Historic costume, student designs at Robert Hillestad Gallery

"Manipulations: Play it Forward," an exhibition of contemporary and historic dress, will open April 11 in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery.

For the exhibit, Barbara Trout and Janice Stauffer, professors in the UNL Department of Textiles, Clothing and Design, have identified a group of historic garments from the department's collection that are representative of craft in dressmaking over the last 100 years. Each of the dozen garments has decorative elements that depict a range of needlework and fabric techniques, including pin-tucking, bead work, ruching, button work, trapunto and embroidery. The techniques accentuate garment form and create rich surface texture. The garments selected for the exhibit range from a 1906 traveling dress featuring the monobosom silhouette with lace insets, pin-tucking and silk knotted buttons to a two-piece formal ensemble with hand beaded accents, worn to the Ak-Sar-Ben Ball in 1965. This garment was designed and constructed by Conchita Alonso of Lincoln, past president of the Friends of the Hillestad Gallery.

UNL apparel and textile design majors will exhibit their innovations as well. Fall-semester students viewed the selected garments to examine and research how various craft techniques are applied to dress. They developed original garments for a contemporary market using the historic work as inspiration and will present those along with the collection pieces. Rachael Weichel, a senior from Plymouth, manipulated her father's handkerchiefs with pin-tucking to create a blouse that will be shown with a skirt draped out of 1940s table cloths. Stacy Anderson designed an electric blue evening gown made of wool fabric that features the technique of ruching. Many of these labor-intensive, time-consuming techniques, considered to be a lost art, are experiencing resurgence in popularity as top designers featured in trade publications are now highlighting them in their latest collections.

The public is invited to experience both the old and the new presented in this exhibit, which runs through May17. The Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery is located on the second floor of the Home Economics Building on East Campus. Visitors may park in designated visitor stalls or meters located in the East Campus Union parking lot.

At 7 p.m. April 10, Stauffer and Trout will present a lecture, "All in the Details: Craft In Fashion," at Room 11 of the Home Economics Building. The exhibit opening and reception will follow in the Hillestad Gallery. The lecture, reception and exhibition are open to the public. For further information contact Trout at (402) 472-6371.

CONTACT: Wendy Weiss, Professor, Textiles, Clothing and Design, (402) 472-6370