Workshops

From leather strips to silken tassels, fringe takes an array of different forms. Fringe is one of the most basic forms of ornamentation on textiles since it is a natural finish for weaving. When threads of the warp extend beyond the last weft threads they create a fringe. While originally an integral part of the textile, most fringe is now applied separately to the garment. The beauty of fringe often derives from its motion. The loose threads swing and sway at the slightest movement. Although the pieces on exhibit are still, the drama and energy of fringe remains apparent. This exhibition assembles examples of fringe on costumes and textiles from around the world. While the uses of fringe are remarkably diverse, there are certain categories that emerge across national and cultural boundaries. Leather fringe can be found on Native American dress, Spanish equestrian wear and also suits from the 1960s counterculture. Long silken fringe adorned dresses from the Jazz Age, shawls exported from China and ornate costumes from the Victorian period. This exhibition highlights both the great diversity in fringe but also the surprising links between seemingly disparate cultures.

Broadbent Gallery | Jean L. Druesedow, Director 

Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003)

Renowned actress, role model, fashion icon, outspoken, independent and feisty, Katharine Hepburn is listed by the American Film Institute as Hollywood's greatest screen legend. During a career that spanned six decades, Hepburn was nominated 12 times for Academy Awards as Best Actress and won four. Her sense of style influenced countless women, fashion designers, and the informal, elegant approach to American style seen on today's runways.

Katharine Hepburn: Dressed for Stage and Screen

In 2008, the Kent State University Museum was honored to receive Katharine Hepburn's personal collection of film, stage and television costumes, as well as clothes worn by her for publicity purposes.

In celebration of the Museum's 25th anniversary year, Hepburn's performance clothes will be displayed in a very special exhibit including: stage costumes from The Philadelphia Story, Without Love and Coco; screen costumes from such classic films as Stage Door, Adam's Rib and Long Day's Journey Into Night; and many of her television movies, such as Love Among the Ruins. In addition, Hepburn's "signature look," an ensemble of tailored beige trousers and linen jackets, will be spotlighted, as will vintage posters, playbills, photos and other Hepburn-related artifacts.

The exhibit will also be supported by special events and programming on Hepburn's career, influence and life. These will take place at the Museum, across the Kent Campus and throughout Northeast Ohio.

Upcountry History Museum - Furman University, South Carolina

Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003)

Renowned actress, role model, fashion icon, outspoken, independent and feisty, Katharine Hepburn is listed by the American Film Institute as Hollywood's greatest screen legend. During a career that spanned six decades, Hepburn was nominated 12 times for Academy Awards as Best Actress and won four. Her sense of style influenced countless women, fashion designers, and the informal, elegant approach to American style seen on today's runways.

Katharine Hepburn: Dressed for Stage and Screen

This exclusive exhibition of Hepburn’s private collection will make its Southeastern United States debut in Greenville, South Carolina. Featuring over 35 free-standing costumes worn in 21 films and 6 stage productions spanning Hepburn’s illustrious career, the 2500 square foot project will be the first major costume exhibition in the Upstate South Carolina.

Hepburn's performance clothes will be displayed in a very special exhibit including: stage costumes from The Philadelphia Story, Without Love and Coco; screen costumes from such classic films as Stage Door, Adam's Rib and Long Day's Journey Into Night; and many of her television movies, such as Love Among the Ruins. In addition, Hepburn's "signature look," an ensemble of tailored beige trousers and linen jackets, will be spotlighted, as will vintage posters, playbills, photos and other Hepburn-related artifacts.

Visit the exhibition page on the Upcountry History Museum website.

Remarkable for their ability to fly, birds have long held fascination for people around the world. In various ways, birds have provided inspiration for fashion and the decorative arts. Certain birds have meaning in various cultures and their use have had important symbolic value. Feathers have been incorporated into fashion particularly hats, fans, and evening dresses. Images of birds have served as motifs on garments from China and India to Europe and the Americas.

In fact, the popularity of birds in fashion led to fears of the extinction of many species by the beginning of the twentieth century. As a result, organizations such as the Audubon Society were formed to protect these beautiful animals and ultimately led to the passage in the United States of the Migratory Bird Act of 1918. As we celebrate the centennial of this important legislation, 2018 has been declared the Year of the Bird.
 
This exhibition explores the levels of meaning birds can convey as well as the variety of their uses by showcasing the ways that bird have provided material and inspiration for fashion and decorative arts. The pieces range from hats, jewelry, and kimonos to ceramics and lace. The exhibition is organized by type of birds and includes peacocks, ostriches, cranes, roosters and eagles.

The Kent State University Museum invites you to the fifth annual Fashion Meets the Botanicals, Saturday, March 3, 2018. Enjoy an orchid-inspired fashion show - produced by design students at the Kent State University Fashion School - in the incomparable surroundings of the Cleveland Botanical Garden. Savor wine and refreshments as you admire the garden and the orchid-inspired fashions created by the talented design students of Kent State University's Fashion School. The afternoon culminates in an award ceremony honoring the top designs - as picked by Botanical Garden visitors.

Tickets are $35 per person and include admission to the garden. They will be held at the door. To purchase tickets by credit card, please visit https://secure2.convio.net/ksu/site/Ticketing/1902083260?view=Tickets&i… . We accept Visa or MasterCard.

Join us on Friday, February 9 from 7 - 10 pm as we celebrate the opening of the Katharine Hepburn: Dressed for Stage and Screen exhibition with live 40s swing music provided by the KSU Jazz Band. Y-Town Swing group will be on hand to demonstrate and swing dance, while you mingle with Golden Age of Hollywood celebrities, and enjoy a full cash bar and free "bridge mix." Not to mention the Museum will be open to see "Kate."

Tickets $10 in advance, $15 at the door.
Cash, Visa, MasterCard accepted.
Visit our ticketing website to make reservations.
Open to the community!

The Costume and Textile Specialists, Colleen Callahan and Newbold Richardson

Many museums, historic sites, house museums, and archives have clothing, accessories and textiles in their collections. This workshop will cover a variety of issues related to the care, preservation and exhibition of clothing and textiles. Topics to be addressed include the philosophy and mission of textile conservation, environmental concerns, light damage, insect and pest damage, and stains. The seminar speakers will cover stabilization options such as vacuuming, dry cleaning, wet cleaning and sewing, as well as packing, and when to hang, to fold, or to roll textiles for storage. Using a lecture/demonstration format with opportunities for audience participation, the speakers will discuss preparing clothing for exhibition and display, review types of materials used in mount and mannequin making, and demonstrate the use of padded hangers, foam and fiberglass mannequins, ethafoam, and fosshape for display.

For more program and registration information click here.

To register call 330-672-3450
Sponsored by Christopher P. Sullivan, M.D. as part of the Jean Druesedow Endowed Fund for Costume and Textile Conservation and Preservation.

14 students, led by Dean Mark Mistur and assistant professor Rui Liu, created two designs for the Snow and Ice Competition. One, named "THRICE", was created into a full-blown ice sculpture.

June 7-8, 2018      Rental Program Show

10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. both days

Artwork from the School of Art Collection and Galleries permanent collection available for on-campus rental will be on view at the CVA Gallery.  Staff, faculty and campus organizations can come to the gallery and choose artwork to hang in their on-campus offices (main Kent campus only).  

The Kent State University School of Art Collection and Galleries Rental Program is designed to provide easy access for campus organizations and offices to enjoy some of the incredible artwork from the School of Art Collection, which features a wide range of artwork from past students, locally-known artists, and artists of national and international fame. By making the process easy and inexpensive, it is our hope that you take advantage of  this unique opportunity and make our artwork part of your working environment. 

The KSU School of Art Galleries Rental Program is designed so that renting artwork is easy, inexpensive, and fast. In just a few short steps, you can make pieces from the School of Art Collection a part of your working environment.

Simply follow these steps:

1) Come to the Annual Rental Show at the CVA Gallery (Center for the Visual Arts, 325 Terrace Drive) and select 1-5 pieces you wish to rent for your office. 

2) Speak with a Gallery employee, who will give you a folder of documents and a contract to sign.

3) Arrange with the Gallery employee a Pick-Up date during which you will come to the Gallery, pick up the work you’ve selected to rent, and transport it to your office. You will also pick up your invoice on that day, which you can pay with cash, check, or credit card. The invoice must be paid within 7 days of the Pick-Up date. 

4) Hang up the artwork in your office, following the How to Hang Artwork diagram which is provided with the folder you received on the day you selected pieces to rent.

This exhibition explores current trends in menswear design by focusing on the personal collection of Alexandre Marr and Dominic Iudiciani. Marr and Iudiciani’s unique taste shaped the selection of these individual pieces which reveal breaks in men’s fashion from the previously ubiquitous tailored suit. Rather than jackets, trousers and button-down shirts, the garments and ensembles displayed here feature alternatives to more conventionally structured and tailored pieces. These garments also call into question the traditional binary between menswear and women’s wear. While women have been wearing trousers for decades, skirts have remained an exclusively feminine garment. Designers’ runway collections are increasingly pushing the envelope and offering variations of skirts for men. Various designers have pushed silhouettes beyond the square shouldered, trim-waisted shape of the traditional suit. The exhibition features work by such notable labels as Rick Owens, Gareth Pugh, Julius_7, Dior Homme, Comme des Garçons, and Issey Miyake.

The move away from the traditional suit has also moved out of the clearly defined levels of formality for clothing. The basic gray or navy suit is appropriate for the work place or dressy occasion such as a party or even a wedding. Tuxedos or even white ties and tails represent even more formal wear. However, society is moving away from these strictly defined codified clothing options. The punk or goth aspect to the designs of Rick Owens and Gareth Pugh stands as a rejection of the formality of society and the workplace.

All of the pieces in the exhibition are black which allows for a concentrated focus on details of cut, construction, proportion, and materials. In moving away from traditional silhouettes, many of these designers rethought the relationship between the clothing and the underlying shape of the body. Many pieces have unusual proportions with high waists, widened shoulders and exaggeratedly long sleeves that distort the normal silhouette of the human form. Unusual materials ranging from thermoplastics to pleated polyester further serve to transform how the garments fit and move.

Photographs by Dominic Iudiciani.