Texas Fashion Collection facts for kids
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| Formation | 1938 |
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| Headquarters | University of North Texas College of Visual Arts & Design, Denton, Texas, United States |
| Website | https://tfc.cvad.unt.edu/ |
The Texas Fashion Collection (TFC) is a special place that keeps and studies old and important clothes. It's like a museum for fashion! This collection is run by the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton, Texas. It helps students, researchers, and anyone interested learn about fashion history.
Contents
How the Collection Started
The Texas Fashion Collection began in 1938. Two brothers, Stanley and Edward Marcus, started it. They wanted to honor Carrie Marcus Neiman, who helped start the famous store Neiman Marcus. They saved beautiful clothes from top designers.
In the 1960s, a fire happened at the Neiman-Marcus store. Nearly 200 pieces of clothing from this collection were then added to the Dallas Museum of Fashion. This museum was a group effort by the Dallas Fashion Group. It was located in the Dallas Market Center.
Moving to UNT
By 1972, the Dallas Museum of Fashion needed more space. So, they gave their entire collection to the University of North Texas. This was a great move because UNT had a new fashion design program. In the 1980s, this collection was officially named the Texas Fashion Collection.
Where the Collection Lives
Over the years, the TFC has had different homes. At first, the clothes were kept in regular classrooms. In 1993, UNT made a special climate-controlled space for the collection. This new space was 3,700 square feet. It helped them organize and count all the items for the first time.
In 1995, the collection received a grant to help preserve its history. Later, in 2013, the TFC moved to a temporary building. Then, in 2019, the TFC opened a new research gallery. This gallery is called the Gloria and Bruzzy Westheimer Research Gallery. It is a 1,300 square foot space in the UNT Art Building.
Who Leads the TFC
Many people have helped lead the TFC. Stanley, Edward, and Carrie Marcus Neiman were the first caretakers. Fashion experts from the Dallas Museum of Fashion also helped it grow. Edward and Betty Mattil helped donate the collection to UNT.
Myra Walker was the TFC director and curator from 1987 to 2017. During her time, the collection doubled in size! Annette Becker became the current TFC director in 2016.
Digital Fashion History
Since 2010, the TFC has worked with the UNT Libraries. They are creating a digital catalog of the collection. This means more and more items can be seen online. You can view them through the UNT Libraries' Digital Library.
Where to See TFC Items
The TFC does not have its own permanent exhibit space. However, it often partners with other museums and places. This allows more people to see its amazing items. Past partners include:
- Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas
- Meadows Museum, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas
- Crow Museum of Asian Art, Dallas, Texas
- Bullock Texas State History Museum, Austin, Texas
- McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas
- Goss-Michael Foundation, Dallas, Texas
- NorthPark Center, Dallas, Texas
- Salve Regina University Gallery, Newport, Rhode Island
What's in the Collection
When it first started, the Dallas Fashion Group helped get many designer clothes donated. Since UNT took over in 1972, the collection has grown a lot. It started with 3,000 items and now has over 18,000 historic pieces!
The collection has many designs from famous designers like:
- Cristóbal Balenciaga (340 pieces, one of the largest collections outside his own archives)
- Hubert de Givenchy (387 pieces)
- Oscar de la Renta (301 pieces)
- Christian Dior (151 pieces)
- Todd Oldham
- Hanae Mori
- James Galanos
- Norman Norell
Most of the TFC's items show how people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area dressed in high style from the 1930s to the 1990s.
Heard de Osborne donated many of the beautiful Balenciaga dresses. She had early access to new collections. Mercedes Bass donated most of the amazing de la Renta dresses.
The collection also has the famous 1965 Emilio Pucci uniforms. These were designed for the hostesses of Braniff International Airways' Gemini IV flights. The Braniff Pucci Collection was given to the museum in 1969. It even includes dresses owned by Bess Braniff, whose husband helped start Braniff Airways.
About 1,150 dresses in the collection are from designers whose names are not known.
Fashion on Main
Fashion on Main used to be an exhibition space for the Texas Fashion Collection. It was located in the historic Titche-Goettinger Building in downtown Dallas. It opened in 2006 and was updated in 2013. It became part of the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design Galleries. By 2018, this space was no longer used as a gallery.
See also
- Houston fashion week
- Austin Fashion Week
