MONTRÉAL.- A partner of Montreal Fashion Week since 2006, the McCord Museum is proud to support one of the season’s major events, organized by Sensation Mode: the 7th edition of the Montreal Fashion and Design Festival. From June 6 to 10, 2007, leading designers of high-profile labels as well as popular artists and musicians will gather on McGill College Avenue to celebrate the fascinating and cutting-edge world of fashion and design, just a few steps from the Museum.

Over 500,000 visitors are expected to converge on the Festival once again this year for a sensationally rich visual and auditory experience. The McCord Museum makes a significant contribution to this milieu by preserving the rich heritage of Montreal and (Canadian fashion. Supporting the Festival is a natural association for the McCord, home to the world’s foremost collection of Canadian historic costume. The Museum is custodian of this important historic and cultural treasure, and a recognized leader in the preservation, conservation and promotion of Canada’s fashion heritage.

Comprising more than 16,600 items, the McCord’s Costume and Textiles collection is exceptional for both the rarity and condition of its contents. High fashion garments and accessories from the past three centuries are well represented, and the impressive selection of haute couture garments from the mid-20th century is a renowned feature of the collection. Items by prominent local designers, such as those acquired from Jean-Claude Poitras, further enrich the McCord’s holdings. The collection is testimony to the unique place that Montreal holds within Canada; the city has long been a centre of the Canadian fashion industry and an innovative leader for design in North America.

The Museum’s Website allows the public to discover the wealth of the Costume and Textiles collection. Virtual exhibitions and thematic tours offer fashion aficionados the chance to view and learn about the collection’s treasures. The Museum also presents artefacts from the Costume and Textiles collection as part of different themes in its temporary and permanent exhibitions, and currently in Simply Montreal and Growing Up in Montreal. In February 2008, the McCord will showcase fashion, viewed through the lens of eroticism and modesty, as part of its highly anticipated exhibition Reveal or Conceal?.