Spectrum of Fashion: Celebrating Maryland’s Style
Deutsch, 48, took extra care — almost 10 years of planning — to create the “Spectrum of Fashion” exhibition.
When it came to planning the outfit she would wear to its opening night gala, that, too, was carefully curated over many months.
“I made a decision that I wanted to represent fashion in Baltimore, so everything I wore was from Baltimore,” Deutsch said.
That began with the dress, specially designed for her by Bishme Cromartie, the Baltimore-based fashion designer and “Project Runway” star.
“We had this amazing chemistry. We talked for hours about fashion and fashion history. He is the most humble, warm, joyous, creative spirit. Being around him is just incredible,” said Deutsch, who left MdHS several months ago to take the position of director of museum engagement at Delaware’s Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library.
“I said to Bishme that I really wanted to embody the exhibition. I knew he was very architectural with his designs and I wanted to have his signature elements in it. What he told me is that he wanted me to look like an antique perfume bottle,” said Deutsch.
“The historical references were important — the bustle, the exaggerated hip — to me that’s a very 18th-century aesthetic. It was [Cromartie’s] very modern play [on the subject],” she explained.
The added multicolor bustle reflected the exhibition’s color spectrum.
As for the accessories, all of them came from local artists or boutiques.