Dressed to Thrill: Fashion in Art

Fashionistas and art lovers, this docent lecture at the JCCSF is for you. It’s often said that you can’t judge a book by its cover but what can a person’s clothing tell us about who they are, or the world they live in? This informative and entertaining lecture explores the fashions seen in the vast art collections of the Legion of Honor Museum, including works by artists such as Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony Van Dyck, and Henri Matisse. Marvel at how revolution, religion, and conquest shaped the way people dress. Where did the man’s suit of today originate from? Why did stylish people slash the sleeves of their clothing for over a hundred years? And what was holding up those towering hairstyles worn by the French queen Marie Antoinette?   

Mike Madrid has been a docent at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco since 2019. He was an advertising and marketing executive for more than twenty years, specializing in global fashion brands. Mike is the author of three books including The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines, which NPR named as one of their “Five Best Books to Share with A Friend.” He has written articles for a number of publications including The Huffington Post, and has spoken at colleges, libraries, and conferences across the country. A San Francisco native, Mike is an avid traveler who loves to visit museums both large and small around the world. 

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) are comprised of two iconic sites in San Francisco’s beautiful parks – the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and Legion of Honor Museum in Lincoln Park. As the largest public arts institution in the western United States, the Museums house a world-class collection of 151,000 artworks that span more than 5,000 years. 

The JCCSF and FAMSF have collaborated for over a decade, and we are grateful that FAMSF graciously shares the beauty and history of their collections with the community through inspiring educational docent talks.