Real Clothes, Real Lives
New-York Historical Society, 2024
Graphic design: Kira Hwang
Starting with polka-dotted smocks and ending on a waist-defining floral
wrap dress, “Real Clothes, Real Lives” takes the viewer on a journey in
just a handful of glass cases, proving just how far we have come over
the past 200 years.
—Carolyn Twersky, W Magazine
This exhibition, a collaboration between the New York Historical and the Smith College Historical Costume Collection, examines the everyday clothing of ordinary women from the 19th century to the present.
The SCHCC is first and foremost a research collection, therefore it was crucial for visitors to be able to get up close and personal with the garments. In a break from typical fashion exhibitions, I enclosed all of the mannequins in custom casework, situating them only about a foot and a half from curious eyes. We added supplementary call-out text adhered to the glazing to highlight choice details.
Press: Vogue, Time Out, Apollo Magazine
—Carolyn Twersky, W Magazine
This exhibition, a collaboration between the New York Historical and the Smith College Historical Costume Collection, examines the everyday clothing of ordinary women from the 19th century to the present.
The SCHCC is first and foremost a research collection, therefore it was crucial for visitors to be able to get up close and personal with the garments. In a break from typical fashion exhibitions, I enclosed all of the mannequins in custom casework, situating them only about a foot and a half from curious eyes. We added supplementary call-out text adhered to the glazing to highlight choice details.
Press: Vogue, Time Out, Apollo Magazine
Photos courtesy of Glenn Castellano, N-YHS
