Alex Hutchings stands outside the Las Vegas Showgirl Museum with seven of his peers, wearing a wide grin as he waits for his field trip to begin. The 25-year-old student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas just got thrilling news and can't wait to share it. If he can find funding, he'll have an internship with "RuPaul's Drag

Race," a cable TV show produced in Los Angeles.

"I'm hoping to do research for my thesis," he says. "I'll be able to interview gay performers and find out how they see fashion themselves."

His thesis is titled "Costuming and Gay Performers." Hutchings is a history major and this is a history of fashion class.

It's one of the few fashion courses that doesn't require sketching or needles and thread, but none of that should come as a surprise since it's offered through the

history department. The curriculum here puts less emphasis on Coco Chanel and her pearls and more focus on the kind of facts that can make history buffs genuinely interested in fashion trends.

"I talk about what Americans have come to expect of their clothing - comfort and practicality," says Deirdre Clemente, history professor at UNLV. "And what is that a reaction of? Social, economic and political change."

For instance, women wearing pants. The progressive trend started in the '20s in France. Women in the United States didn't start putting their clothes on one leg at a time until the '30s. After World War II, the trend took a "downward slide," according to Clemente, because men didn't like returning from the war and finding their women in dungarees. By the second half of the '40s, however, women donning pants was commonplace.

"Women's power as consumers made this trend happen. People think everything comes down from Givenchy - no," Clemente says, holding her hands up to mock a puppeteer.

"That's why this was so profound because it was one of the first times fashion was driven by the masses."

The history professor once worked as a fashion reporter at the Baltimore Sun. She got her doctorate at Carnegie Mellon University and worked as a curator for the Heinz

History Center for two years before moving to Las Vegas. She's always taken a special interest in fashion history, particularly the '20s, or as she refers to it, the Gatsby era.

In fact, "The Great Gatsby" feature film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan that's set for release this Christmas relied on Clemente's expertise for costuming. They found her through the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she wrote a thesis for her master's degree called "Fashioning Fitzgerald: Clothing as Cultural History in the Early Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald." She acted as one of many history consultants for the film.

Eleven students take her history of fashion class. Most of them are humanities and liberal arts majors and one studies anthropology. The syllabus' weekly schedule varies from "The Fallacy of the Flapper: Five Untruths of an American Icon" on Feb. 29 to discussion of the zoot suit March 26 to "P. Diddy is Worth $350 million:

Clothing and Hip-Hop Culture" April 16.

Field trips include a jaunt to Hard Rock Hotel, where they get a lesson on the effective display of its rock 'n' roll garments; a trip to the State Museum of Nevada where curator Dennis McBride provides hands-on analysis of costumes; and the aforementioned Las Vegas Showgirl Museum, where Grant Philipo discusses his vast collection of showgirl costumes and gives students a tour of his home where they're displayed.

It's a two-part course. Next semester gives the students exhibition experience with a State Museum of Nevada partnership. Students will learn how to dress a mannequin, how to handle historic costumes and how to conduct archival research, among other things.

"I'm not just teaching fashion 'cause, 'Hey, aren't these cool pictures?' I'm giving them skills and critical information that teaches them to look critically at history. It's applied history and that's invigorating to teach that. Our program is getting people with history degrees jobs," she says.

The UNLV history department has placed its graduates at museums, national parks and other universities.

Fifty-five-year-old Jim Turben, who was laid off from his printing press job last year, is taking the course to get a degree in history and hopes to go on to teach it.

"I want to get through to the kid that I was," he says. "Maybe then my life will mean something."

HuffPost Arts' Haiku Reviews are regular features where we invite critics to review exhibitions and performances in short form. Some will be in the traditional Haiku form of 5x7x5 syllables, others might be a sonnet or even a string of words. This week George Heymont, Laurence Vittes and Peter Frank capture the best of the art world now.

Pavel Haas Quartet April 21, Samueli TheaterOrange County Performing Arts CenterCosta Mesa
Britten: Three DivertimentiPavel Haas: Quartet No.2Smetana: String Quartet in E Minor, "From My life"

Both Czech Republic and Slovakia have a long history of producing string quartets of extremely serious virtuosity and insightful music making. The young Pavel Haas Quartet is one of the latest in the line of succession, in this case "descended" from the famous, extremely serious Smetana Quartet whose violist, Milan Skampa, seemingly continues to tutor every young quartet in sight. The Quartet takes its name from the Czech composer Pavel Haas (1899-1944), who was imprisoned at Theresienstadt in 1941 and murdered at Auschwitz three years later. Quartets like these are very important to the health (strength?) of the classical music industry, and there are a lot of good ones out there ready to be snapped up right now. The leader of the Quartet, a strikingly beautiful blond named Veronika Jaruskova who was the original founder of the quartet, features a distinction common to all great Czech and Slovakian quartets, of being able to blend the first violin line in with the others so that the music is like you see it on the page when you're reading the score: All the lines are always there, before your eyes and thence your ears. The 12-minute Britten Divertimenti were originally called Go play, boy, play, and it's an invigorating early work which audiences will be eager to hear. Haas's Second Quartet is earnest, ardent, young and pregnant with fate. Veronika took over in the Smetana and kept it magnificently tight-lipped all the way. A large audience in wonderful Samueli Theater warmed to the serious nature of the Quartet's and the music's love and devotion.

By Laurence Vittes (drawing of Veronika Jaruskova by Larisa Pilinsky)

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email  to buy additional rights.  the French retail and luxurygoods group, helped trigger a rally throughout the luxury goods sector this week.PPR was among the biggest risers in Paris, gaining 8.2 per cent to
127.25 after its first-quarter results came in above expectations, with a 17.8 per cent jump in sales in its profitable luxury division.Eva Quiroga, analyst at UBS, said: “[PPR’s] luxury numbers were exceptionally strong. The fact that Gucci had nice double digitgrowth in PPR’s results went down really well – as did the impressive growth at Bottega Veneta and YSL.”PPR’s results sparked gains across the sector. Hermès International rallied 5.5 per cent to
266.55, while in Milan, SalvatoreFerragamo, the Italian luxury goods manufacturer, jumped 12.8 per cent to 17.35 over the weekCredit Suisse was one of a number of brokers to increase its target price on the stock following the results, raising it to 180 from 155.Arndt Ellinghorst, an analyst at Credit Suisse, said: “Investor focus seems to be on one-time costs, potential efficiency gains and other special issues in Volkswagen. In our view this overshadows the simple fact that Volkswagen is selling more cars[and] growing more strongly than we [and] consensus expected.”Volkswagen’s peer Renault ended the week up 0.6 per cent at 35.68, after a slump in European sales in its latest resultsweighed on the stock. Shares in the French car company have fallen by almost a fifth from their 2012 peak.

PUNE, INDIA, Apr 27, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Undertaking consistent and relentless environment conservation efforts and working in sync with the brand policy of Spirit to Preserve and Spirit to Serve, the Courtyard by Marriott Pune Hinjewadi celebrates April as the Environmental Awareness Month. With various environment friendly activities planned, Hinjewadi extended stay hotel conducted a 'Green series' of events to spread awareness amongst the hotel associates as well as guests, urging them to 'Go Green.'

The series of Green activities commenced with the interdepartmental 'Best out of Waste' theme based competition. The associates honed their green creativity to make message depicting, environment conservation models made out of recyclable materials. A sapling plantation with the hotel's associates was organized to add a splash of Green to the hotel's surroundings.
Spreading the green wave beyond, the corporate clients were given saplings as a gesture of green encouragement. Commemorating the Earth Day, the Pune 4 star hotel organized a walkathon in Hinjewadi and to spread the message far and wide. The enthused participants walked as Green ambassadors reaching out to extend the message of 'Go Green'.

General Manager of Mumbai Pune expressway hotel, Ms. Ranju Alex said, "We at Marriott have always been ardent advocates for environmental and community causes. We are proud to do our bit to spread the social message of environmental conservation. We hope our green path encourages more and more corporates to come forth and save our environment thereby making way for sustainable development."
Courtyard by Marriott, Pune Hinjewadi kick started its Green run with participation in the Earth Hour 2012. Marriott's environmental vision is to be the global hospitality leader that demonstrates how responsible hospitality management can be a positive force for the environment and create economic opportunities around the world, and by our example, inspire personal action in the communities where we live and work.

When visiting the eco-friendly Courtyard Pune Hinjewadi, be sure to check out the available hotel deals in Pune. Marriott is offering a new India-wide promotion throughout the summer. Guests booking 2 or 3 night stays can take advantage of the You Play, We Pay offer and receive a credit at the hotel. Credits can be used on everything from everything from room upgrades, minibar purchases and high-speed Internet access to dining, spa treatments and laundry service. For more information on this limited time offer, visit  http://ourfanshion.weebly.com/ .

There is one large showcase in Paris's Musée des Arts Décoratifs that displays the Louis Vuitton trunks - all 26 of them - that a lady needed for a holiday 150 years ago. That was back in the days before checked-luggage fees, because Louis Vuitton made his name in the age of steam when people travelled by train and ship, with a retinue of porters.


Today, in the Marc Jacobs era of the brand, when we tend to travel light, and by airplane, 53 of Louis Vuitton's bestselling handbags are cutely displayed in a delicious, giant "chocolate box". In the early days it was luggage, but today, it is the handbag that symbolises the brand.
It is just one of the parallels drawn in this unique exhibition that is a portrait of the two men - Louis Vuitton, the founder, and Marc Jacobs, the creative director.


"It's all my fault," says Pamela Golbin, the curator of the exhibition. "I wanted to explore how the brand, at over 150 years old, is not only relevant today, but more importantly is a driving force in the luxury industry." In 1800s Paris there were 400 "packers" contemporary to Louis Vuitton; today, his company is almost the only one left and "the DNA he set up for his brand has now set the standard for the luxury industry".
However, she first had to convince Marc Jacobs. "Museums are not really his thing," she admits, but he was persuaded when Golbin explained her idea: "Louis's entire career was spent during the industrialisation of fashion, a critical time when the industry took its form and if you put Marc into context, it is really the story of fashion and how today it has become globalised."


Sprawling two floors of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the journey of discovery begins with Louis Vuitton, a man who got his big break as a layetier (packer) to Napoleon III's wife Empress Eugenie, who ironically once lived in the same building where the exhibition is now located. After 17 years of studying the foundation of voyage-friendly baggage, Vuitton decided to build his own. He originally designed airtight canvas trunks with flat bottoms - as opposed to the rounded styles of the era - thus making them easier for stacking and storing.


He opened his first store in Paris in 1854, hawking finely made trunks, hat boxes and other luxury luggage for the well-travelled set. He was friendly with the couturier Charles Frederick Worth and they would send clients to each other. Another vitrine in the exhibition shows the number of changes of outfit a lady was expected to make during the day, which explains why so much luggage was required when it came to travel. The actress Sarah Bernhardt took 200 pieces of Vuitton luggage with her on a tour of Brazil. Another vitrine demonstrates, with X-ray images, some of the items that would have been packed in these beautiful trunks - a reference to the X-ray machines that every traveller passes through at airports today.
You start to get some insight into the lifestyle of Louis Vuitton's clients 150 years ago. At the entrance of the exhibition is a zoetrope, a remarkable contraption that was avant garde in Louis's day, explains Golbin. It was a device that produced the illusion of motion from a rapid succession of static images - a forerunner of film. Upstairs in Marc's World we find the Tumblr wall of videos, images and pop culture references including photos of David Bowie, Elizabeth Taylor and Barbra Streisand, and campy footage from his favourite films such as The Graduate. "We started off with the idea of an inspiration board for a collection and that became the Tumblr page - if we could open Marc's head this is what would be inside," quips Golbin.
Around the exhibition there are more vitrines showcasing his ready-to-wear and collaborative artistic work with Richard Prince (which included a series of robotic nurses), Stephen Sprouse (those graffiti bags) and Takahashi Murakami. Golbin points out that Jacobs is a great collaborator and how essential it was to get that "we" element into the exhibition. The collaborations and proliferation of bags on show make the point that every collection starts with the design of a handbag.


The displays are accompanied by cheeky titles such as Just for Kicks for a clockwork display of 12 pairs of shoes, or My Favourite Colour Is Shiny, while in the background you can hear Jacobs's voice telling different anecdotes about the collaborations and collections. At the end, a doll-size replica of the designer wearing a Comme des Garçons kilt, and, of course, a Vuitton bag bids the visitor farewell.