Twelve years ago, The Ohio State University’s Historic Costume & Textiles Collection hosted Flora in Fashion. The event featured a vast array of textiles with floral patterns, along with garments constructed from plant materials such as bark cloth, raffia and piña (pineapple fiber).
This year, the collection’s curator, Gayle Strege, is working alongside the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio to produce a stunning new display of plant-patterned garments, titled Flower Power: Flora in Fashion.
Each gallery in the Lancaster-based Decorative Arts Center will take on a different theme inspired by the color nuances of the seasons.
One gallery will flaunt blue and purple hues, representing early spring. The next will showcase beiges, blacks and whites, paying tribute to the midsummer color palette. Another room will feature hot colors, reminiscent of late summer.
“We’re hoping that it speaks to a lot of individuals,” Strege says. “…I think that what we’re trying to do with a lot of the stuff is look at clothing as a type of decorative art.”
The lower gallery of the center will feature a button collection, each piece of which is a work of art in itself. The materials that make up the buttons range from glass to ceramic, with shapes and depictions of flowers as their focal points. Many of the buttons also have the artists’ trademarks.
Though most of the pieces aren’t made from real plants, some have deep roots in history, such as flowered garments worn by Lady Bird Johnson and Annie Glenn.
“I’m excited to eventually see it up on display, when it’s all realized,” Strege says.
Decorative art means turning these sorts of objects into items that are functional and highly embellished, Strege says.
“One of the dresses that I really love and that brings a smile to my face is a 1950s ball gown,” she says. “… The skirt is a big full, white, cotton organdy, so it’s stiff and it kind of sticks out, and appliqued to that skirt are these … realistic-looking daisies.”
One interesting aspect of the 20th century pieces in the exhibition collection is the intricacy of their construction. Many of their construction details are higher-end and not present in the fast fashion garments of today, Strege says, such as the decision to cut around the design of the
flowers to install the zipper of Johnson’s dress, rather than through them.
As a curator, Strege’s role is to select the garments that will be displayed and choose a cohesive theme that encapsulates the garments.
“The editing is one of the hardest parts, because there are some great things that just don’t get to come out and play,” she says.
Flower Power: Flora in Fashion opens Feb. 4 and runs through April 23.
Claire McLean is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
