Exhibition Archive

Artwear: Fashion and Anti-Fashion (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow), 2005

“Poised at the juncture of arts, craft and fashion, artwear has both challenged and blurred these cultural boundaries for the past 35 years.” So begins the catalogue of this incredibly rich and in-depth exhibition of “imaginative, provocative, even surreal works of artwear” featured in this show and in the accompanying catalogue.

Melissa Leventon, formerly Curator of Costume and Textiles at FAMSF, now an independent curator and consultant, has organized this show, featuring over 140 pieces drawn from our own collections, as well as those of artists and collectors worldwide. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and numerous other institutions have also lent objects to the exhibition. TAC is proud that a number of pieces featured in the show and in the catalogue were purchased wholly or in part by TAC acquisitions funds! The history of the genre is covered extensively from the Arts and Crafts Movement to 21st century virtual textile and dress designers. There are even virtual pieces in the show, as well as video footage from a number of the artists themselves, illustrating their concepts for their works.

European Waistcoats of the 18th Century, 2005

It is generally agreed that the fashionable Parisian man of the last quarter of the 18th century owned as many as 300 waistcoats. To support this passion, records show that some 6000 embroiderers were employed in the silk workshops at Lyon. A great variety of motifs were depicted, from floral patterns to symbols referring to the latest play or opera. Of the five waistcoats on view, three are fom the Museums' permanent collection and two are on loan from Ann Getty. (Exhibition made possible in part by Anna G. Bennett, and the Textile Arts Council.)

The image on the right is of an Englishmen's waistcoat, created by Maze and Steer in 1800. This waistcoat was worn by John Brodie at his wedding in Scotland.