Fashion, Fabrics, and Design Exhibit Opens Today

November 2010

November 16-30, Duderstadt Center Gallery, North Campus (behind Pierpont Commons, 2101 Bonisteel Blvd., Ann Arbor 48109-2090). Running daily, Monday through Friday, 12:00-6:00 p.m., and Saturday, November 20

This fascinating display, curated by Jessica Hahn, costume designer and faculty member in the Department of Theatre & Drama, is two pronged, looking at the history of both fashions and costume design.

Fashions: “What we think of as new innovations and styles today have really all been seen before,” Hahn says. “What is new are the textiles they are made of—the Egyptians had linen, cotton, wool, and flax; the Romans saw the introduction of silk; and it was literally thousands of years before the first synthetic fabrics appeared. So to appease the natural desire for change, it was the shape of the clothing that made the difference.”

Costume design:  Theatrical costuming emerged as a profession at the end of the 19th century. “Costume designers today are interested in ‘heightened theatricality,’” Hahn says, “not museum authenticity. The costumes in this exhibit were designed to serve the texts of the plays and productions they were created for, along with the director’s and designers’ concepts.”

The works on display have been pulled from the U-M Historic Costume Collection, U-M costume stock, and Professor Hahn’s own personal collection. They are accompanied by costume renderings and vintage fashion advertisements.