NPR logo NPR
Special Series

The Seams

Clothing is our common thread: In every stitch, a story.
This life-sized porcelain image of the Virgin Mary was brought over from Italy in 1884.

This life-sized porcelain image of the Virgin Mary was brought over from Italy in 1884. Danielle Oteri hide caption

toggle caption Danielle Oteri

The Madonna Of 115th Street Gets A Long-Awaited Makeover

The Blessed Mother at New York City's Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church has presided over her flock since 1884, and she's just gotten a makeover, complete with a designer gown of gold-embroidered satin.

Listen Loading… 4:49
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/450889721/453632542" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Parsons School of Design graduate Lucy Jones created Seated Design, a collection of clothing for people who use wheelchairs. The clothes include extra fabric at the elbows for greater mobility.

Parsons School of Design graduate Lucy Jones created Seated Design, a collection of clothing for people who use wheelchairs. The clothes include extra fabric at the elbows for greater mobility. Courtesy of Lucy Jones hide caption

toggle caption Courtesy of Lucy Jones

From Canes To Closures, Designing With Style For People With Disabilities

Almost 60 million Americans have a permanent disability, but the fashion industry hasn't tapped into that market. Activists and designers are trying to change that, a signature and a stitch at a time.

Listen Loading… 6:57
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/425890021/426145918" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Designer Thom Browne says he usually shows his men's collections in Paris, but he felt it was important to support the first Fashion Week for men in New York.

Designer Thom Browne says he usually shows his men's collections in Paris, but he felt it was important to support the first Fashion Week for men in New York. Jacki Lyden hide caption

toggle caption Jacki Lyden

Men Strut Their Stuff At Their Very Own New York Fashion Week

This week was the debut of New York Fashion Week: Men's. Sixty designers and some big-name sponsors showed up. Jacki Lyden went behind the scenes for The Seams, our series about clothing as culture.

Listen Loading… 3:26
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/423263168/423435449" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Whalebone stays and pannier from France, 1740-1760. The hoops of the pannier fold up, making it easier for the wearer to climb into carriages.

Whalebone stays and pannier from France, 1740-1760. The hoops of the pannier fold up, making it easier for the wearer to climb into carriages. Patricia Canino hide caption

toggle caption Patricia Canino

Shake What Your Mama Didn't Give You: Shapewear Through The Ages

From corsets and codpieces to shapewear and Spanx, people have tried to change their silhouettes for centuries. From The Seams, Jacki Lyden takes us on a sartorial tour of shapewear.

Listen Loading… 4:27
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/405029054/405415775" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Robert Duncan poses with his wife, Karen, for New York photographer Iké Udé.

Robert Duncan poses with his wife, Karen, for New York photographer Iké Udé. Iké Udé/Courtesy of Robert and Karen Duncan hide caption

toggle caption Iké Udé/Courtesy of Robert and Karen Duncan

Nigerian Artist Continues A Family Tradition With 'Sartorial Anarchy'

In Lagos, Iké Udé's family engaged in a West African tradition: photographing people wearing new clothes. Clothing and portraiture are still at the center of the New York-based photographer's work.

Listen Loading… 7:11
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/389316816/395966291" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Models walk the catwalk in March 2009 during one of Alexander McQueen's last shows, Ready-to-Wear Autumn/Winter 2009, in Paris. McQueen was one of several fashion designers elevated to prominence by Bernard Arnault, the French tycoon who transformed the business of high fashion.

Models walk the catwalk in March 2009 during one of Alexander McQueen's last shows, Ready-to-Wear Autumn/Winter 2009, in Paris. McQueen was one of several fashion designers elevated to prominence by Bernard Arnault, the French tycoon who transformed the business of high fashion. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

How The Luxury Fashion Industry Became All Business

Once family-owned, luxury fashion houses have been gobbled by conglomerates. Industry watchers say designers have suffered from a pressure-cooker environment that focuses intensely on the bottom line.

Listen Loading… 5:13
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/392788955/392956043" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Cover Crop

'Schiaparelli': The Shocking, Shadowed Life Of A Fashion Icon

A new biography by Meryle Secrest looks at the troubled life of designer Elsa Schiaparelli — renowned as the Queen of Fashion, a glamorous innovator whose career never recovered from World War II.

Listen Loading… 7:07
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/354636723/355340439" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Artist Miranda July contributed a series of photos in which strangers try on one another's favorite outfits.

Artist Miranda July contributed a series of photos in which strangers try on one another's favorite outfits. Michael Schmelling/Courtesy of Blue Rider Press hide caption

toggle caption Michael Schmelling/Courtesy of Blue Rider Press

For 'Women In Clothes,' It's Not What You Wear, It's Why You Wear It

A new book collects stories that link clothing with intimacy, emotion and memory: how moms dressed before they had kids, favorite outfits and, of course, garment envy.

Listen Loading… 7:09
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/345290998/345706922" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
(Left) Mayan artisans from the Yucatan region hand-embroidered an armadillo onto this linen dress from Carla Fernández's Mayalands collection. (Right) This Fernandez dress is a traditional rebozo shape which honors the square root design of ancient patterns.

(Left) Mayan artisans from the Yucatan region hand-embroidered an armadillo onto this linen dress from Carla Fernández's Mayalands collection. (Right) This Fernandez dress is a traditional rebozo shape which honors the square root design of ancient patterns. Ramiro Chaves/Courtesy Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum hide caption

toggle caption Ramiro Chaves/Courtesy Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

A Modern Twist On Mexican Tradition Hits The Runway

Handmade rebozos and huipiles are staples of traditional Mexican attire. Designer Carla Fernández re-imagines those garments for runways in Tokyo and Amsterdam.

Listen Loading… 8:55
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/325801547/326406872" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Promo image

The Art Of A Lost American Couturier, On Display At The Met

After a two-year renovation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute is reopening with an exhibit on the work of Charles James, who is now obscure, but considered America's first couturier.

Listen Loading… 7:20
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/310410541/310630850" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Socialite and actress Baby Jane Holzer, seen here in 1966, was one of artist Andy Warhol's first superstars.

Socialite and actress Baby Jane Holzer, seen here in 1966, was one of artist Andy Warhol's first superstars. Harry Benson/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Harry Benson/Getty Images

'Baby Jane' Holzer's Flight From High Society To Warhol Superstar

In the 1960s, model and socialite Jane Holzer was bigger than Paris Hilton, had far more elegance than Kim Kardashian and was on tons of magazine covers.

Listen Loading… 11:32
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/290234274/290389352" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
A backless gown with a feather-trimmed hoodie from French designer Andre Courreges, 1974.

A backless gown with a feather-trimmed hoodie from French designer Andre Courreges, 1974. Courtesy of Ebony hide caption

toggle caption Courtesy of Ebony

The Ebony Fashion Fair: Changing History On The Catwalk

For 50 years, Ebony magazine's Fashion Fair toured the country. The models knew how to captivate from the catwalk, helping fashion the dreams of the black women who flocked to their shows.

Listen Loading… 11:43
  • Playlist
  • Download
  • Embed
    <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/276987206/277385199" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">