PHOENIX, AZ.- On October 9, 2024, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) presents its newest major fashion exhibition and the largest collections-based endeavor in the history of the Museum with Greatest Fits (Vol. 1): The Art of Archiving Fashion. The momentous exhibition is the first in a series of exhibitions that, over the next five years, will uncover the depth of the Museum’s fashion holdings, which now comprise more than 9,000 objects of historical and contemporary dress. Greatest Fits (Vol. 1) features more than 90 garments and accessories, which will change periodically over the show’s 18-month run to present an evolving selection of garments and select accessories from the Museum’s expansive fashion collection, including pieces by leading designers such as Balenciaga, Dior, McQueen, and St. Laurent, among others.

“For nearly 60 years, Phoenix Art Museum and Arizona Costume Institute have collaborated in bringing the world of fashion to Phoenix, and Greatest Fits reveals the fascinating story of how our community built this incredible legacy, now one of the most renowned fashion collections in the United States,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “In addition to celebrating the collection’s history, this exhibition series and its accompanying public programs and forthcoming publication will highlight the many civic leaders, donors, members, and staff who have had a hand not only in building a collection that engages and educates audiences on the importance of fashion but also in expanding our holdings to reflect the wide breadth of genres and movements they represent.”

Spanning the Kelly Ellman Fashion Galleries across the entire mezzanine level of the Museum’s south wing, Greatest Fits (Vol. 1) traces the development of the PhxArt Fashion Collection from its founding by Arizona Costume Institute (ACI) in 1966 through today. The exhibition begins with an extensive display of ACI archival materials, spotlighting the civic leaders, community members, and more who spearheaded the effort to create and expand the Museum’s collection. Visitors then move into a dramatic monochromatic display of garments spanning the 18th century to the present that explores the dynamism and importance of the silhouette. This graphic section celebrates numerous shapes and forms that have defined fashion history and informed perceptions of gender, beauty, and identity. In the third and most expansive of the Kelly Ellman Fashion Galleries, Greatest Fits (Vol. 1) presents several vignettes of significant fashion “happenings” and motifs represented throughout the collection. Themes include fashion as soft sculpture, the technologies and scientific advancements that have impacted techniques and materials, the influence of sporting activities on trends, and the enduring impact of Romanticism and Greco-Roman style on designers. In a visually arresting closing section to Greatest Fits (Vol. 1), visitors will examine the future of fashion collecting, with an impressive presentation of the Museum’s latest acquisition, a couture garment by the famed Dutch designers Vicktor & Rolf.

“In 1966, few museums across the United States housed fashion collections, which made building a couture fashion collection in what was then a small desert town a particularly inspired and forward- thinking venture,” said Helen Jean, the Museum’s Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion who curated the exhibition. “Greatest Fits (Vol. 1) celebrates this achievement while highlighting the ability of the PhxArt Fashion Collection to showcase the ingenuity of designers across centuries who have worked at the intersection of art, design, and technology. This exhibition will be an exciting opportunity to not only experience many outstanding garments from the Museum’s fashion holdings, but also deepen our understanding of the practical, social, and creative underpinnings of historic and contemporary dress. This exhibition also pays homage to the people and treasured objects that helped form this gem in the Southwest.”