Bill Blass Blast - 100 Days of Bill Blass

03/30/2024

As we mentioned in our last post, the Ghost Army which Bill Blass was a part of during WWII, was recently honored with the Congressional Gold Medal.

It took a lot of effort by many - and in particular, so proud of our partners at The Ghost Army, the Veterans National Memorial Shrine and Museum that highlighted the Ghost Army and several of our Bill Blass Committee members that got the joy of attending!

Check out these pictures of the ceremony and the medal.

03/21/2024

Interested in watching The Ghost Army Gold Medal ceremony live?

It will be streamed live on https://www.c-span.org// TOMORROW- Thursday, March 21 at 11AM ET

This means it will be available to watch on the internet, but won't appear live on the C-SPAN TV channel. It will appear later on the TV channel, and we will post info on that when you can view.

03/13/2024

How amazing is this?? Bill Blass and the Ghost Army to be honored!

Much effort went into this - so well deserved!

We will post pictures of the ceremony soon. Stay tuned!

The History Center Visit Fort Wayne Fort Wayne Business Weekly Veterans National Memorial Shrine and Museum The Ghost Army

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fort Wayne native and renowned clothing designer Bill Blass will be posthumously honored with the Congressional Gold Medal for his service in the secret WWII Ghost Army,

01/14/2024

Guess what? The Ghost Army, which Bill Blass was a part of in WWII, is being honored this year with a Congressional Gold Medal honor ceremony. Check out this link to learn more about the honor.

https://ghostarmy.org/blog/president-biden-signs-bill-to-honor-ghost-army/

And if you’d like to read the actual bill that passed this, follow this link (https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/707/text)

The Ghost Army The History Center Veterans National Memorial Shrine and Museum

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Biden today signed the bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the secretive WWII deception units known as The Ghost Army.

01/13/2024

As Bill Blass was often recognized and honored by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), we decided to support this fine organization and want to help spread the word of their latest auction going on through Sotheby's.

We are thrilled to be a part of Sotheby’s CFDA: Defining American Style exclusive auction by donating an original sample from the Blass studio created by its head tailor, Roberto Della Valle. Full proceeds of the sale will go to the CFDA Foundation, which benefits CFDA Scholarships and business mentoring to nurture the next generation of American fashion. Bid on the look on sothebys.com! You can find the whole collection including the Bill Blass look at this link.

Fort Wayne Museum of Art

Sotheby’s and the Council of Fashion Designers of America will be partnering on an exclusive auction to offer looks from America’s most coveted designers, featuring iconic designs and rare pieces donated by CFDA members and collectors of American Fashion. Full proceeds of the sale will go to the...

06/22/2023

Today would have been Bill Blass’s 101st birthday! 🎉🎂

Just one year ago today kicked off the 100 day celebration of Blass throughout the city of Fort Wayne - his birthplace.

Here’s a quick video that recaps many of the events, exhibits and honors given through the 100 days. Let’s celebrate Blass and the legacy that continues to live on!

Wear red and celebrate! ❤️🎂

06/22/2023

Last year as we were ramping up for our 100 day celebration of Bill Blass…we got lucky to be connected to a Fort Wayne area local artist that ended up creating Blass inspired sculptures for all over the city!

And guess what? Those same sculptures have since been displayed in other cities and traveled the country.

Thank you Greg Mendez Gallery ❤️❤️

06/21/2023

Yesterday we posted about Bill Blass and his creation of a wide range of items….

It’s the fashion that has always turned the most heads! Here’s just a few that graced the exhibit at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art

06/19/2023

One year ago this week….our 100 day celebration of Bill Blass began! All this week…get ready to see some recaps of all of the fun, partnerships, galleries, and events dedicate to the life of Bill Blass as we come upon June 22nd which would have been his 101st birthday this year.

Blass didn’t just get involved in fashion….he was involved in designing car interiors, sheets, games, watches…you name it!

04/11/2023

From last year about this time to now….our group has been diligently gathering, documenting and archiving “all things” Blass. This includes pictures, items and fashion that has been donated by so many who knew Bill Blass. It also includes pictures and video from all of the many events we hosted last year to honor his 100th birthday.

And it will include interviews with so many friends, colleagues, and connections to Bill Blass.

To ensure all is available to the public and housed properly, we embarked on a website to house and make available everything collected.

Keep watching for more to be added over time- we aren’t done yet and there’s more to come!

Bill Blass, a native to Fort Wayne, Indiana, leaves a legacy of iconic fashion design and patriotic service to our country.

04/03/2023

Last week we let you know about the upcoming Senior Cord exhibit at the Indiana State Museum with our partner from last year, The Sage Collection at Indiana University.

Now we'd like to let you know that YOU can participate in this! Check out the survey below...there is contact information at the top for questions you may have and how to fill out and submit.

We hope you will participate!

03/29/2023

Guess what??

We are baaaaack! Get ready to see some fun filled, Blass inspired posts coming your way! His birthday is just around the corner too.

For now….check out this blog post from Indiana University, Indiana State Museum and the Sage Collection which Blass funded.

Just a bit of fashion history. And stay tuned for how YOU can help out if you remember this fad or even perhaps have a pair yourself.

Senior cords were an Indiana tradition unique to this state. The trend likely originated at Purdue University in the first decade of the 20th century.