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Alumni Gallery | Elizabeth St-George, Guest Curator Early eighteenth century silk design is marked by the evolution of textile motifs towards greater naturalism. While floral ornamentation had consistently appeared in Medieval and Renaissance silk decoration, these forms were heavily stylized. Semi-naturalistic flowers begin to appear about 1700, after which a tendency towards more naturalistic forms accelerated until the middle of the century.

Stager Gallery | Jean L. Druesedow, Director James Galanos always made ready-to-wear, but he made it to the standard of the haute couture, the highest quality of dressmaking. In the history of the American fashion industry, no one has matched the accomplishments of his 46 year career.

Higbee Gallery | Jean L. Druesedow, Director The period between 1875 and 1914 was tumultuous in both Europe and the United States. At the time, no one thought of it as a specific era, but in hindsight it has been called the "Gilded Age." In France it has been known rather nostalgically as La Belle Époque, the "Beautiful Time."

Broadbent Gallery | Dr. Anne Bissonnette, Curator Blue of indigo is the key to a continuing story that links the past and the present. Considered one of the finest dyes of the ancient world, it continues to be among the most beloved colors. A dominant force in fashion, indigo denim is now ubiquitous, and serves to further the trend for informality in clothing as it draws from its utilitarian roots. Though indigo dye was found in an Egyptian mummy's bandages from ca.

Stager Gallery | Dr. Anne Bissonnette, Curator In August 1939, Madeleine Vionnet (1876-1975) presented her last collection in Paris before closing her house of couture. At the age of eleven, she had become a seamstress' apprentice and had discovered the gift of her hands. Talented, inquisitive and determined, she was a première d'atelier by age nineteen. The female body became the center of her art when she began developing garments through improvisational draping directly on models at the House of Callot Soeurs, which she entered in 1902.

A love of the natural world and a reverence for the materials he uses has led Dean Harris to create sculptural jewelry that has struck a cord with his clientele since the inception of his company in 1998. His graceful approach produces organic shapes, fluid lines and geometric compositions that are at times Spartan in a field defined by extravagance. Fascinated by the deeply psychological need we have for adornment, and attentive to fashion's growing informality, he believes that "anything can be jewelry."

Palmer and Mull Galleries | Dr. Anne Bissonnette, Curator As we gaze upon others, we can learn much about ourselves. Like a beam of light distorted through a crystal prism, our understanding of other cultures is filtered through our own. The inherent transparency of a lens does not infer objectivity. The photographs presented in this exhibition are part of the series The North American Indian written, illustrated and published between 1907 and 1930 by Edward S. Curtis.

Alumni Gallery | Dr. Anne Bissonnette, Curator  

Blum Gallery | Jean L. Druesedow, Director The traditional formal costumes of Japanese men in the modern era continue to reflect an aesthetic that developed as a result of strict sumptuary laws promulgated during the late Edo Period in the eighteenth century. These edicts forced the wealthy but non-aristocratic urban population to camouflage their wearing of luxurious colored silks by using them as linings under plain, dark, but expensive silk garments.