"Behind the Seams" at the Cincinnati Art Museum

A focused, informative examination 
of preserving textiles as art

Dexter Examines the Textile Collection Storage

     Neil has privately wondered why the Cincinnati Art Museum doesn’t have more exhibitions dedicated to its enormous fashion collection.  Years ago, there were a number

Dior Wedding Ensemble
as Exhibited in Wedded Perfection:
Two centuries of Wedding Gowns in 2010

of shows focused on individual designers and the Wedding Dress exhibition from a couple of years ago was both a sellout and on the same level as any fashion exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  It’s as if the CAM read Neil’s mind.

Sculpted Undergarments for Textile Exhibits

     The current “Behind the Seams,” located in the gallery across from The Terrace Restaurant (an excellent place for lunch), explains how the textile collection has to be stored, preserved, cleaned, and displayed.  One detail that made us think again is that for every six months a textile is exhibited, it needs to be stored for five years.  Museum staff wash and sew some pieces in a video presentation.  There’s also a group of mannequins dressed in the underclothing that were the bases for a number of silhouettes over the past two hundred years.  Altogether, it’s a quick, fascinating glimpse into the staff’s professionalism and the commitment of the museum to its permanent collection.

http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/explore/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/details/1479-behind-the-seams-exhibiting-and-conserving-fashion-and-textiles