Sep, 12, 2024
Fashion Design
Phoenix Art Museum mounts major exhibition highlighting the history and strengths of the PhxArt fashion collection
Greatest Fits (Vol. 1): The Art of Archiving Fashion is the first major exploration of the formation of the Museum’s extensive fashion holdings of more than 9,000 objects
PHOENIX (September 12, 2024) – On October 9, 2024, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) presents its newest major fashion exhibition and the largest collections-based endeavor in the history of the Museum with Greatest Fits (Vol. 1): The Art of Archiving Fashion. The momentous exhibition is the first in a series of exhibitions that, over the next five years, will uncover the depth of the Museum’s fashion holdings, which now comprise more than 9,000 objects of historical and contemporary dress. Greatest Fits (Vol. 1) features more than 90 garments and accessories, which will change periodically over the show’s 18-month run to present an evolving selection of garments and select accessories from the Museum’s expansive fashion collection, including pieces by leading designers such as Balenciaga, Dior, McQueen, and St. Laurent, among others.
“For nearly 60 years, Phoenix Art Museum and Arizona Costume Institute have collaborated in bringing the world of fashion to Phoenix, and Greatest Fits reveals the fascinating story of how our community built this incredible legacy, now one of the most renowned fashion collections in the United States,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “In addition to celebrating the collection’s history, this exhibition series and its accompanying public programs and forthcoming publication will highlight the many civic leaders, donors, members, and staff who have had a hand not only in building a collection that engages and educates audiences on the importance of fashion but also in expanding our holdings to reflect the wide breadth of genres and movements they represent.”
Spanning the Kelly Ellman Fashion Galleries across the entire mezzanine level of the Museum’s south wing, Greatest Fits (Vol. 1) traces the development of the PhxArt Fashion Collection from its founding by Arizona Costume Institute (ACI) in 1966 through today. The exhibition begins with an extensive display of ACI archival materials, spotlighting the civic leaders, community members, and more who spearheaded the effort to create and expand the Museum’s collection. Visitors then move into a dramatic monochromatic display of garments spanning the 18th century to the present that explores the dynamism and importance of the silhouette. This graphic section celebrates numerous shapes and forms that have defined fashion history and informed perceptions of gender, beauty, and identity. In the third and most expansive of the Kelly Ellman Fashion Galleries, Greatest Fits (Vol. 1) presents several vignettes of significant fashion “happenings” and motifs represented throughout the collection. Themes include fashion as soft sculpture, the technologies and scientific advancements that have impacted techniques and materials, the influence of sporting activities on trends, and the enduring impact of Romanticism and Greco-Roman style on designers. In a visually arresting closing section to Greatest Fits (Vol. 1), visitors will examine the future of fashion collecting, with an impressive presentation of the Museum’s latest acquisition, a couture garment by the famed Dutch designers Vicktor & Rolf.
Greatest Fits (Vol. 1) is accompanied by a robust series of public programs and lectures by world-renowned fashion professionals (to be announced at a later date), as well as the release of the Museum’s first fashion-focused collection book, published in collaboration with SCALA Arts Publishers.
Other notable designers and houses represented throughout Greatest Fits include:
- Fortuny
- Schiaparelli
- Dior
- Balenciaga
- Hermes
- McQueen
- St. Laurent
- Claire McCardell
- Stephen Burrows
- Charles James
- Ralph Rucci
- Tom Ford
- Patrick Kelly
- Hattie Carnegie
“In 1966, few museums across the United States housed fashion collections, which made building a couture fashion collection in what was then a small desert town a particularly inspired and forward-thinking venture,” said Helen Jean, the Museum’s Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion who curated the exhibition. “Greatest Fits (Vol. 1) celebrates this achievement while highlighting the ability of the PhxArt Fashion Collection to showcase the ingenuity of designers across centuries who have worked at the intersection of art, design, and technology. This exhibition will be an exciting opportunity to not only experience many outstanding garments from the Museum’s fashion holdings, but also deepen our understanding of the practical, social, and creative underpinnings of historic and contemporary dress. This exhibition also pays homage to the people and treasured objects that helped form this gem in the Southwest.”
High-resolution photography for Greatest Fits (Vol. 1): The Art of Archiving Fashion can be downloaded here. To request interviews, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2117 or samantha.santos@phxart.org.
About the Exhibition
Greatest Fits (Vol. 1): The Art of Archiving Fashion is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and curated by Helen Jean, the Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design, with Catherine Wise, the Hirabayashi Intern in Fashion Design.. The exhibition is made possible through the generosity of Arizona Costume Institute and the Kelly Ellman Fashion Endowment.
All exhibitions at Phoenix Art Museum are underwritten by the Phoenix Art Museum Exhibition Excellence Fund, founded by The Opatrny Family Foundation with additional major support provided by Joan Cremin.
Admission is free for Museum Members; youth aged 5 and younger; and Maricopa County Community Colleges students. Entrance into the exhibition is included in general admission for the public. Visitors may also enjoy reduced admission to the exhibition during voluntary-donation times on Wednesdays from 3 – 9 pm, made possible by SRP and City of Phoenix. For a full breakdown of general admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.
About Phoenix Art Museum
Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) has engaged millions of visitors with the art of our region and world. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, PhxArt creates spaces of exchange and belonging for all audiences through dynamic exhibitions, collections, and experiences with art. Each year, 300,000 guests on average engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 21,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern, and contemporary art and fashion design, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson. PhxArt also presents live performances, outstanding examples of global cinema, arts-education programs and workshops, an art+music festival, and more for the community. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.
About the Phoenix Art Museum Fashion Collection
Phoenix Art Museum is one of few institutions in the United States that continually collects, preserves, and exhibits works of fashion, placing the southwestern institution in the company of other leading fashion museums. The Museum began collecting fashion in 1966, when 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 of women’s, men’s, and children’s dress spanning the 18th century through the present. It is also home to three special archives, including the Geoffrey Beene Archive of more than 300 garments by the late designer gifted by Patsy Tarr; the Emphatics Archive, featuring avant-garde fashions by Alexander McQueen, Issey Miyake, Thierry Mugler, and others; and the Ann Bonfoey Taylor Archive, featuring the extraordinary custom-couture wardrobe of the American-socialite and tastemaker.