Fashion Resources in the SCC Library

Spanning five centuries, our Fashion collection is the largest and most comprehensive collection of dress in the world with almost 50,000 iems. Key items in the collection include rare 17th century gowns, 18th century ‘mantua’ dresses, 1930s eveningwear, 1960s daywear and post-war couture

The Palais Galliera preserves some of the richest collections in the world. Estimated today at nearly 200,000 works (clothing, accessories, photographs, drawings...), these collections reflect the codes of clothing in France from the 18th century to the present day, and are regularly the subject of numerous exhibitions in Paris, France and foreign countries. Since 2021, the collections have been presented in new thematic galleries, for reasons of preventive conservation.

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

KCI’s collection currently ranges from the 17th century to the present day, with holdings of 12,000 items of clothing and 16,000 documents. The institute has received donations from some of today’s top designers and fashion houses such as Chanel, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton and was presented with a gift of approximately 1,000 sets of clothing from Comme des Garçons.

Housed at Manhattan’s famed Fashion Institute of Technology, The Museum at FIT is known for its innovative and award-winning special exhibitions. In July, it earned accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, the highest national recognition possible for a museum. Founded in the late 1960s, it is visited by 100,000 people each year. With a permanent collection of 50,000 garments and accessories from the 18th century to the present, the Museum at FIT places an emphasis on “aesthetically and historically significant ‘directional’ clothing, with an eye toward contemporary avant-garde fashion.

An often overlooked museum that has a surprisingly large collection and beautiful exhibitions.

Mariano Fortuny isn't a household name today, but in the early 20th century he became renowned in the high-fashion world for his finely pleated gowns worn by myriad glamorous women—including Mrs. Condé Nast herself. Since 1956, the museum has been housed in Fortuny’s Venetian palazzo, where he conducted the bulk of his life’s work