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Prestigious Costume Collection

on July 16, 2010 – 3:49 am

Meet Timothy Long, curator of costume at the Chicago History Museum. Long creates exhibitions for the Costume and Textiles Gallery. The Chicago History Museum has one of the world’s premier clothing and fashion collections. With over 50,000 costume and textile artifacts it is second, tied with the Fashion Institute of Technology, among the top five prestigious costume collections in the world. The array spans the breadth of Chicago’s history, with particular strength in materials from the late 19th  century through the present. The Chicago History Museum differs in its philosophy of acquisition from other major costume collections in the country, using costume artifacts as a powerful lens for viewing the city’s history and communicating its stories to visitors.

The Museum’s extensive couture holdings include such unique pieces as gowns by Charles Frederick Worth, the “father of couture,” and Paul Poiret’s Sorbet evening gown, believed to be the first haute couture gown designed to be worn without a corset. Works by recent designers such as Dior, Halston, Miyake, and Versace, in addition to the innovative designs of Yohji Yamamoto, have earned the collection an international reputation.

 

Visit the museum web site here.

 

Victorian Christmas

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