Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent FIlm (presented by MICA MFA Filmmaking)

Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent Film explores the crucial role clothing played in shaping early Hollywood and the visual language of silent-film glamour. Presented by MICA MFA Filmmaking, the evening examines how fashion evolved from actors’ personal wardrobes into a deliberate storytelling tool and helped establish the foundations of modern movie costume design.

The program draws on the groundbreaking exhibition *Goddesses in the Machine*, which brings together rare surviving garments and accessories from the early years of cinema, along with film clips, photographs, posters, film stills, and costume-design sketches. It highlights the work of influential designers including Travis Banton, Henri Bendel, Clare West, and Lucile, Lady Duff-Gordon, as well as Madame Frances, I. Miller, Natacha Rambova, and Lilian St. Cyr.

When: Tuesday, November 17, 2026

Showtimes: 6:30 PM EST

Tickets: Free

Registration: Registration is available through the event page.

Venue: The SNF Parkway, Maryland Film Festival

Presented by: MICA MFA Filmmaking

Featured subject: The history of costume and style in American silent film, including the development of the movie costume designer and fashion’s transformation into a form of cinematic storytelling.

Exhibition materials: Ensembles and accessories are accompanied by film clips, photographs, posters, film stills, and costume-design sketches.

Designers featured: Travis Banton, Henri Bendel, Clare West, Lucile, Lady Duff-Gordon, Madame Frances, I. Miller, Natacha Rambova, and Lilian St. Cyr.

Curatorial context: The exhibition is co-curated and co-edited by Emma Cormack and Michelle Finamore. Cormack is an associate curator at Bard Graduate Center whose research focuses on decorative arts, design history, material culture, fashion, textiles, department stores, consumer culture, and print advertising in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century France and the United States.

Related exhibition: *Goddesses in the Machine* is presented at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery.