Post-War French Dolls Tour Nation For Couture

Like ghosts from the past, a recently restored collection of 150 dolls once owned by France now is touring the country again. The dolls, which now are owned by the Maryhill Museum in Goldendale, Klickitat County, are on exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City where they will remain until April 14.

The dolls will be the subject of a lecture by Dolly McFadden, designer and teacher of couture techniques, at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Museum of History & Industry. A video/slide presentation of the dolls before and after restoration will be shown.

In 1945, the French government commissioned some of the most famous designers of the day to fashion clothing for the dolls. The dolls then toured Europe and America to raise funds for homeless women and children and to boost the sagging French fashion industry during those post-World War II days. After completing the tour, they were left at the City of Paris department store in San Francisco. Owner Paul Verdier donated them to the Maryhill Museum in 1952.

The 30-inch mannequins have bodies of wire with ceramic heads. Couturiers, milliners, shoe makers, glove and handbag makers, embroiderers and furriers united to dress the dolls from head to toe in miniature versions of their latest fashions. Designers who participated included Balenciaga, Schiaparelli, Lanvin, Balmain, Worth, Lucien Lelong and Christian Dior. Such jewelers as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arples and Chaumet designed real pieces of jewelry.

Each miniature item of clothing was made with the same attention to detail and precision as those in a regular collection. Zippers really zipped, buttons were hand stitched for buttons that could be unbuttoned. All of the artists and couturiers donated their services and materials.

The collection was called ``Theatre de la Mode'' and presented luxurious, feminine styles that were welcomed in the postwar years.

The collection was believed to be lost or destroyed until Professor Stanley Garfinkle of Kent State University discovered them at the Maryhill Museum in 1983.

General admission to the lecture at the Museum of History & Industry is $5 and $3 for museum members and students. For further information, call 324-1126..

Black history, fashion

``Black History Month 1991 Fashion Extravaganza'' will be held Sunday at 6:30 p.m. in the Atrium'' of the Seattle Trade Center. It is sponsored by Sublimity Model & Talent Agency and Daryl Alan, owner of Ambiance International Studio of Hair Design.

The collectionb of black hair designer Frederico of Birmingham, Atlanta and Chicago will be shown.

Tickets are $15 at the door or $10 if reservations are made in advance. For further information, call 298-8103.