Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising Past Exhibitions
Explore the Avenir Museum’s past exhibitions, their dates, images, and lasting impact.
Inside Out: Structures and Secrets
Garments are designed to be seen right side out. The inside – typically unseen – contains stories of both the maker and the wearer. This exhibition provides a rare opportunity to view hidden traces that are normally concealed by the rules of fashion. Before exhibition installation, guests were invited to participate in an observation-based activity, and observations were later incorporated into the exhibition.
Jan. 16 – May 4, 2024 A Fancy Flourish: Mary Frances Handbags
A collection of opulently embellished handbags created by San Francisco-based designer Mary Frances, whose philosophy fuses whimsy and elegance!
December 2023 User First>>>Design Next: A Human-Centered Journey in Inclusive Product Design for All Abilities
User 1st>>> Design Next presents the culminating endeavors of senior Product Development students in the Department of Design and Merchandising. These projects exemplify the primacy of user-centric design and underscore inclusivity by catering to diverse abilities. Join us to explore the realm of adaptive apparel and clothing design reimagined through the lens of inclusive design in this end-of-semester opportunity!
Fall 2023 Courting Style: Women’s Tennis Fashion
A traveling exhibition from the collections of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Courting Style: Women’s Tennis Fashion explores the intersection of tennis, fashion, personality, and identity as they reflect concurrent social and cultural contexts from the 1870s to the present. Made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, ExhibitsUSA, and Mid-America Arts Alliance.
Fall 2023 Kindred Keepsakes: Honoring the Heirlooms and Heritage of James Galanos
Family stories of cherished American designer James Galanos (1924-2016) told through apparel, shared through the perspectives of those he held dear, and reflected in memories of love made tangible through crafting and gifting.
Fall 2023 Best Seat in the House: Scale Models of the Avenir Museum Chair Collection
One of the best ways to learn about the history of interior design is to experience and recreate it. Students in the Spring 2023 course, INTD 359: The History of Interior Architecture and Design, researched and re-created a chair from the Avenir Museum interior design collection to better understand the limitations the designer had to address. This project resulted in 1/6th scale models of select originals from the museum collection of historic chairs and included the models paired with the original seating that inspired the students.
Summer 2023 Snapshots: Six Curatorial Concepts
Mini exhibitions developed by graduate students in the Care and Exhibit of Museum Collections course. During the Spring 2023 course, each student developed a concept for a hypothetical exhibition, ranging from the Jazz Renaissance in the 1970s to the intersection of fashion and disease in the early 19th century.
Spring 2023 Thrift Style
The reuse of feed sacks to make clothing and other household objects in the 20th century illuminates how the “upcycling” of these bags were mutually beneficial to consumers and businesses. This exhibit examines how past ingenuity can inform today’s sustainability initiatives.
Spring 2023 Nostalgia Mode: Fashion and Sentimentality in the 1970s
Commemorations of the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976 spurred a widespread interest in history, which translated into the romanticized and idealized interpretations of American history pervasive in popular culture of the period. This exhibition explored this wave of nostalgia as it appeared in fashionable dress to shine a light on a lesser-known feature of fashion in the 1970s.
Spring 2023 New Threads
New Threads is a reoccurring exhibition highlighting new donations to the Avenir before they are housed in collections storage.
The Spring 2023 installation of New Threads featured 11 garments recently donated to the Avenir, including five from designer Nancy Johnson and two from designer Bonnie Cashin.
Fall 2022 Mr. Blackwell: From Inspiration to Innovation
The Avenir Museum is home to the largest publicly held collection of apparel from Mr. Blackwell, a fashion designer active from the 1960s to the 1980s who died in 2008. The exhibition recognizes Mr. Blackwell’s longtime support and contributions to CSU and celebrates his passion for fostering the next generation of designers.
The Blackwell exhibition features 11 original Blackwell garments alongside 22 garments created by Department of Design and Merchandising students that were inspired by the original Blackwell pieces.
Fall 2022 In the Public Trust
An examination of the accession process by which objects become a legal part of the museum’s collection, documenting the journey an object goes through from the point of donation or acquisition to becoming a fully documented piece in the museum’s collection.
Fall 2022 The Ravages of Time
The primary goal of this exhibition was to explore how objects have changed or been damaged over time. The hope was to educate visitors about the many perils faced by historic garments and how the museum cares for these objects in order to extend their life and share them with CSU students and the community.
Spring 2022 Girl Powder
An exhibition of seven women’s ski outfits that embrace athleticism and functionality while holding femininity at the crux, designed by CSU graduate Kate Schmidt.
Spring 2022 New Threads
New Threads is a reoccurring exhibition highlighting new donations to the Avenir before they are housed in collections storage.
The Spring 2022 installation of New Threads featured 20th century Macedonian wedding apron, a little black dress by YSL and a bomber jacket.
Fall 2021 Wandering Spirit: African Wax Prints
A traveling exhibition loaned from the Mid-America Arts Alliance that focused on wax prints that originated in Indonesia, were imitated by Dutch textile makers, and ultimately were marketed to African and other markets around the world. Gifty Afua Benson, a native of Ghana who curated the exhibit, provided written narratives about the various pieces in the exhibit, their history and how they were merchandised.
Fall 2021 Where is Every Body? Mannequins and Mounts
This student-curated exhibition looked at the mannequins that are used to display garments in a museum. The history of mannequins was examined as well as their use in the present, and the notions of beauty, normativity, and aesthetics that they reflect back at the viewer.
Fall 2021 New Threads
New Threads is a reoccurring exhibition highlighting new donations to the Avenir before they are housed in collections storage.
The 2021 installations of New Threads featured garments recently donated to, or purchased by the Avenir, including a jacket, skirt, and process sketch by Orlando Dugi, a Vest, Gaiters and Kit by Boulder company Frostline, and a niddy noddy tool
Spring 2020 R.E.S.P.E.C.T. the Dress: Clothing and Activism in U.S. Women’s History
An exhibition tracing U.S. women’s history through faction, from the suffrage movement to contemporary liberation movements.
The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. It took many decades for advocates to reach the successful passage of federal-level suffrage for women in the United States. In the century that followed, challenges toward women’s right to vote, to hold office, and to participate fully and completely in American society remain. Advocates for and against women’s expanded rights have used clothing to define or support their mission.
Spring 2020 Proud to Wear: CSU 150
To celebrate the 150th birthday of Colorado State University, “Proud to Wear” highlighted CSU apparel from throughout the years.
Spring 2020 Women Wear at CSU
An exhibition of attire and accessories on loan from women employees at Colorado State University. Among the garments on display were a dress made by the grandmother of Silvia Minguzzi of the Gregory Allicar Museum of Art; a suit from Erica Suchman of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology; a wrap skirt made by Avenir Director of Operations and Engagement Doreen Beard in junior high; a scarf from Suzanne Hale of the Gregory Allicar Museum of Art; and a red Talbot’s jacket that College of Health and Human Sciences Dean Lise Youngblade bought in 2005 for her first job interview at CSU. The garments are accompanied by commentary from their owners.
Fall 2019 Walking in Beauty: Designs by Orlando Dugi
Walking in Beauty is the first solo show of designer Orlando Dugi. The exhibition of loaned pieces helped fundraise for the Avenir to acquire one of Dugi’s pieces for the permanent collection.
Yá’át’ééh shí éí Orlando Dugi yínshyé’. Kinyaa’áanii nishłį. Tódich’ii’nii ‘éí bá shish chíín. Tł’ízíłání ‘éí dashicheii. Tsé deeshgizhnii ‘éí dashinálí.
Spring 2019 Teaching with Textiles
An exhibition of pieces from the Avenir Museum’s permanent collection, demonstrating their use in teaching AM 460 “Historic Textiles.”
The artifacts in the Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising were first collected in the 1950s when faculty developed a small group of historic examples of textiles and clothing for teaching students. The collection and facility grew over the last sixty years to more than 20,000 objects, four galleries, and an 18,000 square foot dedicated building. Students learn directly from objects in this collection through hands-on classroom experience and research of collection objects.
Spring Summer 2019 New Threads
New Threads is a reoccurring exhibition highlighting new donations to the Avenir before they are housed in collections storage.
The Spring 2019 installation of New Threads featured 8 garments recently donated to the Avenir, including a Mr. Blackwell evening dress, and two Sakiori obi from the Meiji period.
Fall 2018-Spring 2019 Dior's 'New Look' in the Everyday American Closet
An exhibition focusing on the revolutionary silhouette of Dior’s New Look, and the increased access that ready-to-wear apparel and home sewing patterns gave the everyday woman in Colorado and across the United States.
Fall 2018 Cloth as Community: Hmong Textiles in America
A travelling exhibition of Hmong textiles, derived from traditional paj ntaub and the embroidered story cloths.
Spring 2018 FABRICation
The first large-scale traveling exhibition shown by the Avenir was Virginia Commonwealth University’s exhibition “FABRICation.” The exhibition focused on an examination of the “slow making” of textile and fiber arts by hand and featured the works of seven artists. The exhibition also encouraged visitors to practice “slow looking” and take a closer look at the work and details of each piece.
Spring - Summer 2018 ORANGE: A Short History of Orange in Fashion
An exhibition curated by Avenir museum volunteers which celebrates the color orange in the collection and in society.
Orange, the color of vitality, has impacted fashion in broad pendulum swings throughout the 20thcentury.
All colors are an experience of art and science, with the ability to affect human emotions. Orange in particular is associated with vitality and happiness, but it can also signify caution or danger.
This exhibition explores the interactions between the art and science of orange through the lens of 20thcentury American fashion. Whether painted on hot-rod cars or worn by free-wheeling flappers, orange boldly demands attention as the color of the unconventional.
Spring - Fall 2018 New Threads
New Threads is a reoccurring exhibition highlighting new donations to the Avenir before they are housed in collections storage. The 2018 run of New Threads saw a refresh midway through, with separate exhibitions in spring and fall.
The Spring 2018 installation of New Threads featured 8 garments recently donated to the Avenir, including a Bhutanese Kira, Egyptian galabeya or jellabiya, and a gown by designer Reem Acra.
The Fall 2018 installation of New Threads featured 8 garments recently donated to the Avenir, including a WWII Gliderman’s uniform, two Miao baby carriers, and an early 1900s beaded bodice.
Fall 2017 Fashioned by Faculty: Creative Scholarship
This exhibition featured the exquisite creative scholarship of four faculty members of the Department of Design and Merchandising – Carol Engel-Enright, Ph.D., Kevin Kissell, M.A./M.F.A., Anna Perry, Ph.D., and Diane Sparks, Ed.D. Their individual creative work is inspired by a range of influences: Asian textiles, pop culture superheroes, embroidery, wearable art, hand weaving, and digital printing, and each faculty member has a unique aesthetic approach that results in eclectic and extravagant display of color, texture, and surface embellishment on fabric.
Summer-Fall 2017 The Allure of the Moroccan Caftan
An exhibition on the history and contemporary wear of the Moroccan caftan, showcasing both the traditional wear of the caftan, and its adoption into the high fashion scene in Morocco. The exhibited collection was on loan from Fort Collins businesswoman and Moroccan traveler Mary Biggers.
Spring-Summer 2017 Tying the Knot
An exhibition of bridal gowns, accompanied by photos and stories from many of the brides who wore the gowns on display.
Tying the knot. The origins of the phrase are obscure, but in many cultures knots symbolize a lasting pledge, so the figurative connection of the phrase to marriage and the wedding ceremony itself is immediately understood. Of course, knots also have literal importance to apparel construction: lines of stitching are anchored, embellishments are secured, seams do not unravel, and fastenings bind separate elements together.
The symbolic and the practical use of tied knots intersect in one garment in particular:
The Wedding Dress
Spring 2017 Garden Party
An exhibition of 150 years of printed floral fabrics in women’s apparel, and the natural botanicals that inspired them.
James Klett, a professor of Landscape Horticulture, Ornamentals and Nursery Management in the College of Agricultural Sciences and a CSU Extension specialist, assisted in flower identification within the textile patterns on the exhibition pieces.
Spring 2017 New Threads
New Threads is a reoccurring exhibition highlighting new donations to the Avenir before they are housed in collections storage.
The Spring 2017 installation of New Threads featured 12 new donations to the museum. These included a c. 1900 lace tablecloth from the town of Cantú in Italy, a New Mexico Bowl Sweatshirt, and a Green Jacket and Matching Skirt made by Fort Collins resident Winifred Toliver Johnson (1930-2015) while studying Textiles and Clothing Design at Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College c. 1950.
The Fall 2017 installation of New Threads included a Bhutanese kira, a dress by designer Reem Acra, and a western shirt and kerchief owned by Temple Grandin.
Spring - Fall 2016 Layers of Meaning: Color and Design in Guatemalan Textiles, Parts 1 and 2
A two-part exhibition of Guatemalan textiles from the permanent collection of the Avenir Museum. Part 1 was the inaugural exhibition in the Avenir Museum Gallery, as part of the museum’s opening.
The rich cultural heritage of the descendants of the Mayan people can be found in the vivid colors and traditional motifs of Guatemalan highland textiles. Textile traditions found in Guatemala have been passed down from mother to daughter through the centuries. Mayan spinners and weavers produce dazzling works of art where layers of meaning can be found in the color, construction, and design of these indigenous textiles.
Fall 2016 Evolution of a Colorado Clothing Designer
A showcase of work designed by master’s student Caitlin MacLaughlin, focusing on clothing for a plus-sized audience.
Fall 2016 New Threads
New Threads is a reoccurring exhibition highlighting new donations to the Avenir before they are housed in collections storage.
The 2016 installation of New Threads was the first iteration of the exhibition, and featured garments, textiles, and tools recently donated to the Avenir, including a jacquard-woven coverlet, a batik printing block, Dolce & Gabbana Boots, and a Chanel Suit.
Spring 2016 Mr. Blackwell: 'Artist of Subtle Witchery'
The inaugural exhibition in the Blackwell gallery, named after designer and donor Mr. Richard Blackwell, featured Blackwell’s own gowns, designs, and advertisements.
Spring-Summer 2016 Tiny Bits and Pieces
One of the debut exhibitions in the new Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising building, Tiny Bits and Pieces featured 116 miniature quilts. The quilts were designed and sewn from scraps of fabric by College of Health and Human Sciences alumna Lucile Hawks (M.S. home economics, ’58), for whom the gallery was named after.
