About Us

Teaching Collection Avenir Museum Origins

The Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising has its origins in the early 1950s as a small faculty teaching resource in the former Department of Home Economics.

The museum has undergone significant changes over the years. In 2016, the existing 8,000 square feet were completely renovated, and 10,000 square feet were added. The project was made possible by a lead gift from the Avenir Foundation and significant funding from other benefactors.

The museum now contains three galleries, a classroom and seminar space, a library, a conservation laboratory, and expanded collection storage and management areas.

People of the Avenir

Meet the Staff

The Avenir Museum staff is comprised of professional individuals with years of experience and education in the Design and Museum industries.

Megan Osborne with a rack of garments from the Collection

Avenir Advisory Council

The Council is advisory in purpose and assists the museum staff in enhancing public awareness of the Avenir Museum and its academic home in the Department of Design and Merchandising.

About the Collection

The collections are comprised of some 20,000 artifacts including 19th and 20th-century garments and accessories, flat textiles, and non-Western dress with special interests in Central Asia, India, China, and Japan. Special collections include designer dresses from Calvin Klein, Arnold Scaasi, James Galanos, Carolina Herrera, and Mr. Blackwell, self-proclaimed arbiter of fashion and author of the annual Worst-Dressed List. Located in the University Center for the Arts complex, the Avenir Museum public spaces presently includes three galleries with an established schedule of exhibits. Lectures are held in conjunction with each exhibit. Significantly expanded exhibition galleries and collections care areas, in a state-of-the-art, LEED-certified building adjacent to the UCA opened in 2016.

The Collection

Threads of our Community

In 1948, Dagmar Gustafson began a position as Associate Professor of Textiles and Clothing in what was then called the Division of Home Economics at Colorado A&M. For the next twenty years, she taught several courses in clothing and textiles, became head of the department, and expanded the curriculum to include industry internships for students. Among her many achievements, and one of her most visible and lasting legacies was the establishment of the historic clothing and textiles collection. This collection would go on to become the Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising.

History of the Avenir Museum