LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.- The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the museum’s Department  of Costume and Textiles by showcasing some of its finest treasures. Presented in three rotations, Luxury Textiles East and West highlights more than 75 outstanding objects that demonstrate the role textiles play in relation to ceremonial occasions, public and private spaces, and social identity. Dating from the 14th century through the 20th century, and originating from Europe, Asia, and North America, these lavish garments and decorative objects give visitors a greater understanding of the extraordinary textiles in LACMA’s permanent collection. Luxury Textiles East and West will be presented in three rotations: Luxury Textiles East and West: Ceremony and Celebration is on view February 20 through October 5, 2003; Luxury Textiles East and West: Dress and Identity is on view October 30, 2003, through July 5, 2004; and Luxury Textiles East and West: Opulent Interiors  is on view August 5, 2004 through April 3, 2005.

Rotation II: Luxury Textiles East and West: Dress and Identity

Nothing defines a person’s place in the social or political hierarchy more clearly than attire—color, material, technique, and imagery on the textiles of dress all play a critical part in establishing these distinctions. Luxury Textiles East and West: Dress and Identity presents outstanding examples of textiles that indicate gradations of rank or status or proclaim socio-economic superiority. The exhibition includes examples of textiles from different cultures that identify the wearer’s position in a court or merit-based tradition, including a 16th-century, two-pile velvet Venetian senator’s badge and a 19th-century Indonesian bride’s gilded wedding skirt indicating her temporary elevation to ‘royal’ status during the marriage ceremonies. The role luxury textiles played in conveying one’s privileged place in society is also explored in the exhibition. Although definitions of what constitutes luxury vary from culture to culture, common denominators are the use of costly (and often imported) materials, labor-intensive production methods, and controlled silks and velvets with gold thread as status symbols. Among people without an elaborate court hierarchy, however, textiles decorated with trade items (shells and beads) or densely patterned with imported silk thread were items of luxury and used to embellish only the most beautiful textiles worn for the most important occasions.

LACMA’s Department of Costume and Textiles
The department of costume and textiles houses an encyclopedic collection of more than 25,000 objects representing more than one hundred cultures and sub-cultures, and two thousand years of human creativity in the textile arts. The collection is almost equally balanced between textiles and dress and is recognized worldwide.

Curators: Dale Gluckman and Sandra Rosenbaum, Costumes and Textiles Department, LACMA. Credit Line: This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.