New exhibit highlights fashion changes, meanings

Fashion is everywhere -- in television ads, in magazines and newspapers and on the internet. As times change, so does the style of clothing that people wear. What was considered to be "in style" or fashionable in 1930 is no longer what the public wants to wear. Looking back over a century and examining the style trends is an interesting way to look at just how much a culture can change. \nThe Virgil T. DeVault Gallery in IU's Mathers Museum of World Cultures is hosting an exhibit on fashion, titled "The Allure of Clothing: Function, Fantasy, Fetish, Fashion." It looks at many styles of clothing from many different eras to see how ideas on certain themes, including modesty and sexuality, have changed over time.\n"The Allure of Clothing" is a smaller exhibit, but it has seven different sections that visitors can look at. Each section has its own title and a short description of why it is relevant to the overall theme. Aside from the Introduction section, the entire exhibit is hidden behind a curtain. Because some of the material is of an adult nature, the museum felt it was necessary to hide some of the objects on display from children that might be visiting. \n"(The curtain) was meant to be a visual screen, but it also adds more of a mystique to the exhibit," said Abbie Anderson, curator of education at the Mathers Museum.\nOne unintended side effect of the curtain is that visitors sometimes seem to be afraid to enter the exhibit, according to Anderson.\n"Sometimes people think that the exhibit is closed or that they are not allowed to cross the curtain.," she said. \nThe idea for the exhibit came from the Kinsey Institute. The curators at the Mathers Museum worked with the Kinsey Institute and the Elizabeth Sage Historic Costume Collection to put the exhibit together. Most of the pieces on display came from the Elizabeth Sage collection and the Kinsey Institute, while only one or two of the pieces actually came from the Mathers Museum. \nIn the planning of this exhibit, the exhibit committee, of which Anderson is a member, came up with many ideas, including ideas on fashion of different world cultures. The committee decided to focus on clothing in Europe and America, mostly. The word 'fetish' is used many times throughout the exhibit. It is important to note how many of the clothing items became a fetish and how much people liked these certain items. Another important item to notice is the advertisements that go along with the displays. Anderson said that some of the best images of clothes and fashion are in advertisements. \n"The ads were chosen to illustrate how our appetite for clothing is fueled by the mass media," she said.\nShe also urged visitors to give special attention to the ads when visiting this exhibit as they are not only interesting, but also important to understanding why fashion goes in a certain direction.\nThe fashion exhibit began in September of 2004 and will run until December 23, 2005. Admission to the Mathers Museum is free and the museum is open to the public. For more information on the fashion exhibit or the Mathers Museum visit www.indiana.edu/~mathers. \n"Clothes indicate social and economic status, gender identity, sexual attractiveness and availability, and individuality," said the introduction script from "The Allure of Clothing"