SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion and Film
See couture clothing up close at Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta.
Chana Shapiro is an educator, writer, editor and illustrator whose work has appeared in journals, newspapers and magazines. She is a regular contributor to the AJT.
The closest many of us will ever get to the world of couture may be SCAD FASH, in which 100,000 square feet of space is devoted to mannequins posing in exceptional garments, many of which are shown “in the round,” meaning that a viewer can appreciate a garment in full, from all sides. The mannequins are not behind glass; therefore, a viewer is able to get close to them and see the garments in detail.
This gem of a museum, located in Midtown Atlanta, at 1600 Peachtree St., is part of the expansive Savannah College of Art and Design network, originating in Savannah.
SCAD FASH is a venue in which students studying fashion on the creative, design side, as well as the production and marketing side, can see and study, first-hand, the output of luminaries in the fashion world.
Each exhibit, which is in place for several months, is devoted to the collection of a specific couture designer, and the hundreds of dresses, skirts, blouses, jackets, gowns, and casual wear are surprising and stunning, occasionally over-the-top, with hand-sewn details and sumptuous, exotic fabrics.
Some exhibits, notably of garments created for TV shows and films, include clothes worn by men. Occasionally film clips accompany these popular exhibits showing vignettes in which a specific piece of clothing in the exhibit appears in the film or TV show. Clothing meticulously created for historical films is also among the variety of exhibits.
Every exhibit is re-configured and custom-organized, and, on occasion, the featured designer comes to SCAD to personally oversee the installation. Even the most famous and well-established designers, like Oscar de la Renta or Madame Gris, offer surprises to the visitor, because the object of the museum is to show the breadth of a designer’s oeuvre, thus, a visitor can view a chronologic survey of pieces spanning an entire career, and much of the clothing comes from the closets of well-known personalities who wore memorable creations from specific designers.
The design teams who mount the shows often juxtapose particular clothes from a collection to make a point, like highlighting intricate hand beading, inlay of gems, elaborate draping and clever cutting, embroidery, fringing, and smocking.
The museum offers the viewer an opportunity to see clothing affordable to only the rich or famous, but it’s a special treat to the avid home sewer who learns what makes couture, well, couture. Visitors who are fashion-savvy, the readers of Vogue magazine, and all fans of bespoke dress will love this museum.
Interestingly, teens are among this museum’s many repeat visitors. This niche museum, although a showplace of beautiful, often iconic, clothes, is not stuffy. An international cadre of well-trained docents, who are all SCAD students, are friendly fountains of information, and details about every garment on display can be accessed on a free program through one’s smartphone.
There are two co-existing exhibition spaces at SCAD FASH, the main area featuring only clothing, the other showcasing accessories, collections of remarkable objects, like shoes or hats, and fashion-related photos, posters, and ad prototypes by famous photographers. An adjunct area is devoted to streaming short films featuring the work of students, SCAD grads, and cutting-edge designers at work today. Jewelry, scarves, and other bibelots and hand-made accessories are for sale in this area.
SCAD FASH is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays through Sundays; it is closed on Mondays. There is free parking behind the main building. Follow signs to SCAD FASH. General admission is $10, with discounts for seniors. Children under 14 are admitted free. Call (404) 253-3132 for information about exhibits.
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