Conversation Pieces

Conversation Pieces: Stories From the Fashion Archives offers a glimpse into the multidisciplinary field of fashion. Through pairings and small groupings from the museum's permanent collection, shared narratives between objects are uncovered that highlight different aspects of the study of dress and how designers across generations reference a shared lexicon to situate themselves within the artistic canon. The exhibiton delves into local histories, the relationships between contemporaries, pervasive cultural trends, historical influences, the evolution of fashion houses, and the role of visionary designers and their impact on our lives and how we move through space.

The first examples of women’s costume entered the museum’s collection in 1942, and fashion was an active part of the exhibition program until the 1980s. In 2015, after a long hiatus, the museum made a recommitment to its fashion collection. This exhibition celebrates the history of the collection and forecasts the future, looking toward new areas of exploration in fashion’s ever-evolving landscape.

Unexpected juxtapositions include a 1896 ballgown from the first haute couture fashion house in Paris—the House of Worth with a voluminous gown from cult fashion hero Rick Owens’Spring/Summer 2020 collection as well as two Madame Grès pleated Grecian designs with equally sculptural fashions by Turkish born designers, Ece and Ayşe Ege, for their design house Dice Kayek. A dedicated platform to Little Black Dress starts with an iconic 1926 Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel shift dress and explores multiple variations on this classic with looks by Yves Saint Laurent, Ceil Chapman, James Galanos, and Yohji Yamamoto. Further narratives explored are Denver’s pioneering women and their artistic dress styles and the role of Denver’s department stores in promoting American designers.