A captivated audience experienced fashion, culture and history this fall as Human Ecology’s Cornell Costume & Textile Collection hosted a “fashion for a cause” runway show and silent auction at the Prince George Ballroom in New York City in support of the preservation of the collection.

More than 150 alumni friends, students, faculty, and staff had the opportunity to bid on rare and unique historic garments while enjoying the festivities.

The show highlighted the past and future of fashion through original pieces by current Cornell fashion design students and historical garments recently deaccessioned from the collection. Students, staff and Cornell alumnae modeled garments for auction, while Denise Green, assistant professor of Fiber Science and Apparel Design and director of the collection, contextualized the pieces and designers amid a fashion history timeline.

The auction included “30 women’s ensembles from the 20th century, including designers like Oleg Cassini, Diane Von Furstenberg, Romeo Gigli, Yves St. Laurent, Geoffrey Beene, Donna Karan and Arnold Scaasi,” Green said.

The costume and textile collection, founded just over 100 years ago, advances knowledge of the social, cultural, historical, economic, scientific, technological, and aesthetic aspects of fashion, textiles, and apparel design through exhibition, preservation, research, and teaching.

Since its founding in 1916 by Beulah Blackmore, the first Cornell professor to teach in the area of clothing and textiles, the collection, which now includes more than 10,000 items of apparel, accessories and, flat textiles, has outgrown the collection storage space.

“Over the past year, we have started an inventory of the collection in order to make recommendations for deaccession to create space for future donations and to be better stewards of the items we have,” Green said. “Funds raised from the auction will support the redesign of the CCTC storage facility, improve climate control conditions, and support the ongoing work of students, faculty and researchers who use the collection.”

The event was made possible by sponsors Kirna Zabête, The Laundress, Célange, Cornell Alumni Affairs and Development, and the College of Human Ecology. Visit facebook.com/cornellcostume to find more details on the collection.