Peggy Sagers: A synonym for a rare occasion is "almost never," and we could even leave off the "almost" and say "never."

Never has this collection been seen the way you will see it in the next few episodes.

The Texas Fashion Collection began in 1938 when Stanley and Edward Marcus preserved examples of top designers' works in honor of Carrie Marcus Neiman, co-founder of Neiman Marcus and arbiter of taste for the store.

Join us today on "Fit 2 Stitch," as we introduce the Texas Fashion Collection.

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♪♪♪ Peggy: Today we have the Texas Fashion Collection and it is just a joy, a treat, a privilege, to have with us the curator of that collection, Annette.

And Annette Becker is going to join us today because you know so--you know more than anybody about this collection.

Annette Becker: Well, I feel lucky to be able to work with these incredible artifacts every day.

Peggy: I can imagine.

I can't imagine.

But because I've worked with you for a while now I just wanna get all of that information to us.

Tell us about the collection.

Annette: So the Texas Fashion Collection is an archive of nearly 20,000 historic and designer garments and accessories, spanning over 250 years of fashion history.

Peggy: Which I actually searched.

That's, like, one of the largest collections in the world.

Annette: It is.

Peggy: I mean, that's amazing that we have that here in Texas.

Annette: Yeah, we're so privileged at the University of North Texas's College of Visual Arts and Design to have this incredible research resource that we make available to anywhere from quilters, home sewers, established fashion designers, and students.

Peggy: Tell me the history.

Go back to what--how did it start?

Annette: So the Texas Fashion Collection was started by Neiman Marcus, a Dallas-based department store, in 1938.

The store, I think, wanting to establish some history and some gravitas for themselves, decided to start collecting pieces that were for sale in their store.

So we're so lucky that this historic retailer understood, you know, 80-plus years ago that saving pieces that are from this moment in time would be important to people in the future.

Peggy: That's amazing.

And then how do--what was the tie-in to University of North Texas at that time?

Annette: So, the collection moved to UNT in 1972.

At that point, the collection had grown so large that its stewards in Dallas just couldn't manage it on a volunteer basis, and the University of North Texas had a budding fashion design program, so the people who had worked on collecting these artifacts knew that if they had these pieces at a research institution, that people would be able to come and learn from them for generations to come.

Peggy: I think that is fascinating because we see throughout fashion history that when there's a private collection, there--sometimes, the garments are not preserved.

Is that a fair statement?

They're almost ruined because they see the value of them and they use the value for their own good as opposed to preservation and education, which I know University of North Texas is preservation first, education.

So those things are really what we wanna highlight.

That's what we wanna talk about.

Annette: Absolutely, we're so lucky that people have cared for these pieces and then brought them to us.

So we follow museum best practices in handling them, which means these pieces are usually stored in a state-of-the-art facility where they can really be cared for.

We only handle the artifacts if we're either wearing gloves or have clean, dry hands like we do today.

Peggy: Yes, and so we all washed our hands beforehand.

So even knowing that, I'm afraid to kind of touch anything now.

I'm like, "Okay, if I touch it, it'll go away faster," and you don't want it to happen.

So where are we gonna start?

This is just a really exciting venture today.

Annette: Yeah, I'd love to start with this piece on the end.

So, this is a real treasure of the Texas Fashion Collection.

This was created by Hanae Mori who is a Japanese fashion designer and one of the first designers from Japan to have her fashion practice outside of that country.

This piece is particularly significant to us because one of the first places that hosted Hanae Mori as a retail site was the Neiman Marcus based in Dallas.

Peggy: Oh, interesting.

Annette: So, our collection actually has one of the biggest sets of holdings by Hanae Mori in the world, and that's particularly important because she was the first Asian designer to be part of the elite world of haute couture in Paris.

So she was really, you know, breaking glass ceilings, pushing the world open in a more global way to really think about what fashion could entail.

Peggy: And revolutionary that she was able to get into the fashion world, that Neiman Marcus allowed her in, almost, and I hate to say that but it is a kind of an exclusive group in some cases.

Talk to me about this.

Annette: Yeah, this is one of my favorite pieces by Hanae Mori.

So, there are so many details we can dig into.

Some of the details I love most are that she was a fashion designer and a textile designer so this entire piece you can see that she's been really thoughtful about how this textile pattern, how this floral motif is laid out.

So you can see that if we look at the bottom hemline, you can see that it's scalloped to follow the petals of the flowers, and you can also see that in the front.

So here in the centerfront opening, we have these scalloped petals and, believe it or not, this follows those petals to create the centerfront opening.

So this is a jacket that covers a strapless dress and you can see all the details that these are covered snaps, that the fabric matches the fabric underneath, and you can see all of these hand-applied bugle beads that all the colors match the fabric that's underneath.

There's just so much attention to detail and care in this artifact.

Peggy: You know, when I look at a garment like this, as a sewer, I think of several things.

Can I ask you those questions?

Annette: Go for it.

Peggy: Like, I'm just curious what would something like this take?

Is there any estimated time as to what it-- each of these is done-- single beads.

Annette: Yeah, so all of this is done on silk chiffon, so you have to be very careful to not create any snags in the fabric and it's so delicate that when you're putting on heavy beading, you just have to be very careful and thoughtful.

I would imagine hundreds of hours just went into beading and creating these beautiful finished hems.

This takes a lot of time and care, but all of those details are what really elevated her work.

Peggy: Well, and what's fascinating to me is--and I know someone's gonna cringe out there, hearing this, but this isn't something--this is something that we could do.

It's not beyond what we could do, it's just time in.

Any idea what something like this would cost on a retail basis?

Annette: That's a good question.

So, her ready-to-wear pieces, historically, were available to maybe upper middle class people or upper class people.

But once she started her couture practice in Paris, those were all bespoke custom-made garments that today would-- Peggy: --hundreds of thousands.

Annette: Exactly, exactly.

Exactly.

But really, if you break down all of these details, it just takes time and some skill, some craft, to create every single detail here.

You know, maybe if you're doing that on your own, that could make a garment like this more accessible to you.

Peggy: I mean, you'd have to start this, like, when your child was born, for something for an event when they were--later in life, you know?

It'd take almost a lifetime and yet, it's just stunning.

I mean, it's just such a beautiful thing to be able to look at.

And it's, yeah, it's breathtaking.

It really is just beautiful.

Thank you.

Annette: Yeah.

Peggy: All right, and then we have?

Annette: Yeah, so this is one of my favorite pieces of the Texas Fashion Collection.

This is a sweatsuit ensemble by Norma Kamali and I think many of us can relate to what this looks like, which is basically sweatpants.

Peggy: This is amazing.

I love this.

Such a contrast.

Annette: I think that's something that people don't often think about with a fashion archive.

We're so used to seeing blockbuster fashion exhibitions that are sponsored by couture houses that really elevate, you know, really elite garments.

But at the Texas Fashion Collection, it's important for us to show design innovation, to show a broader history of dress and fashion.

You know, not all of us get to wear Hanae Mori evening dresses every day, but I think many of us can relate to wearing sweatpants.

Peggy: No kidding.

And Norma Kamali is just a great--I mean, I look at the details of this and I love that there's--it's a cocoon.

It's off the old cocoon coat, yes?

Annette: Absolutely, so we see examples of patternmaking and construction that are similar to this in designers like Charles James and Holstein, but having it translated into this really soft sweatshirt material just makes it drape so beautifully.

It really makes the word "cocoon" feel even more evocative.

Peggy: Well, and I, as--there's actually a dart in the shoulder, which, you know, a lot of times you just wouldn't find on things.

The detailing is just there, but it's still there, even though it's not the time.

Annette: Exactly.

Peggy: And where did the garments come from?

Annette: So, this one was donated to us by someone who is a fashion reporter in Dallas for decades.

She purchased this pretty early in her career and especially since she was covering early career designers, she purchased this around the same time that Norma Kamali's career sort of took off.

So, this is from around 1980 when Norma Kamali made, basically, the first collection of high fashion sweatpants.

So today we see people walking on the streets in yoga pants and sweatpants.

We really think about athletic clothing or athleisure being day-to-day clothing for us.

And if we didn't have this moment with Norma Kamali in 1980, using this fabric that was considered utilitarian for a high fashion purpose, we might not be comfortable wearing sweatpants today.

Peggy: Wow, so she was-- maybe the designers love her or hate her, which one?

She started the breakdown of this to where this was acceptable.

Annette: You know, I think some people really prefer to have structured rules for how people dress in different environments, and I think our society has skewed towards more and more comfortable and casual clothing, recognizing that this isn't a trend that's just come about in the past 10 or 20 years.

Peggy: It's been there a long-- Annette: Exactly.

Peggy: Oh, that's interesting.

That's what the history does, it shows us this was created in the 1980s, which is, if we count right, 40-plus years ago.

To think that we had this casual then is interesting.

Annette: And that's really the point of having an archive so that the stories we tell about ourselves and our society today, that we can sort of check those against historic precedent and think about, really, where we have come from to maybe understand where we might be going in the future.

Peggy: Oh, that's fun.

So, with all of these, do you have a favorite?

Is it possible to even have a favorite designer?

Annette: You know, it is really challenging, working with nearly 20,000 artifacts in our collection.

Peggy: I was gonna say, my goodness.

Annette: The next one we're going to, though, is one of the most special pieces in our collection.

Peggy: Oh my goodness, but when somebody calls and says, "Okay, I have some to donate," are you like, "Oh no, no, please, no."

Are you excited?

You get excited, I'm sure.

Annette: What's incredible is our collection of nearly 20,000 artifacts has been built almost exclusively through donations, so we represent over 1500 donors with all our artifacts.

Peggy: Wow, that's impressive.

Annette: It is really incredible.

Peggy: And they're mostly, because obviously this is in the Dallas, Texas, area, these are local people who are contributing, on the most part.

Annette: Absolutely, and this is a really great example of that.

We're so fortunate that Mercedes Bass, who has really cultivated a great sense of taste and a sense of connoisseurship with fashion, has donated an incredible cache of materials to us.

Peggy: And I think that is, you know, really, for those of us who don't know her but know of her and her generosity, she's in the Fort Worth area, and what the Bass family has done for the Fort Worth area is, like, remarkable.

It is really truly remarkable.

So, these are her things?

Annette: Yes, so this piece was donated by Mercedes Bass and I think this is the pinnacle of Oscar de la Renta's career.

This piece is from 1993, which marks the year that Oscar de la Renta moved from just designing under his own house to also designing for the historic House of Balmain, which is a couture Parisian house with a long legacy of making really elevated clothing.

And for an upstart American designer to come in and take over that historic house was a moment when all eyes were on Oscar de la Renta.

So he really had to perform.

Peggy: Big expectations.

Yeah, I was reading a article about that and it was--it was huge.

It was a huge move.

First time, like you said, that they had invited an American.

Like, we're not good enough for them.

But we actually-- Oscar de la Renta made it.

But Oscar de la Renta's another whole level.

Annette: Exactly.

Peggy: So, tell us about this piece.

Annette: So, this is a really incredible evening jacket that we believe was created for the first collection that Oscar de la Renta showed in Paris Fashion Week for the House of Balmain.

This entire piece was created through embroidery that was executed by the House of Lesage, which has been creating embroidery for couture houses for over a century.

So, as we look at this piece, all of the details you're seeing here were hand done by artisans for the House of Lesage, based on sketches that Oscar de la Renta created.

If you look here, you might be able to see that this is made out of really delicate layers of netting and in between those layers of netting is this gold holographic material that makes these beautiful swirls.

Peggy: In between the layers.

Annette: Yes.

Peggy: I can see it, but you don't realize it's in between until you say that.

Annette: Exactly, and then on top of that very delicate fabric, much like the Hanae Mori piece, we have really dense beading.

So you can see that there's lace here, that there's cord, pearls, beads, and something that I love about this garment is if we look on the inside, you can see through that sheer netting the hand stitches that were-- Peggy: You can.

I was gonna say that looks like something I might make.

Now, I don't mean that negatively, but there was, of course, no serger because that wasn't used in couture.

It's not allowed.

It's all done by hand.

So it is just beautiful, and the little finish around the neck, I mean, you and I-- you could go on and on.

Annette: Yeah, it's so beautiful.

And I think it's also really important to look at these stitches and recognize that people's hands created this.

Often, we can be just dazzled by how stunningly beautiful something like this and just think about it in the abstract.

But recognizing that there is creative labor that's been put into, you know, making something like this.

I think, as makers, it makes this thing a little more accessible to us.

Peggy: I have to agree.

As sewers, we just can really take something like this and look at it and just have so much appreciation for the hours and hours and hours, and I'm sure that one day was just this little part was done.

And then they went home that night and, you know, they picked up the next morning and did the next-- and they just kept on and kept on, persistence.

I keep looking at this and seeing what persistence.

Kind of tell me about this little tassel here.

This is really-- Annette: So, the centerfront closure for this is a zipper, and then you can see that there's a handmade tassel with a sort of oriental motif.

So, this is a very big pull.

I like to think that it's partially practical because you would easily lose a zipper pull here otherwise.

But also, you need something that's ornamental enough that it can have some weight, as we're looking at this beautiful, almost, you know, a piece almost encrusted in beading and embroidery.

Peggy: So, Oscar de la Renta would have drawn this and then everybody implements his designs and his drawings.

And she bought this to wear to--I mean, it was a couture so it was made for her.

And where would she have worn this to?

Or just, I mean, not the grocery store, I know.

I mean, you know, I like to dress up nice for the grocery store, but not quite on this level.

Annette: So, Mercedes Bass, as a patroness of the art, often goes to openings at the opera, at the symphony.

So, many of the pieces she's donated to us were worn in those contexts.

And I think that's important to recognize because this is a piece that, with all of this high-level craftsmanship, could not be worn on a day-to-day basis.

Like, you'll notice that the beading, the really dense beading, is in parts of the garment where you're not sitting, where your arms aren't rubbing as much.

So there are some practical considerations.

If she had worn this in, you know, for more vigorous activity, this piece would likely be damaged.

And we're so lucky that she, in thinking about cultivating a sense of taste and legacy for herself, has cared for these pieces so beautifully, and I really consider myself, you know, the person who grabs the baton from collectors like this to make sure that they're really saved for future people to research.

Peggy: Well, and I can't even imagine giving something like this away.

I can't imagine having it, number one.

And then giving it away when you decide you don't need it anymore.

But, you know, I just--I'm so grateful she has.

So, Todd Oldham is one of my favorites.

Annette: Yes, and we have a piece by him.

Speaking of people giving things away, we're so grateful that Todd Oldham has made up--us one of his unofficial archive sites.

So we have over 200 runway samples from Todd Oldham, including this set that's made out of satin ribbon.

Peggy: Todd Oldham's from Texas, isn't he?

Annette: He is, yeah.

We're proud to have him as part of our Texas family.

Peggy: No kidding, but this is, like, off the charts.

How did you decide on which one to pick?

Annette: So, this is one of my very favorite pieces because the textile is so interesting.

Todd Oldham apparently tried to find a textile like this and couldn't source it, so he made this himself.

So, all of these, you can see at the end, all of this is created with these thin satin ribbons.

Peggy: Has such an ethnic feel to it.

Annette: You can find these at almost any craft store.

So this is a material that's really available to us, it's really common.

We see, you know, children's hair bows made out of this material.

Peggy: But at the same time, you get a princess seam through here.

So he's actually worried about--the ribbons are all flat but to create that depth, he's put these seams in.

And yet they still have, as much as you can match a princess seam, they still match.

It's really impressive.

Annette: Very particular process, I'm sure, especially because these ribbons are not secured together.

You can maybe even see some of the ripples created in this.

So they're woven together and then this is backed in tricot, so a really lightweight knit that can allow those ribbons to sort of articulate a little bit.

Peggy: And it would be fused onto that, 'cause it's not stitched on.

The ribbons, like you said, they're not stitched together.

Annette: Agreed, yeah, so they're fused from the back.

So, really, he'd have to be quite careful making that seam, to make sure the whole thing doesn't just unravel.

Peggy: Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.

And when I look at the collar and I see how the bottom row is actually straight, which typically, the bottom row of a collar, you know, because of the pattern piece itself, isn't straight.

It's just amazing.

I mean, it's just--I love looking at these little details and then how he pulls it into the bottom, it's amazing.

Annette: Yeah, just like cartridge pleating up at the top.

Peggy: You'd have to do that.

You really couldn't gather it.

You'd have to pleat it across the top.

Annette: Exactly.

Peggy: So, the hours spent on this.

Again, it's something, actually, we could do.

We could look at this and say, "Hey, I could do that."

Annette: Again, materials that are really common to us, and I really think that's the delight in what Todd Oldham does, is he takes everyday motifs, everyday materials, and in putting them in this high-fashion context, changes our understanding or cultural perception of them.

So, in this context, these ribbons seem so special, they're so interesting.

Whereas most of the time, we'd look at these and then just keep wandering on.

Peggy: You're right, you're so right.

It's the little girl I never had.

That's what I love about it.

And then the little jewels at the bottom are just incredible to deal with.

Annette: One thing I didn't mention is that Todd Oldham's brother made most of the buttons, so these are just cast from nuts, like, as in nuts and bolts, which is so fun, and then they have little Swarovski crystals set in the middle.

Peggy: Hours.

When I look again at garments like this, I can't help but think of how many hours this must have taken.

Annette: Agreed, but really, if you break it down in steps, you can really think about what it would take to create this, you know, weaving these in a really simple tabby weave, then these are just pony beads that have been added to the bottom of these ribbons and just tied with a simple knot.

Todd Oldham is really an advocate for everyone feeling empowered through their own creativity, so he's created a lot of craft kits, he's created YouTube videos explaining how to create different things that are part of his artistic practice.

Peggy: And he's still designing.

Annette: Absolutely.

Peggy: He's still going strong and he's young.

I mean, really, he hit stardom very, very young.

He didn't, like, have to work his way to the top.

Tell us about this one.

Annette: So this is a recent addition to the collection, and I think marks a new way that we're approaching collecting.

So, as much as high-fashion designers, really elite garments are important to make accessible to everyone for study, that's not in reality how most of us tend to dress ourselves.

Peggy: That's fair.

Annette: Yeah, not everyone gets to wear haute couture, especially going to the grocery store.

So we're really starting to think about opening up opportunities and options in our collection.

This is a piece that was donated to us recently.

It's a wedding dress from 1944 that was created from a paper pattern that the maid of honor's mother created for the bride for her wedding.

Peggy: That's really something.

Annette: I think it really speaks to a long history of people sewing at home, people thinking about sewing and dress as a community effort.

This piece was created for a bride who got married during World War II so there were restrictions on fabric, people had maybe less resources than they might have at other points in their life.

So this piece, the family of Juanita Wolf who wore this remembers that the fabric was an extravagant splurge.

It was $12-- Peggy Oh my goodness, $12.

Annette: --for the person who created this, and the design was chosen partially because it has really beautiful details like the scalloped neckline.

But also because it could be packed down easily to be transported in a trunk for the wedding.

Peggy: Oh, they had to think about all those details.

So, a question.

When you get something like this and because you're the curator of all of this, you have information that helps you put a time on it and a place and all of those things.

So talk to me about labeling.

I just love that you--what you said about labels.

I just love that whole concept.

Annette: So, in our collection, every single artifact we have has a Tyvek label on it with a unique identifying number so that we can track every single object.

So, for example, this came with the paper pattern that was used to create it and a slip that was hand-created to wear with this.

Every single one of those pieces is tagged, is labeled, is in our database, and we're working on digitizing our collection so if, after the show, someone wants to get online, go to the Texas Fashion Collection's website-- Peggy: --they can see all that.

Annette: Exactly, high resolution photographs of this.

We're working on digitizing the bridal photograph so you can see Juanita Wolf actually wear this dress.

Peggy: Oh, my goodness gracious.

So, was there actually a tag in the garment?

Annette: Mm, so for this piece, there actually isn't, which is unusual for our collection, but all the other pieces we've looked at today, there are designer labels.

Peggy: And those labels help?

Annette: Absolutely, so we document those through our digitization process as well, so especially if people are working on and may be thinking about the history of branding.

If they're thinking about when a designer used a certain label to date something.

Sometimes, home sewers will even have labels created for themselves and then those makers are documented in our system.

Peggy: I think that's really important to put little labels in it because I do think even by the way that the label's woven or by something, it gives information about the garments.

So maybe if they're making something high scale or that they're gonna donate, that little label is really a nice thing.

I wanted to ask you something about this, because when you talked about the inside of this and you talked about those seams and how they're just regular handstitched seams, there's--they're not flat-felled or French seams or they're just nothing crazy like that, it just really surprised me.

So, keep it simple maybe?

Annette: Exactly, exactly.

Sometimes, you don't have to reinvent the wheel or gild the lily.

Sometimes, simple is the best.

And I really love that when people come to research at the Texas Fashion Collection, they can look at these masterworks and maybe see some of the skills that they have in their arsenal represented in these wonderful pieces.

Peggy: Thank you so much for being here.

It's just hard to believe we're out of time.

These garments are just stunning.

You know, selecting from 20,000 garments, I can't imagine how difficult that was for today.

But thank you.

Annette: Thank you.

Peggy: James Galanos is a name that you may not know, but most likely you know of his work.

Nancy Reagan wore his designs to both presidential inaugurations of her husband, Ronald.

Join us next time as we see Galanos's designs shown to us by our guest designer and great talent, himself, Michael Faircloth.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ male announcer: "Fit 2 Stitch" is made possible by Kai Scissors.

♪♪♪ announcer: Reliable Corporation.

♪♪♪ announcer: Plano Sewing Center.

♪♪♪ announcer: Elliott Berman Textiles.

♪♪♪ announcer: Bennos Buttons.

♪♪♪ announcer: And Clutch Nails.

♪♪♪ announcer: To order a four-DVD set of "Fit 2 Stitch," series 12, please visit our website at fit2stitch.com.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪