Fashion meets ethnic dress
Compton Union Gallery Of Washington State University Closes Out Its Spring Exhibition Schedule With A Special Display From Wsu’s Historic Textiles And Costume Collection. “Ethnic Dress And Contemporary Fashion” Opens April 12 For Mom’s Weekend And Will Continue Monday – Friday Through May 9.
The exhibit provides a look at how contemporary designers of clothing and jewelry draw inspiration from ethnic textiles and designs. Traditional clothing items are displayed along with articles of more recent manufacture, thus 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 represented include China, Pakistan, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Mexico, India and Africa.
The exhibit was conceived, planned and then curated by Linda Arthur, Patti Fischer and Carol Salusso of the Department of Apparel, Merchandising and Textiles; Alice Spitzer of WSU Libraries and Marty Mullen of Compton Union Gallery.
WSU’s Historic Textiles and Costume Collection is the largest such collection in a public facility in Washington state, containing some 3000 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 is housed in the Apparel, Merchandising and Textiles Department under the curatorship of Arthur and Fischer.
A related exhibit, “The World of Dress,” highlighting the WSU Libraries’ book collection, may be seen in the New Library display case, April 11 – May 11.
