Improving Costume Collection Storage at the Museum of Art of the Savannah College of Art and Design

FAIN: PG-51074-10

Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA 31401-4518)
Suzanne Maureen Burke (Project Director: May 2009 to June 2011)
Laurie Ann Farrell (Project Director: June 2011 to October 2011)

Funding supports the purchase of storage furniture and preservation supplies to house a 20th-century costume collection of haute couture, including gowns by major fashion designers. The collection is used by students interested in the design of the gowns, the fibers that are used in the clothing, and in courses on art history. The collection is also featured in exhibitions at the college's Museum of Art.

The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) seeks a Preservation Assistance Grant from the NEH to purchase two museum storage cabinets and related preservation materials to partially house core pieces of a recently donated costume collection at the SCAD Museum of Art. The collection of approximately 550 objects, which includes the C. Z. Guest Collection and other gifts, comprises haute couture and other significant fashion examples from the 1920s to 2008. Designers represented in the collections include Fortuny, Chanel, Mainbocher, Oscar de la Renta, Lanvin, Adolfo, Lagerfeld, Balmain, Bill Blass, Givenchy, and other major figures. In addition to public programs and exhibitions, the museum costume and textile collections support the college's degree programs such as fashion, fibers, film, and art history. The museum's selection of appropriate storage furniture and materials was based on recommendations from a textile conservator with prior experience of the costume collection.