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Visitors will enjoy three exhibitions that highlight outstanding objects from the Museum’s permanent collection. Hats, coats, and shoes are essential garments that shield our bodies from the weather and concurrently speak to the fashion and traditions of the period in which they are worn, while reflecting our personal style.  

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It's a Wrap! Coats 

Stager Gallery

Coats keep us warm, keep us dry, and often keep us very stylish.  This exhibition brings together an array of 20th and 21st century men’s and women’s coats from the KSU Museum collection that highlight the changing trends of their time. The sources for today’s coats include the Chesterfield, Frock, Redingote, Pea, Mourning, Puffer, Duster, and of course, the Trench. Inspired by men’s tailoring, the military, and the dressing preferences of European Royals, coats are that stylish layer between the wearer and the world.

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Heads Up! Hats 

Blum Gallery

From the sublime to the ridiculous, the practical to the beautiful, hats come in all shapes, styles, and colors.  Heads Up! presents highlights from the collection from the 19th century to today. Some hats are made by anonymous designers, others by well known milliners like Peter Bentley, Bes-Ben, Patricia Underwood, and Patrick Treacy. A few of the great fashion designers, notably Chanel and Halston, began their careers as milliners. The exhibition is arranged by color, spanning the spectrum of red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, violet, as well as black and white.

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Stepping Out! Shoes

Stager/Blum Hallway Gallery

Until the 20th century, the names of shoemakers were rarely known by anyone other than the customer. That began to change in the late 19th century as shoemakers like Jean-Louise Francois Pinot and Andre Perugia began producing shoes for fashion designers Paul Poiret and Schiaparelli. The invention of the sewing machine and rise of manufacturing brought a new era to shoemaking. Such advances supported the creativity of designers like Salvatore Ferragamo and Roger Vivier, who established a world of possibilities through designs. Today, shoes continue to fascinate, and their superstar status is indicated by the ‘one name’ that even non-fashionistas know: Manolo and Louboutin. The exhibition includes examples from the late 19th century until today, organized by type of shoe from oxfords to platforms and stilettos.

The exhibits run through July 23, 2023.