The Texas Fashion Collection is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and documentation of historically significant fashion. It is operated by the
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...
through the College of Visual Arts and Design (CVAD) and housed on the UNT campus in
Denton, Texas
Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...
. The collection is an educational resource for students, researchers and the general public.
History
The origins of the Texas Fashion Collection began in 1938 when
Stanley
Stanley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Film and television
* ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film
* ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy
* ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short
* ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
and Edward Marcus preserved examples of top designers' works in honor of Carrie Marcus Neiman, co-founder of
Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. is an American integrated luxury retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Horchow, and Last Call. Since September 2021, NMG has been owned by a group of investment compani ...
and arbiter of taste for the store. In the 1960s following a fire at the flagship Neiman-Marcus location, nearly 200 pieces of apparel from this collection were added to the Dallas Museum of Fashion, a grassroots initiative created and maintained by the Dallas Fashion Group in the
Dallas Apparel Mart . When space at the Dallas Apparel Mart was at a premium and responding to the UNT Center for Design Research and new UNT fashion design program, the Dallas Museum of Fashion gifted its holdings to the
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...
in 1972, and in the 1980s this cache was renamed the Texas Fashion Collection.
The TFC's facilities have varied and professionalized over time. Initially, these holdings were housed in ad hoc classroom spaces across campus. In 1993, UNT renovated Scoular Hall to consolidate the rare clothing objects into 3700 square foot climate-controlled space, which made it possible to inventory the collection as a whole for the first time. To support of this vital component of fashion history, a National Endowment for the Arts grant for history and documentation was awarded to the Collection in 1995.
In 2013, with the demolition of Scoular Hall, the Texas Fashion Collection and the other programs housed in that building were relocated to a new temporary structure on campus, Welch Street Complex 1. In 2019, the TFC opened the Gloria and Bruzzy Westheimer Research Gallery, a 1300 square foot space on the second floor of the UNT Art Building.
TFC leadership has been driven by fashion and higher education leadership. Its earliest caretakers were Stanley and Edward Marcus, along with Carrie Marcus Neiman. A cohort of fashion industry professionals maintained and grew the collection through the Dallas Museum of Fashion, and Edward and Betty Mattil facilitated its donation to the University of North Texas. UNT Fashion Design Professor Myra Walker served as the TFC director and curator from 1987-2017, and during her tenure the collection doubled in size and grew in stature. In fall 2016, current TFC director Annette Becker was hired.
Since 2010, the Texas Fashion Collection has partnered with the UNT Libraries to create a digital catalog of the holdings of the collection. Accessible through the UNT Libraries' Digital Library, an increasing number of objects can be viewed via the internet.
Though the TFC does not have its own dedicated exhibition space, it regularly partners with cultural institutions to make its holdings accessible. Previous exhibition partners include:
*
Dallas Museum of Art
The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...
, Dallas, Texas
*
Meadows Museum
The Meadows Museum, nicknamed "Prado on the Prairie", is a two-story, 66,000 sq. ft.art museum in Dallas, Texas on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU). Operating as a division of SMU's Meadows School of the Arts, the museum houses one ...
, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas
*
Crow Museum of Asian Art
The Crow Museum of Asian Art is a museum in downtown Dallas, Texas, dedicated to celebrating the arts and cultures of Asia including China, Japan, India, Korea, Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines, from anci ...
, Dallas, Texas
*
Bullock Texas State History Museum
The Bullock Texas State History Museum (often referred to as the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum or Bullock Museum) is a history museum in Austin, Texas. The museum, located a few blocks north of the Texas State Capitol at 1800 North Congre ...
, Austin, Texas
*
McNay Art Museum
The McNay Art Museum, founded in 1954 in San Antonio, is the first modern art museum in the U.S. state of Texas. The museum was created by Marion Koogler McNay's original bequest of most of her fortune, her important art collection and her 24-roo ...
, San Antonio, Texas
*
Goss-Michael Foundation, Dallas, Texas
*
NorthPark Center
NorthPark Center, sometimes referred to as NorthPark Mall, is an upscale, enclosed shopping mall in Dallas, Texas (United States). It is at the intersection of Loop 12
(Northwest Highway) and US 75 (North Central Expressway). Opened in 1965, it ...
, Dallas, Texas
*
Salve Regina University
Salve Regina University is a private Roman Catholic university in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It was founded in 1934 by the Sisters of Mercy and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. The university enrolls mo ...
Gallery, Newport, Rhode Island
Collections
Early in its history, the Dallas Fashion Group was successful in generating donations of designer clothing from Dallas women. Under the direction of UNT since 1972, the collection has grown from 3,000 to more than 18,000 historic items. Designs from
Cristóbal Balenciaga
, birth_name = Cristóbal Balenciaga Eizaguirre
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Getaria, Spain
, death_date =
, death_place = Xàbia, Spain
, resting_place = Getaria Cemetery
, education =
, label_name = Balenciaga
, ...
,
Hubert de Givenchy
Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy (; 21 February 1927 – 10 March 2018) was a French aristocrat and fashion designer who founded the luxury fashion and perfume house of Givenchy in 1952. He is famous for having designed much of the p ...
,
Oscar de la Renta
Óscar Arístides Renta Fiallo (22 July 1932 – 20 October 2014), known professionally as Oscar de la Renta, was a Dominican fashion designer. Born in Santo Domingo, he was trained by Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio del Castillo. De la Renta ...
,
Todd Oldham
Todd Oldham (born Jacky Todd Oldham; October 22, 1961) is an American-born designer and president of L-7 Designs Inc and Todd Oldham Studios. His approach to fashion and style has become known to millions through his fashion lines, interior desig ...
,
Hanae Mori
was a Japanese fashion designer. She was one of only two Japanese women to have presented her collections on the runways of Paris and New York, and the first Asian woman to be admitted as an official ''haute couture'' design house by the Fédé ...
,
James Galanos
James Galanos (September 20, 1924 – October 30, 2016) was an American fashion designer and couturier. Galanos is known for designing clothing for America's social elite, including Nancy Reagan, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and others.
Ea ...
, and
Norman Norell
Norman David Levinson (April 20, 1900 – October 25, 1972) known professionally as Norman Norell, was an American fashion designer famed for his elegant gowns, suits, and tailored silhouettes. His designs for the Traina-Norell and Norell fashion ...
make up robust portions of the collection, with the majority of the TFC's holdings representing Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex consumers' engagement with high style from the 1930s-1990s.
The famed 1965 Emilio Pucci designed Gemini IV Hostess uniform Collection for
Braniff International Airways
Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 un ...
is also housed in the Texas Fashion Collection. The Braniff Pucci Collection was donated to the museum in March 1969, and included several dresses owned by Braniff co-founder Thomas Elmer Braniff's wife Bess Braniff.
Fashion on Main
Fashion on Main was the exhibition facility of the Texas Fashion Collection. It was located in the historic
Titche-Goettinger Building
Titche-Goettinger (later known as Titche's) was a department store chain based in Dallas, Texas (United States). It was established in 1902 and was a major player in the Dallas retail market until its merger with Joske's, which was later absor ...
in the
Main Street District of
downtown Dallas
Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has tradit ...
. Opened in 2006, it was renovated in 2013 and incorporated into the Galleries of the College of Visual Arts and Design of UNT. As of 2018, the space has been returned to the UNT System and no longer functions as a gallery.
References
External links
Fashion on MainTexas Fashion CollectionTexas Fashion Collection on the UNT Libraries' Digital Library
{{authority control
Arts in Dallas
Museums in Dallas
Museums in Denton County, Texas
Art museums and galleries in Texas
University of North Texas
Fashion museums in the United States