The Cincinnati Art Museum will host "Elizabeth Hawes: Radical American Fashion," the first major museum exhibition dedicated to the early 20th-century designer, running from April 24 to August 2. Curated by Cynthia Amnéus, the show features over 50 garments from the 1920s through the 1960s, drawn largely from the museum's collection of 23 Hawes pieces—the second-largest after the Met's Costume Institute. Hawes, a Vassar graduate who worked as a Paris copyist before becoming disillusioned with the fashion industry, advocated for comfort, personal identity, and gender-fluid clothing, and wrote nine books critiquing fashion's commercial cycle.
The exhibition matters because it rescues a prescient voice from obscurity, highlighting Hawes's radical ideas about style versus fashion, labor, and gender norms that remain relevant today. By showcasing her innovative designs—like angled seams and breathable fabrics—and her critiques of an industry still driven by relentless novelty, the show underscores museums' role in rediscovering overlooked figures who challenged societal conventions. It also connects local history through client Dorette Kruse Fleischmann, whose donated pieces anchor the collection.