom of movement

July 8, 2016

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History holds this patent model for a Gorrie ice machine, the first mechanical refrigeration or ice-making machine the U.S. Patent Office patented.

Six of History’s Smartest, Weirdest and Most Interesting Inventions for Beating the Heat

From a bicycle mister to ice energy, here are a few innovative ways for cooling down

July 8, 2016

The long, trailing skirts of the Victorian period eventually fell out of favor when they were thought to harbor tuberculosis microbes.

How Tuberculosis Shaped Victorian Fashion

The deadly disease—and later efforts to control it—influenced trends for decades

May 10, 2016

Mary Kies' patented technique wove silk and straw together to make fetching bonnets like this 1815 specimen.

Cool Finds

Meet Mary Kies, America’s First Woman to Become a Patent Holder

Brains plus bonnets equal a historic first

May 5, 2016

Iris Van Herpen Is Revolutionizing the Look and Tech of Fashion

The Dutch designer redefines what it means to be fashion forward

May 2, 2016

This silk satin, lace and whalebone corset gave an 1890s lady her hourglass figure and tiny waist.

Cool Finds

A New Exhibition Is All About Underwear

From a queen’s drawers to David Beckham’s briefs, The Victoria and Albert Museum gets “Undressed”

April 19, 2016

Cab Calloway called the zoot suit “the ultimate in clothes.”

A Brief History of the Zoot Suit

Unraveling the jazzy life of a snazzy style

April 2016

Jeremy Scott (United States, born 1975) for Adidas, Boots, Spring/Summer 2013.

Take A Trip Through 300 Years of Men’s Fashion

At the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, a new exhibition highlights 200 styles, from military uniforms to punk jackets

March 23, 2016

You can thank William Perkin for that garish dress your best friend will make you wear at her wedding.

Cool Finds

How Malaria Gave Us Mauve

Tropical diseases and coal tar have a lot to do with brightly-colored clothing

March 21, 2016

Eric Underwood's Instagram rant about having to put makeup on his shoes inspired a new ballet shoe by Bloch.

Cool Finds

Flesh-Toned Ballet Shoes Will Soon Be Available for People of Color

At long last, there are options for non-white dancers

March 18, 2016

Son of Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren says it’s to spite the Queen

March 16, 2016

Future of Energy

Five Technologies That Would Heat or Cool People and Not Entire Buildings

Research groups are developing robots, fabrics and furniture that could lead to energy savings

March 15, 2016