With mentorship from Catherine Blumenkamp (right) and Molly Ryan (center), CHE students select film-inspired ensembles from the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection.
On a recent afternoon, four women gathered in the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection (CF+TC) in Cornell Human Ecology (CHE) to “mine” the collection. The collaborators were preparing an exhibit for the upcoming film screening of “Sunset Boulevard,” and selecting garments that embody main character Norma Desmond, an aging relic from the silent film industry who aspires to recapture her faded glory.
Molly Ryan, director of Cornell Cinema, approached Catherine Kueffer Blumenkamp, associate director of CF+TC, over the summer, about working together on a film series featuring costume designer Edith Head. The influential designer, whose career spanned five decades, won eight Academy Awards for Best Costume Design. Head is the most awarded woman in the Academy’s history. She is also believed to have inspired the character Edna Mode, the superhero costume designer in Pixar’s “The Incredibles.”
“This project came together so beautifully,” said Blumenkamp, who is also a lecturer in CHE’s Department of Human Centered Design. “Around the time that Molly approached me, I was developing independent studies with two students who were interested in doing curatorial projects this fall: Mia Bachrack ’25 and Sophia Peck ’26."
Together the team identified five iconic films with costumes designed by Head. Throughout the semester, the students, with support from Blumenkamp and Ryan, curated three cohesive looks inspired by each film and provide a brief presentation ahead of the films’ screening. The films are “Roman Holiday,” “Notorious,” “Sunset Boulevard,” “The Sting” and “Samson and Delilah.”
CF+TC is a teaching collection that is home to more than 10,000 garments, flat textiles and accessories. Objects from the collection are used for exhibition, teaching and research.
CF+TC faculty and students curate in-house exhibitions and partner with individuals and departments across Cornell including the Johnson Museum of Art, the Johnson Graduate School of Management Library, and Cornell’s military community.
“I take a project management approach to both my teaching and curatorial projects, said Blumenkamp. “When I work with students on an exhibit, we develop a project agreement that delineates tasks and milestones to stay ahead of logistics. Preparing students to be effective project managers is an important life skill and supports creative work.”
After Bachrack and Peck identify the three looks, they photograph the garments, transport them across campus, dress mannequins, write label copy and prepare remarks. The students meet weekly with Blumenkamp and biweekly with Ryan.
“It’s been really fun to see the students notice the way costume design reflects the inner psyche of Hitchcock’s characters [in the film ‘Notorious’],” said Ryan. “I've been bringing a film studies perspective to our meetings, and it’s really inspiring to see Mia and Sophia, as visual thinkers, cue into the types of decisions that costume designers and filmmakers make.”
Sophia Peck ’26 explores the psyche of Norma Desmond from “Sunset Boulevard,” with this leopard jacket; the garment will be on display at the screening Nov. 1.
As they plan their third film exhibit, Peck says that she and Bachrack are gaining a better understanding and confidence thanks to Blumenkamp and Ryan’s leadership. “I feel like we are hitting our stride,” said Peck. “For the first two films it was really overwhelming trying to go through all the racks in the collection to find garments that fit our vision. But we’ve now built literacy both in the collection and in reading films.”
For her final project of the independent study, Bachrack, a fashion design major, will design and create three looks inspired by “Samson and Delilah,” screening Dec. 4.
“Molly has taught me to look at costuming with a cinematic lens to really unpack why someone would choose a specific costume to tell the story,” said Bachrack, who plans to pursue a career in costume design after graduation. “And of course Professor Blumenkamp brings the fashion side, and obviously, the organization!”
Peck’s final assignment is a research paper about intellectual property and fashion design in film. The fashion design management major was inspired by Cornell’s Freedom of Expression theme year, and a fashion law panel featuring Hayley Paige Gutman ’07. Peck plans to attend law school after graduation.
Bachrack and Peck will present their work for “Sunset Boulevard,” at screenings on Oct. 18, at 6 p.m., and Nov.1, at 8:30 p.m., at Cornell Cinema in Willard Straight Hall. The project will culminate in an exhibit showcasing looks from all five movies and select additional garments Dec. 4-23 in the Jill Stuart Gallery.