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Flower Power: Flora in Fashion

Decorative Arts Center of Ohio Curator Series

Join us to learn about floral design in fashion with Gayle Strege, the curator of DACO's current exhibit, Flower Power. It features artifacts from OSU's Historic Costume and Textiles Collection.

Join us to learn about floral design in fashion with Gayle Strege, the curator of The Decorative Art Center of Ohio's current exhibition, Flower Power: Flora in Fashion. Flower Power features artifacts from OSU's Historic Costume and Textiles Collection.

In Person registration is requested. Online registration is required to receive the Zoom link. 

The Decorative Art Center of Ohio's current exhibit, Flower Power: Flora in Fashion, explores the relationship humankind has with its natural environment – specifically, how we adorn our bodies with botanical elements from head to toe. Creators of textiles, garments, gloves, shoes, purses, hats and buttons have found inspiration in flowers, vines, trees, fruits, leaves, nuts and almost every type of vegetation. Manufacturers stretch the limits of creativity as they produce apparel that reflects the colors, textures, and shapes of flowers, and shows the universal beauty of botanical elements. Designers’ conceptions of floral elements echo the art and social movements of their time, place and culture. Artisans translate those concepts into garments and accessories that can be worn to express one’s personal style and individuality.

This exhibition displays artifacts in OSU’s Historic Costume & Textiles Collection from several continents that span the 20th century. The galleries are arranged counter clockwise into color schemes that reflect a stroll from early spring through late summer. We invite you to wander our garden and experience the tranquility and power of floral design.
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​​Exhibitions presented in collaboration with the Historic Costume and Textiles Collection at The Ohio State University with support from the Fox Foundation, Inc.

Curator Bio

Gayle Strege, is the curator of the Historic Costume & Textiles Collection at The Ohio State University, a position she has held since 1996 and where she has curated over 30 exhibitions. Ms. Strege holds a BA in Fashion Design from Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, and an MA in Museum Studies from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Between degrees Strege worked in costume shops for several professional regional theaters including the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Opera Theater of St Louis, and Studio Arena Theater in Buffalo, as well as managing the costume shop in the Theater Department of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Immediately prior to working at OSU Ms Strege worked in the costume collection at the Chicago History Museum. In addition to the OSU Costume Collection, Gayle
has mounted historic fashion and costume for other Midwestern museums.

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