Past Exhibitions

This exhibition explores current trends in menswear design by focusing on the personal collection of Alexandre Marr and Dominic Iudiciani. Marr and Iudiciani’s unique taste shaped the selection of these individual pieces which reveal breaks in men’s fashion from the previously ubiquitous tailored suit. Rather than jackets, trousers and button-down shirts, the garments and ensembles displayed here feature alternatives to more conventionally structured and tailored pieces. These garments also call into question the traditional binary between menswear and women’s wear.

Remarkable for their ability to fly, birds have long held fascination for people around the world. In various ways, birds have provided inspiration for fashion and the decorative arts. Certain birds have meaning in various cultures and their use have had important symbolic value. Feathers have been incorporated into fashion particularly hats, fans, and evening dresses. Images of birds have served as motifs on garments from China and India to Europe and the Americas.

Broadbent Gallery | Jean L. Druesedow, Director    Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003)

From leather strips to silken tassels, fringe takes an array of different forms. Fringe is one of the most basic forms of ornamentation on textiles since it is a natural finish for weaving. When threads of the warp extend beyond the last weft threads they create a fringe. While originally an integral part of the textile, most fringe is now applied separately to the garment. The beauty of fringe often derives from its motion. The loose threads swing and sway at the slightest movement. Although the pieces on exhibit are still, the drama and energy of fringe remains apparent.

The 1940s was a tumultuous period in history and the fashions of the time reflected the upheaval. World War II led to restrictions on what Americans and Europeans could wear because of rationing for civilian populations and uniforms for those who enlisted. The end of the war brought new freedoms. Christian Dior’s groundbreaking 1947 collection was known as the ‘New Look’ which came to refer more generally to the fuller skirts and hourglass silhouettes that predicted the styles of the 1950s.

 Broadbent Gallery | Jean Druesedow, Director "The 1980s: an Age of Excess" will highlight the sparkle and glamour of the 20th century's ninth decade. Designer gowns and elegant street wear from Europe and America — including among others Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Ungaro, Chanel and Christian LaCroix, Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta, Patrick Kelly, Donna Karan, and Pauline Trigere — will be featured. Co-curated by Museum Director Jean Druesedow and Victoria Haworth, a senior fashion merchandising student at Kent State's Fashion School.

Broadbent Gallery | Judy Levin, Curator Magical Designs for Mozart's Magic Flute is an exhibition conceived and curated by distinguished theatrical and opera designer Judy Levin to compare scenic and costume designs of this much loved opera. These selected productions, extolled for their remarkable visual achievements, speak to the many interpretations given to the opera by scholars over the years, as well as the role of the creative teams in shaping each production.

 Higbee Gallery | Sara Hume, Curator  The exhibition, Fashions of Southern Africa, brings together the work of fashion designers currently active in South Africa and Namibia to showcase the ways that people in southern Africa dress, make clothes and think about fashion. The exhibition looks beyond a simple binary between “western fashion” and traditional African dress to see that there is original distinctive fashion in Africa.

Stager/Blum Galleries | Tameka Ellington, PhD and Stacey Lim, Au.D., PhD, Co-Curators