When I first learned of Isabella Diorio’s collection about the trail blazing American women who served the military, I was moved by the story and how she used fashion as the storyteller.
Inspired by the courageous and bold acts of women in the military and troubled by the rising population in homeless female veterans, Diorio honors 12 women veterans in her collection Female Engagement Team (F.E.T.), some who disguised themselves as men when it was illegal for women to serve.
F.E.T. is exhibited with the works of a select group of international designers, in “CLOTH, Construct, CULTURE: fashion builds a story” … Here is a preview, a sneak peek of the work of Isabella Diorio.
Believing that fashion has a story to tell, and one that she spent two years researching, in our interview she said, “it’s not just about the garment itself but about the story behind it.” Bringing attention to an untold story, particularly about women, Diorio expressed, “I felt that the fact that these women go into a male dominated field and are able to compete with the best of them was one that was often overlooked. With this in mind I wanted to create a collection that showcased this strength and femininity, without compromising the identity of the woman herself.”
Deborah Sampson, Sarah Emma Edmonds, Private Cathay Williams, Private Opha May Johnson, Elsie S. Ott, Col. Ruby Bradley, Rear Admiral Grace Brewster Murray Hopper, Colonel Eileen Collins, Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester, Commander Darlene Iskra, First Lieutenant Ashley I. White-Stumpf, and Army General Ann E. Dunwoody, are each named in F.E.T.
Who are these women?
- Deborah Sampson disguised herself as a man, since women were not allowed to serve in the military, to fight in the Revolutionary War, making her one of the first female veterans. Sampson’s enlistment started in 1778 and she used the alias Robert Shirtliffe.
- Sarah Emma Edmonds was one of the few famous women veterans from the Civil War, a time when women were not allowed to serve in the military. In 1861, Sarah joined the United States Army, disguised herself as a man, and went under the name Frank Thompson. She was in the Second Volunteers of the United States Army as a male nurse and a Union spy.
- Private Cathay Williams, aka William Cathay (disguised as a man), served post Civil War, born a slave, the first documented African American female to serve, Buffalo Soldier.
- Private Opha May Johnson was the first woman to enlist in the United States Marine Corps, joining the Marine Corps Reserve in 1918 during World War I.
- Elsie S. Ott was the first woman to receive the U.S. Air Medal and was a contributing factor in the advancement of military medical care, World War II.
- Colonel Ruby Bradley is a survivor of World War II and Korean War and is one of the most decorated women in U.S. military history.
- Rear Admiral Grace Brewster Murray Hopper served in World War II, Korean War, and the Vietnam War. A destroyer was named after her, USS Hopper, DDG-70, as was the Cray XE6 “Hopper” supercomputer. As founder of the COBOL programming language, a precursor to many of the software code approaches of today, her work is legendary among computer scientists and mathematicians.
- In 1999 Air Force Colonel Eileen Collins became the first female space shuttle commander and one of the famous women veterans who have made incredible contributions to America.
- Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester of the Military Police Company, who, after the Iraq War, was the first woman since World War II to receive the Silver Star for exceptional valor.
- Commander Darlene Iskra served in the Navy 21 years and was the first female to command a U.S. Navy ship, served in the Gulf War.
- First Lieutenant Ashley I. White-Stumpf, a combat casualty in Afghanistan, served as a member of a Cultural Support Team attached to a Joint Special Operations Task Force.
- Army General Ann E. Dunwoody, the first woman to serve as a four star Army General, before retirement in 2012.
Diorio’s work matters, not only from its storytelling aspect but F.E.T. was sustainably created by reuse of existing materials: deconstructed thrift store finds, discarded and donated materials, and recycled fabric and scraps from FABSCRAP, a fabric recycling group in Brooklyn, New York.
We’re starting to reach this pivotal point in the world where people are truly beginning to realize that we have to start making changes to our lives if we’re going to continue on. So many companies are jumping on the environmental and social change bandwagons because it’s what’s popular right now, which is great in a way, but I believe that these shouldn’t just be trends, they should be part of our everyday lives … so that people won’t have to actively think about doing what’s best for the world around them, it’ll just come naturally.
– Isabella Diorio
The Johnson Jacket, is named after Private Opha May Johnson (World War I), who was the first woman to enlist in the United States Marine Corps, joining the Marine Corps Reserve in 1918 during World War I.
The Sarah Skirt, is named after Sarah Emma Edmonds (Civil War), who was one of the few famous women veterans from the Civil War, a time when women were not allowed to serve in the military. In 1861, Sarah joined the United States Army, disguised herself as a man, and went under the name Frank Thompson. She was in the Second Volunteers of the United States Army as a male nurse and a Union spy.
The entire F.E.T. collection, seven looks, will be featured with coordinating headwear designed specifically for this show!
More About Isabella Diorio
An interview with Isabella Diorio – A Fashion Story Honors Women in Combat | A Talk with Isabella Diorio
Exhibition Details
CLOTH, Construct, CULTURE: fashion builds a story, curated by Rhonda P. Hill, 24 October 2023–24 January 2024, Parallax Art Center, Portland, Oregon, USA
Feature photo: Isabella Diorio, F.E.T. Elsie Jumpsuit, Vegan Leather Harness, First Aid Purse | photo: Emily Warfield, courtesy of Isabella Diorio, 2020
E D G E 