Colorwear: A Kaleidoscope of Fashion

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Header: Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli, “Gold-Toe” stilettos, 2024 (detail). Leather, silk satin, and formed metal. Museum Purchase with funds provided by The Kelly Ellman Fashion Endowment Fund

Ostrich feather fan, 1920-1929, French. Dyed ostrich feathers, painted wood, grosgrain ribbon, and metal loop with mother of pearl rivet head. Gift of Mrs. Charles Dickey

Colorwear: A Kaleidoscope of Fashion commemorates the 60th anniversary of Phoenix Art Museum’s fashion collection by presenting a chromatic celebration of colorful ensembles and whimsical accessories. Arranged across a runway of vibrant hues, this exhibition reveals how North American and European designers including Hubert de Givenchy, Olivier Lapidus, Tina Leser, and Giorgio di Sant’Angelo have used color as a source of inspiration. In addition to luscious gowns and sparkling dresses, the exhibition features some of the smallest and most extraordinary objects in the Museum’s fashion holdings, such as Judith Leiber pillboxes encased in multihued crystals, psychedelic scarves, and shoes that evoke the golden tones of an Egyptian burial or the bold explosion of graffiti paint. From couture to ready-to-wear, Colorwear immerses you in the power of color as storytelling, mood, and creative expression.

This riotous celebration of color continues throughout the year with rotating ensembles, the unveiling of a colorful new commission, and an upcoming catalogue that features contributions from fashion historians and Dressed: The History of Fashion podcast hosts April Calahan and Cassidy Zachary.

Hubert de Givenchy, Evening dress and coat, early 1960s. Silk gazar and dyed ostrich feathers. Gift of Mr. Vernon Taylor, Jr. and Family. Photo: Ken Howie

Christian Dior, Ballgown, spring/summer 1957. Silk faille taffeta. Gift of Mrs. Donald D. Harrington. Photo: Ken Howie

The Museum began collecting fashion in 1966, when the Arizona Costume Institute was founded to support the acquisition and preservation of garments and accessories of historical and aesthetic significance. Today, the PhxArt fashion collection houses more than 9,000 objects spanning the 18th century through the present and is home to four special archives, including Paper Dress, the Geoffrey Beene Archive, the Emphatics Archive, and the Ann Bonfoey Taylor Archive. Alongside the kaleidoscopic array of Colorwear, visitors can also discover objects that tell the history of fashion at PhxArt, from historic accessories to rare and avant-garde examples from the archival collections, and new acquisitions by contemporary designers such as The Son of Picasso, a Native American artist of Kiowa, Taos Pueblo, Diné (Navajo), and Delaware descent.