TCD Loose Threads Archive - October 2009

• TCD Journalism major Belinda Wright crowned Miss Nebraska
• TCD students and faculty attend Kansas City Career Day
• Hillestad Gallery Reopens with "Power and Pragmatism"

2010 Miss Nebraska Belinda Wright, TCD Journalism major

The TCD community was excited to learn recently that TCDJ student Belinda Wright was crowned Miss Nebraska on Sunday October 25th.  One of three children, she is a native of Scotia, NE (population 300) and is currently a Senior who expects to complete her undergraduate degree in TCD with a journalism emphasis in 2010. Belinda saw competing for Miss Nebraska as a way to challenge herself and to strengthen her self-confidence as well as increase her life skills. Heavily based on personal accomplishment, the competition emphasizes communication skills, fitness and health, and the value and importance of volunteerism. Belinda will now move on to the Miss USA competition in Las Vegas on April 18. TCD'ers will definitely be tuned in to the national network broadcasting the pageant that evening.

Wishing you all the best Belinda!

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TCD students with KS Career Day keynote Speaker Nancy Taylor (center)

and Taylor's niece, TCD alum Rebecca Taylor of Tomboy, Inc.

and R. Lee Designs (right)

Eight TCD majors accompanied by Dr. Harriet McLeod and Senior Lecturer Carol Easley attended the annual Kansas City Career Day this past Friday, Oct. 23^rd. Joining them was TCD design grad Rebecca Taylor who works for Tomboy Inc. in Kansas City, and who’s recently launched her own business, R. Lee Custom Design.

Rebecca’s aunt Nancy Taylor was the morning keynote speaker at this year’s conference.  She is employed as a designer at Athleta, recently acquired by the GAP.  Athleta has been outfitting women athletes since 1998 from its Sonoma County, CA, headquarters. One competitive advantage Athleta has in the women's active wear is their strong graphics and the fact that their product is designed by women athletes for women athletes . 

Nancy Taylor described her career path from successful couture bridal designer/owner in San Francisco, to NYC where she worked as a designer with a medium-size firm, and then back to SFO and her current position with Athleta.  She encouraged the students to network, hone their computer skills, follow their passion, embrace change, be aware  of trends, take risks, and be open to learning.

TCD students then had the opportunity to tour the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, site of KC Career Day, with museum docent Donna Houtterman.  The students really enjoyed her tour as she was energetic, her comments were relevant to them as designers, and she constantly involved them in "what do you see?" reflections.

The afternoon keynote speaker was Mr. Kelly Cole, president of Halls, Inc.  He described Halls' history as one of luxury, service, and exclusivity. He will continue this tradition by focusing on people, promotion, and product.  Mr. Cole's advice to students was to work hard, be dependable, work for someone they’d want to imitate, and get hands-on experience, something that TCD students do achieve through TCD’s internship program. 

TCD design major Kathryn Alms received an honorable mention for her design submission.  Along with Kathryn at the Career Day were Natalie Zwygart, Tiffany Hopkins, Katey Kaiser, Madison Simmons, Kiersten Koza, Michelle Higgins and Sylvia Cox. Report submitted by Dr. Harriet McLeod.

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After a summer-long renovation the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery reopens on Wednesday October 14 with a reception to honor gallery donors and supporters and a panel discussion and informal modeling to celebrate the newest exhibition, Power and Pragmatism: Beyond the Little Black Dress. The entire UNL community and the public are invited to these free events beginning at 6:30 p.m. in room 11 of the Home Economics building on East Campus, and continuing in the Hillestad Gallery in the Department of Textiles, Clothing & Design on the building's second floor.

Lace emphasizes the allure and seductive power of black

The exhibit includes 48 garments, the earliest, a lace dress from the late 1860’s, and the newest, a sweater created in 1983 by Japanese deconstructionist designer Rei Kawakubo.

The collection of black garments, including but not limited to the “little black dress,” conveys several messages on the subject of dress and adornment. They represent the practical, conservative nature of Nebraska dress in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and they supply evidence of the refined cut and sculptural quality of black dress in relation to the body. Limiting the selection to black allows the viewer to read the depth and richness of the fabrics as well as focus on the wide range of surface treatments used on the garments. These include beadwork, appliqué and tunnel stitching. As conservative as many of the items are, functioning for work, exercise and mourning, they nevertheless embody a feeling of authority and sophistication. Styling spans more than a hundred years and reveals the different attitudes toward dress at various periods in our social history. 

The silhouette and architecture of the garment are set off dramatically in black

An exhibit of this depth is made possible in part by the donors who made conscious decisions to preserve important items  by donating them to TCD's Historic Costume collection. One such donor is Katie Best of Omaha, some of whose garments are included in the exhibition. A long-time collector, Mrs. Best is a member of the Costume Society of America.

The exhibit explores the range of motives for wearing black and includes several renditions of not only the “little black dress” but the “powerful black suit”. One example is a rich velvet shirt dress by Anne Fogarty, donated by the late Mary Louise Babst, one of Lincoln’s beloved fashion authorities. Another donor, Mrs. Thomas (Marjorie) Woods, has played a significant role in building the late 20th century part of the Historic Costume collection. The 1960 designers represented in her donations include Pierre Cardin and Norman Norell. Work by James Galanos is represented thanks to donations from Joan Furr. Other garments of note include a wool swimming suit from the 1890’s and a rare lace jacket featuring pagoda sleeves and botanical motifs. The selection of clothing in the exhibition effectively summarizes the different roles that dress plays in embodying conformity on the one hand, and individuality on the other.

The exhibition continues through November 6. For gallery hours please visit the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery website.

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