Good Afternoon.
Today I would like to share with you some of the storage mounts that
the conservation department of The Museum at FIT has crafted.
We use readily available archival materials, such as ethafoam,
tubes, twill tape, and blue board,
along with the occasional hardware from the exhibition shop,
to create customized hanging storage mounts for the collection's many strapless evening gowns
as well as mounts for the more avant-garde, unusual costume objects in our collection.
The museum is located on the urban campus of the Fashion Institute of Technology,
a mid-sized public college located in the trendy Chelsea neighborhood of New York City.
The museum's collection comprises more than 50,000 objects of fashionable costume, accessories, and textiles
dating from the 18th century to the present.
High fashion costume objects can be far more complex
than those found in the average person's closet,
and as museum objects their care and safe storage is critical.
Contemporary costume objects found in the collection are designed and created in an array of sculptural shapes and volume
that very often cannot be fully supported on a simple padded hanger.
Today my presentation will discuss some techniques developed for hanging storage.
Shown here is an example of our standard mount that can be used to safely hang strapless dresses,
those lovely evening frocks that lack a shoulder line and sleeve.
This mount allows for customization based on the dimensions of the individual garment.
It does take time and skill to fabricate and customize each mount
but we have managed to standardize the assembly process as much as possible.
An hourglass shape is cut from double wall blueboard.
Our template for this shape was developed by measuring several garments
along with many years of dressmaking expertise.
The dimensions of the individual garment are then measured
and the mount is appropriately padded with polyester fiberfill,
that is secured with a combination of double stick tape and hand stitches.
Bust cups can be created from either Mylar or thin ethafoam,
stuffed with polyester fiberfill and attached to the body.
The padded body is then attached to a hanger and covered with a smooth, 100 percent cotton ribbed knit fabric
or surgical stockinette.
The finished mount provides proper support
for the bodice and skirt
thus ensuring an even distribution of weight
while maintaining the integrity of the garment's bodice.
Let's look at the more unusual clothing in our collection.
Comme des Garçons garments are unique and singular in the world of high fashion.
Designer Rei Kawakubo's collections often feature enormous garments that engulf the body.
Her designs have typically embraced abstraction and, more recently, a non-functional style.
Since 2014, her collections have consisted of garments that bridge the gap between art and fashion,
moving into uncharted territory.
In her desire to create fashions that defy conventional beauty,
Kawakubo has become the quintessential post-modern designer.
The museum began collecting Comme des Garçons
in the late 1980s as Kawakubo's designs began to receive international acclaim.
However, these wondrous creations can present multiple challenges
when they enter a museum collection.
For example, how can they be safely stored?
Here are some of our most recent acquisitions,
each of which required a customized storage solution that I'll be discussing.
These voluminous garments are from Kawakubo's
fall 2016 collection, titled "18th century punk."
Interestingly enough, the storage mount for the samurai garment proved to be
the most straightforward of the two.
The top was compatible with one of the styles of padded hangers we routinely make,
with only a minor modification.
But the bottom was too three-dimensional to be safely stored on a standard clip hanger.
To safely support the bottoms while still maintaining a slim profile,
an elongated oval was cut from a block of ethafoam to serve as an insert.
While the goal was for the insert to support the bottoms via tension,
further support was provided by rectangular extrusions
that lined up with the openings in the cage-like hip area of the pant.
Once complete, the insert was suspended with twill tapes
from the padded hanger supporting the top.
To minimize wear from the twill tapes that were inserted through the ethafoam,
a piece of blue board was adhered to the bottom of the ethafoam.
Lastly, the sides of the ethafoam were wrapped in polyester felt
and the entire package was covered with surgical stockinette.
Here you can see the finished mount.
For additional support,
two one-inch wide twill tapes were hand sewn to the heavy front hip panels of the top.
Once the garment was on the hanger,
the opposite ends of these twill tapes were tied around the top of the hanger,
thereby transferring the weight of the garment to its mount.
We were then able to easily hang the mounted ensemble in one of our storage cabinets.
This pink vinyl two-piece garment required more original thinking,
although ultimately the solution was both simple and elegant.
While the overdress does have a complex interior structure,
which enables it to hold its shape while worn,
it still relies on the human body to support that interior structure.
And given its size and weight,
it is less able than other garments to maintain its shape without the support from the body.
Ideally, the storage mount would have to mimic the support
of a body at key points,
while keeping its size in check and using materials efficiently.
Ultimately, a storage mount was designed using an archival tube and ethafoam as its main supports.
Because the garment was exceptionally heavy,
a three-inch diameter archival tube was chosen to support its weight.
Due to the large size of the ensemble, it was decided that it would have to be stored on its own garment rack.
To accommodate the slight shoulder contour near the neckline,
pieces of ethafoam were carved to shape and adhered to the tube.
The entire tube was then covered in polyester felt and cotton stockinette.
The tube was suspended from three s-brackets hung from the garment rack.
The one inch wide twill tape loops
were machine stitched closed, and further stitching was taken to "turn" the loops,
making it easier to position them on the s-brackets
While the padded tube functioned like
a pair of enormous shoulders to support the weight of the garment....
however the lower portion was still collapsing in on itself from the lack of "legs."
To compensate for this, a one-inch thick ethafoam disc was carved to the shape of the opening.
The disc was padded with polyester felt and covered with stockinette.
It is held in place via tension thus maintaining the shape of the lower half of the garment.
The harness-like dress with its coordinating shirt dress
now live happily in our storage room on their own garment rack.
I hope you enjoyed this presentation and it has sparked some new solutions for storage conundrums in your collections.
Much thanks for your attention and interest!