The Flagler Museum recently unveiled “May I Help You, Madame? The Making of the Modern Department Store,” on view now through May. The exhibition explores the emergence and cultural impact of the modern department store, anchored by a major creative collaboration with celebrated window dresser, author, and cultural commentator Simon Doonan. This marks the first time the museum has collaborated with an outside creative voice on an exhibition.
At the center of the exhibition is Doonan’s original installation, “Flagler à La Mode,” which blends historic objects from the Flagler Museum archives, such as rarely seen garments and personal belongings of Mary Lily and Henry Flagler, with contemporary visual storytelling. Infused with Doonan’s trademark wit and eye for character, the installation evokes the early department store’s power to spark fascination, aspiration, and desire.
“Flagler à La Mode” also showcases a selection of treasures from the museum’s permanent collection. Highlights include a handbag donated by fashion icon Iris Apfel, Mary Lily’s intricately carved mahjong set, archival photographs from the museum’s inaugural 1960 Restoration Ball, and silk scarves once belonging to Jean Flagler Matthews.
“May I Help You, Madame?” encourages visitors to consider the department store not merely as a shopping destination but as a transformative cultural institution—a driver of architectural innovation, a key site of women’s employment outside the home, and a force in shaping modern identity and consumer culture…