Jeffrey Mayer working with students in the Genet Costume Collection.
The College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Sue Ann Genet Costume Collection is featured in the February/March issue of Threads, a magazine for people who love to sew. The article, “A Treasure Trove of Vintage Fashion,” features an interview with Jeffrey Mayer, curator of the collection and associate professor of fashion design in VPA’s School of Design, and photographs by University photographer Stephen Sartori.
Established in the 1930s, the Genet Costume Collection is comprised of approximately 3,500 women’s garments and accessories from 1820 to the present. Used for exhibition, research and as classroom examples, the collection focuses on women’s high fashion and includes examples of garments that are indicative of each era, are by well-known designers or were worn by prominent women. Notable groupings include an impressive holding of the American Progressive Era (1890-1920) as well as large individual groupings of designs by 20th-century designers. Fashions from the collection are featured in the recently published “Vintage Details: A Fashion Sourcebook” (Laurence King, 2016) by Mayer and Basia Szkutnicka.
