Exhibitions
Sub-collections: Asian | Hawaiian | Ethnic | Western
The Historic Costume Museum, housed in the Apparel
Product Design and Merchandising Program in the College of Tropical
Agriculture and Human Resources, is one of the largest collections
of garments, textiles, and related artifacts in an American university.
The Historic Costume Museum is a valuable asset for
instruction, research, and outreach programs. It consists of the following
four sub-collections: Asian, Hawaiian, Ethnic and Western
The Asian sub-collection is the largest holding among
academic institutions in the United States with clothing and textile
items dating as early as the late 18th century from South Asia, East
Asia and Southeast Asia. One irreplaceable item
is the silk winter kimono that was presented to the US admiral, Commodore
Perry, in Yokahama by the Japanese on the opening of Japan in 1854.
The Hawai'ian sub-collection, with 1300 items, is
the only existing collection of its kind in the United States. It
documents the impact of numerous immigrant groups to Hawai'i and illustrates
the adaptation of costume to Hawai'ian lifestyles.
The Ethnic sub-collection provides a global view of
costume from various cultures such as those of Europe and South America.
How are the Costume Collections Used?
The Costume Museum is a valuable asset for instruction, research
and outreach programs. Students in the Apparel Product Design and
Merchandising Program benefit from the collection by studying textiles,
design, socio-cultural aspects of dress and construction/fabrication
details. The Costume Museum Management class involves students in
research, maintenance and the creation of displays and exhibits in
our Miller Hall Gallery as well as venues off-campus.
Research is an important focus of the Costume Museum.
It has become widely known to scholars throughout American universities
for providing a visual record of cultural assimilation and change.
While the collection is primarily utilized by students, faculty and
local industry professionals it has been used for research by visiting
scholars and visiting apparel industry professionals.
Volunteering in the Museum
Volunteers to assist with the museum are
always welcome. Needs are great for help with the assessing process,
computer data entry, and maintenance of the historic garments. Space
anyone who has a genuine interest in historic costume and textiles
and a desire to make this asset more sensible and visible to our students,
faculty, and the community is encouraged to contact the curator.
Donations
Donations of quality historic costume and monetary contributions to
the Costume Museum are appreciated to support this unique and world-class
collection. UH Policy for receiving gifts-in
kind applies to all donations.
Contact Information
Carol
D'Angelo, Curator
Historic Costume Collection
College of Tropical Agriculture
and Human Resources
University of Hawai'i at Manoa
Miller Hall 205
2515 Campus Road
Honolulu, HI 96822
dangelo@hawaii.edu
Phone (808) 956-2234
Fax (808) 956-2239
Featured News
Fashion
professor leaves stylish footsteps at UH, Posted: August 12, 2010
Virtual
museum debuts with aloha, Posted: March. 10, 2010
Hawaii
Designers’ New Resource. Posted: March 3, 2010
UH Manoa's
Historic Costume Collection unveils online aloha shirt exhibit,
Posted: Feb. 25, 2010
Green
Chic, Hana Hou, Vol. 11., No. 3
Reconstructing
a fairy tale life, Star Bulletin
Artists
display variety of mediums in exhibits around town, Honolulu Advertiser
When
it comes to the historic and cultural influences on dress: July 2001,
Vol. 26 No. 2
Associate Faculty: Andrew Reilly, Shu Hwa Lin,
Diane Chung
Affiliates: Hawaiian Fashion
Incubator
Specimens: Approx. 20,000 objects
Established: 1960s
Allied
Curriculum:
APDM 460 - Costume Museum Management (3 credits)
Guidelines and techniques needed for handling textile and apparel
artifacts in museums and other collections. Active involvement in
documenting, researching, interpreting, and exhibiting costumes and
textiles.
APDM 418 - Costumes of South and Southeast Asia (3 credits)
Development of traditional dress as visual manifestation of culture.
Ethnic and national dress of Afghanistan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.
APDM 416 - Costumes/Cultures of East Asia (3 credits)
Development of traditional dress as visual manifestation of culture.
Ethnic and national dress of China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Okinawa,
Tibet, and Vietnam.
APDM 318 - Advanced Fashion Illustration (3 credits)
Focuses on advanced techniques, personal style and use of computers
for fashion illustration and design.
APDM 310 - Western World Fashion History (3 credits)
Historic study of dress as related to customs and cultures in the
Western world, in socio-historical and contemporary contexts. Emphasis
on 19th and 20th centuries.
APDM 216 - Fashion Illustration I (3 credits)
Principles and techniques of sketching the fashion figure including
garment details and fabric drape.
