Love the Items You Have: Preserving Heirloom Piece

Please join Tae Smith, a costume and textile expert and the master dresser for the MoMA exhibition Items: Is Fashion Modern?, for a demonstration on how to care for everything from couture garments to an heirloom quilt to your favorite yoga pants. The key to practicing sustainability is not only to acquire and dispose of things in an ethical manner, but also to take care of what you already have so you don't need to buy and/or discard more. Smith will show us techniques for washing and storing clothing and accessories using museum-level practices and materials, as well as utilizing basic household materials.

Space is limited. This workshop is designed for adult participants but children are welcome if accompanied by an adult collaborator. Free with museum admission, but a separate ticket, available online beginning December 4, is required. Drop-ins on the day of the program will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis in the People’s Studio, beginning 30 minutes prior to the start of the program.

Tae Smith is a costume and textile conservator specializing in installing exhibitions. She holds a BS in fashion design and an MA from FIT’s Fashion and Textile Studies program. She is also a part-time faculty member in the MA Fashion Studies (ADHT) program at Parsons The New School for Design. Smith has consulted for some of the premier institutions in the US, including The Museum of Modern Art, The Costume Institute, The Menil Collection, Christian Dior, the American Museum of Natural History, and Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Besides exhibiting fashion, Smith also has extensive experience with creating and managing archive collections.