PULLMAN, Wash. — Compton Union Gallery of Washington State University completes its spring exhibition schedule with a special display, “Ethnic Dress and Contemporary Fashion,” from WSU’s Historic Textiles and Costume Collection.
The exhibit opens April 12 during Moms’ Weekend and will continue Monday-Friday through May 9. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
A related exhibit, “The World of Dress,” highlighting the WSU Libraries’ book collection, can be seen in the Holland/New Library display case April 11-May 11.
“Ethnic Dress and Contemporary Fashion” provides a look at how contemporary designers of clothing and jewelry draw inspiration from ethnic textiles and designs. Traditional clothing items are displayed with articles of more recent manufacture, providing examples of how modern fashion attempts to capture the flavor of other worlds and cultures.
One of the traditional garments on display is a chapan from Uzbekistan given to WSU President V. Lane Rawlins. Other countries and areas represented include China, Polynesia, Pakistan, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Mexico, India and Africa.
The exhibit was conceived and curated by Linda Arthur, Patti Fischer and Carol Salusso of the WSU Apparel, Merchandising and Textiles Program within the Department of Apparel, Merchandising and Interior Design, Alice Spitzer of WSU Libraries and Marty Mullen of the university’s Compton Union Gallery.
AMT students who have assisted with exhibit design and research are Michelle Barringer of Palouse, Kristi Clarke of Everett, Tammy Looney of Port Orchard, Jennifer Sellen of Moses Lake, Deborah Vandermar of Seattle, and Allyson Wolf of Thousand Oaks, Calif.
WSU’s Historic Textiles and Costume Collection is the largest such collection in a public facility in the state of Washington, containing some 3,000 items. While the number of ethnic textiles and clothing items and accessories from around the world is currently limited, there are plans to expand the collection, managed by Arthur and Fischer.
