Fashion & Textile Collection
ABOUT
Established in 1971, the 91Ô´´ Fashion and Textile Collection includes more than 4,000 garments, accessories and textiles spanning several centuries. Managed by the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies, the collection supports object-based learning, research, creative scholarship and exhibitions exploring clothing as a record of design, identity, technology and global exchange.
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COLLECTION
The Collection consists of over 4,000 items.ÌýIt featuresÌý1,750 garments, including fashion designer apparel and accessories, ethnic apparel, and regional dress and textiles representative of Delaware, the Delaware Valley, and the 91Ô´´. Among the earliest gems are a pre-Columbian hat, an 1810 Quaker woman’s dress, a 15th century embroidered chasuble, a late 18th century calash, an 1837 men’s court suit, and a wedding dress from 1845.
The Collection boasts designer pieces fromÌýArnold Scaasi, Adrian,ÌýChristian Dior, Valentino, Balenciaga, James Galanos, and Givenchy, to name a few. Garments come from six continents including traditional pieces from countries such as Mexico, China, Japan, Tibet, the Balkans, Russia, and India. Of particular interest are ethnic garments collected by Henry Francis du Pont in his travels, donated by the Winterthur Museum.
​The Collection also houses approximately​Ìý1,600 accessories. These include 250 pairs of shoes ranging from 1850s women’s side-lacing silk ankle boots to Tibetan men’s yak hair boots; 100 handbags; and 400 hats—from Stetsons to a portrait hat by designer Elsa Schiaparelli.
Digital Exhibitions
"The Way We Wore: An Exhibition of Clothing and Memory"
August 2015
Curated by Sequoia D. Barnes (M.S., Fashion Studies​ '15) with contributions from Dilia López​-Gydosh (Curator of the Collection)
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​"The Way We Wore" is a digital e​xhibition launched in August 2015. It features garments from the last seventy years accompanied by conversations with their owners or those close to them. The memories they shared showcase the significance of dress to ​individual identity and human culture as a whole.
The digital exhibition inspired a physical version with the same title, which featured select garments and excerpts from the conversations.​Ìý
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"Swim Style: A Digital History in Swimwear "
January 2015
Curated by Sequoia D. Barnes (M.S., Fashion Studies​ '15) with contributions from Dilia López​-Gydosh (Curator of the Collection)​ and Belinda Orzada (Professor, Fashion and Apparel Studies)
Inspir​ed by the Collection's "Let's Swim[wear] through Time" exhibition, the digital exhibition​ explores the progression of swimwear styles throughout history via print media, video clips, and artifacts from the HCTC. It features​ the evolution of swimwear, emphasizing its consistent purpose of balancing modesty and utility.
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"Nomadic Woman: Bonnie Cashin - A Digital Retrospective"
May 2014
Curated by Sequoia D. Barnes (M.S., Fashion Studies​ '15)
Nomadic Woman​ is a digital exhibition highlighting Bonnie Cashin's design aesthetic and some of her innovative contributions to the fashion industry. It features garments and sketches from the Collection's Bonnie Cashin collection.
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Collaborations
Inside of the University
The Fashion and TextileÌýCollection collaborates with professors and students at the 91Ô´´. Objects from the Collection provide design inspiration, research, and preservation training opportunities.
Outside the University
The Fashion and Textile Collection collaboratedÌýwith theÌýChemical H​eritage Foundation, for an exhibit entitled "Second Skin, The Science of Stretch."ÌýÌýThe exhibit explores the history and science behind the innovation of materials to help make the wearer look better, feel better, and athletes perform better with products that stretch.ÌýÌý Garments from the Fashion and Textile CollectionÌýwere selected to show the evolution of stretch in such categories as legwear, swimwear and intimate apparel.Ìý Dilia López-Gydosh, curator of the FTC said that "The pieces selected for the exhibit reflect how innovation in fibers and fabrics were interpreted in the trends over the past century".ÌýÌý
