MTSU's Retro Rewind exhibit opens

Written by Wren Bailey

“Retro Rewind” exhibit displays 1980s fashion and serves as the first time the MTSU’s Textiles, Merchandising, and Design program will open its doors to the public for display at the Todd Art Gallery on MTSU’s campus Saturday, March 22.

Hosted by MTSU’s Department of Human Sciences, “Retro Rewind: Treasures from the Historic Costume Collection,” allows visitors to to step back in time to the 1980s and explore its fashion.

The event features a myrid of 1980s couture from the Historic Costume Collection of MTSU’s

Textiles, Merchandising, and Design Program, or TXMD, that captures the decade’s diversity

and emotion.

“Students collaborated together to create the exhibit theme and name, develop the pieces used, the categories highlighted, and the stories told,” explained TXMD professor Gina Pisut, Department of Human Sciences chair.

Several student curators will be featured such as:

• Brooklyn Barton, of Mount Juliet, a senior TXMD student with a concentration in apparel design.

• Roe Brien, of Milan, an aspiring costume designer with a concentration in apparel design.

• Jacob Jernigan, of Brentwood, a Public History graduate student with a concentration in museum management and an expertise in material culture and historic clothing.

• Megan Le, of Murfreesboro, a TXMD student with a concentration in fashion merchandising.

“For this exhibit we focused on three types of styles to categorize our garments: work wear,

casual wear and night life,” Barton explained. “Through the exhibit we wanted to guide the

viewer through what a woman’s wardrobe may look like on a typical day in the 1980’s.”

The pieces presented are pulled from an existing collection donated by Cecil Elrod III, whose father, Cecil Elrod Jr., was a high-end clothier who owned and operated the French Shoppe in Murfreesboro. The collection is composed of designs by Galanos, Vicky Tiel Couture, Geoffrey Beene Couture, and Norma Kamali Couture.

“We are excited for the success of the exhibit and look forward to showcasing many more of our 800-plus pieces from our TXMD Historic Costume Collection, which dates back to 1790,” Pisut said.

Todd Art Gallery is located in Room 224A in Andrew L. Todd Hall, 542 Old Main Circle. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.