ARIZONA COSTUME INSTITUTE: HIGHLIGHTS & accomplishments

MISSION STATEMENT:  Arizona Costume Institute promotes the appreciation and understanding of fashion design through the acquisition and preservation of works of historical and aesthetic significance, educational programs and exhibition support for Phoenix Art Museum’s Fashion Design Department.

2019-2020 Season

  • Appointment of Helen Jean as the new Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design

  • Successful annual Holiday Luncheon on December 9, 2019 with esteemed Vogue Editor Tonne Goodman

  • Celebrated 3 fashion exhibitions with opening receptions and positive reviews in The Arizona Republic

    • Flora exhibition

    • Antonio Lopez

    • India: Fashion’s Muse

  • A robust social calendar with events such as a fashion illustration workshop with Artist Loretta Tedeschi-Cuoco, 2nd Wednesday Luncheons with notable fashion authors, private docent tours, and virtual curator-led tours from the comfort of your own homes while the museum closed for COVID-19

  • Launched a new program format of Cocktails and Conversations for evening time programming

  • Continued the loved ACI Book Club

  • Expanded ACI presence offsite with special in-store events for Haute Couture members at Pax Philomena, and at Prada for Nouveau members

  • Increased membership retention and welcomed new members

Thank you for your membership and support of ACI this past year. The above list could not have been accomplished without your commitment and engagement, especially during unprecedented times that required us to connect digitally during the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to all the fun, stimulating, and social programs of next year.

 

2018-2019 season

  • Annual support of digital Vogue Archives: ACI sponsors a yearly subscription for the digital Vogue Archives, which is made available to the public by accessing the information in Phoenix Art Museum’s Lemon Research Library.  This access provides historical fashion and style research for international, national and local professionals and students representing a wide range of interests. 

  • 2018-2019 Acquisitions: Through generous donations and formal fundraising, ACI purchased Iris Van Herpen, Gucci, and Comme des Garçons garments for the collection, and assisted with storage costs, photography and other related necessities to preserve these new acquisitions.

  • Iris Van Herpen: Transforming Fashion exhibition surveyed fifteen collections of the dynamic, innovative work of Dutch designer Iris van Herpen. The exhibition included the 2015 acquisition of an Iris Van Herpen 3D printed garment, purchased with ACI support. Renowned for her use of 3-D printing, Van Herpen is widely considered one of contemporary fashion’s most progressive creators, and is a favored designer of style icons including Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Björk, Cara Delevingne, and others. The Opening Evening Reception for ACI members included a tour and lecture from curator Dennita Sewell and Iris Van Herpen herself.

  • Initiated a new ACI Benefactor Member benefit of tours for the Astaire Library of Costumes (kept in the Museum's Lemon Art Research Library) which houses many rare books and prints relating to costume and textiles.

  • ACI’s Programming Committee orchestrated monthly educational lectures. These events featured a vast array of fashion-oriented presenters, bringing local, national and international speakers to the Museum’s Whiteman Hall.  Many of these speakers had book signings, allowing ACI members to have personal contact and conversation with a variety of fashion experts and industry insiders. Speakers included:

    • Stefano Piaggi spoke about Anna Piaggi: Creativity and Passion in Fashion and Beyond.  From 1961 to 1968, she was the fashion editor for Arianna magazine and then became contributing editor to Vogue Italia in the late 1960's.  

    • Beth Moore, Style and Fashion News Director at the Hollywood Reporter, presented Women in Fashion: More than Just Pretty Faces.  Drawing from her book American Runway: 75 Years of Fashion and the Front Row, Moore lead a discussion about the powerful women who were instrumental in getting Fashion Week off the ground.

    • Julie Ann Wrigley with Arizona State University Sustainability Consortium joined ACI to discuss fashion sustainability. 

    • Timothy Long told engaging stories about living in London as a fashion curator and his career as Director of Couture & Luxury Accessories at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.

  • The ACI annual Holiday Luncheon soiree helped raise $120,000 and featured keynote speaker Stephen Jones, one of the finest milliners of our time and milliner to the British Royals.

  • Ultracontemporary brought hyper-current fashion to Phoenix Art Museum. Featuring ensembles by renowned designers such as Gucci, Iris van Herpen, Comme des Garçons, and Yeohlee, the multimedia exhibition, which also includes runway-show footage for select collections, explored how fashion is responding to technology and increasingly diverse and fluid global society.

  • ACI partnered with Phoenix Art Museum Circles of Support to host a presentation by Cameron Silver, named one of Time Magazine’s 25 Most Influential Names and Faces in Fashion in 2002.

  • Flora, spanning four centuries, this exhibition featured more than 30 botanical-inspired ensembles and accessories for women, men, and children, tracing the evolution of floral fashions through the ages.