"Flights of Fancy: Fashion and Function in Circus Performance” is a new digital exhibition on the @cornell_library platform curated by Jenny Leigh Du Puis PhD ’22 and Chisato (Chi) Yamakawa B.Arch ’21 (link in bio). The curators explore how circus arts, costume, architecture, and design have influenced fashion, and use symbols of the circus as guideposts throughout the exhibit. Thematic topics include: the environment of the tent as a designed space; the history of the leotard and its impact on activewear; function and fashion for aerialist attire; spectacle and storytelling through costume; Pierrot as fashion’s muse; and an important discussion of racism and cultural appropriation in the circus. Archival items featured in the exhibition have been sourced from the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Archives, @hfjmuseum @cornellfashioncollection @cornellsexcollects and the Circus Publicity Collection in @rarecornell