MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Step back in time to the of the vibrant fashions of the 1980s with the newest exhibit, “Retro Rewind: Treasures from the Historic Costume Collection,” on display through Saturday, March 22, in Todd Art Gallery on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.

Hosted by MTSU’s Department of Human Sciences, the exhibit features iconic 1980s couture from the Historic Costume Collection from MTSU’s Textiles, Merchandising and Design Program, or TXMD, that captures the decade’s diversity and extravagance.

“Students collaborated together to create the exhibit theme and name, develop the pieces used, the categories highlighted, and the stories told,” explained TXMD professor Gina Pisut, Department of Human Sciences chair.

Student curators of the exhibit include:

• Brooklyn Barton, of Mount Juliet, a senior TXMD student with a concentration in apparel design.

• Roe Brien, of Milan, an aspiring costume designer with a concentration in apparel design.

• Jacob Jernigan, of Brentwood, a Public History graduate student with a concentration in museum management and an expertise in material culture and historic clothing.

• Megan Le, of Murfreesboro, a TXMD student with a concentration in fashion merchandising.

“Students worked tirelessly to create our first exhibit for the Historic Costume Collection,” Pisut said. “I truly appreciate and proud of all the work they have done.”

This marks the first time the TXMD Historic Costume Collection is throwing open its archives to the public by exhibiting at Todd, part of the Department of Art and Design.

“We are excited for the success of the exhibit and look forward to showcasing many more of our 800-plus pieces from our TXMD Historic Costume Collection, which dates back to 1790,” Pisut said.

Garments spotlighted in the exhibit are procured from the collection donated by Cecil Elrod III, whose father, Cecil Elrod Jr., was a high-end clothier who owned and operated the legendary French Shoppe in Murfreesboro. The collection includes designs by Galanos, Vicky Tiel Couture, Geoffrey Beene Couture, and Norma Kamali Couture.

“For this exhibit we focused on three types of styles to categorize our garments: work wear, casual wear and night life,” Barton explained. “Through the exhibit we wanted to guide the viewer through what a woman’s wardrobe may look like on a typical day in the 1980’s.”

Todd Art Gallery is located in Room 224A in Andrew L. Todd Hall, 542 Old Main Circle. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Admission is free.

Parking is free on Saturdays. Otherwise, off-campus visitors must obtain a temporary permit from the Parking and Transportation Services office at 205 City View Drive or print a visitor pass at https://mtsu.t2hosted.com. Visitor permits are $2 per day. A campus parking map is available at https://bit.ly/MTSUParking and more information about parking is available at https://mtsu.edu/parking/.

For further details about the exhibition, call 615 898-2884 or visit https://humansciences.mtsu.edu/.

— Nancy DeGennaro (Nancy.DeGennaro@mtsu.edu)