In Anticipation of Threads 2019 In a few weeks, the Madison Masonic Center will be hosting one of SoHE’s most beloved events Threads: Fashion Show. Threads is a yearly fashion show that showcases Textile and Fashion Design students’ various projects from the school year. Dubbing Helen Louise Allen as the ‘Point of Muse’ for students, […]
Happy Birthday Helen Louise Allen! Professor Allen spent her life teaching, traveling, and collecting the thousands of textiles in her legacy collection—a sample of which can be seen from now until April 14 in both the Design Gallery and Mecklenburg Textile Gallery. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Allen’s initial gift of 4,000 pieces, […]
Oona pattern designed by Maija Isola, Furnishing Fabric, Finland, 1969, 55.25 x 29.5″ By Samuel Anglehart, a fourth-year student in SoHE, studying Textiles and Fashion Design. Marimekko is a design house that played an integral role in the world of textiles. Starting in the early 1950s, Marimekko became a household name as they incorporated graphic […]
Members of the Madison Knitting Guild gathered in the Robin’s Nest Cafe on Thursday evening, February 28th, to lead a knit-in, where members of the SoHE community could learn to knit. More than 50 people – students, administrators, colleagues, amateur and expert knitters -came together on a cold night to practice one of the world’s […]
The History, Practice, and Future of Textile Collecting “A Collection that counts brings knowledge, a losing of self in the sorting and arranging, a huge enjoyment in showing the collection, and the acquiring of many new friends both in making and showing of it.” Helen Louise Allen Why do people collect textiles? How do they […]
Dress, Carolyn Kallenborn, 1994, US, 65×18 in By Jessica Inman, a student in Retailing and Consumer Behavior in the School of Human Ecology. When looking at the Hellen Allen Louise Textile collection online, I was immediately drawn to the dress called ‘Metamorphosis,’ by Carolyn Kallenborn, created in the United States in 1994. I was interested […]
Unknown Yoruba Artist, Masquerade Costume, Nigeria, late 20th century By Richard Lor, a fourth-year student in Design Studies, studying Interior Architecture Traditional clothing and garments have always intrigued me. The traditional clothing of my own Hmong culture has significant meaning attached, and items are worn during specific events. In the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, […]
Embroidered silk kimono, 1930s, Japan, 64×58″ Written by Nghi Tuong, a third year student in the School of Human Ecology, studying Retailing and Consumer Behavior. I chose to write about this Japanese kimono from the 1930s because I have always been attracted to things that are red, so the background color and the beautiful gold […]
Appliqué, embroidery, paint, and weaving, 1900-1949, China, 8x8x7” By Kayla Caldwell, a fourth-year student in Design Studies, studying Textiles and Fashion Design. Stitch by stitch the details of the ox’s face, its rider, and the colorful creatures and flowers that adorned its head all began to fall into place. The time and care put into […]
The new Lynn Mecklenburg Textile Gallery provides a space dedicated to year-round, rotating displays of the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, making the collection even more accessible to the public. The opening of the gallery on January 27 2019 launched a yearlong anniversary celebration. For 50 years, this nationally-known collection has inspired and informed thousands […]
A Celebration Sampler January 27 – April 14, 2019 Appliqué to Zardozi: A Celebration Sampler, is the first of two major anniversary exhibitions celebrating the breadth and depth of the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, and featuring an international selection of textile-making techniques. The exhibition’s subtitle, A Celebration Sampler, references historic hand-embroidered samplers traditionally made by […]
Ruth Ketterer Harris Lecture Thursday, November 1, 2018 7 – 8 pm, Room 2235 Nancy Nicholas Hall 1300 Linden Drive, Madison The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection is pleased to host Prof. Marina Moskowitz as its 2018 Ruth Ketterer Harris Lecturer. Prof. Marina Moskowitz is the Lynn and Gary Mecklenburg Chair in Textiles, Material Culture, […]
The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection is housed right across from the Ruth Davis Design Gallery on the first floor of Nancy Nicholas Hall. Every 10-12 weeks, the displays in the large windows are rotated out and a new textiles are unveiled. On May 7, floral prints from the 1960s were displayed. Helen Louise Allen Textile […]
Center for Design and Material Culture The Center for Design and Material Culture (CDMC) invites collaboration opportunities from UW-Madison faculty, staff, and students as well as off-campus community members. We give special consideration to proposals that encourage engagement with art, design, built environments and modified landscapes and rely on designed objects as primary sources. Successful […]
Center for Design and Material Culture
Walk by the large window displays on the first floor or Nancy Nicholas Hall, and you’ll see the current exhibit of large-print British textiles from the late 60s and early 70s. According to Natasha Thoreson, Curator and Collections Manager at SoHE, the bold prints represent the Avant Garde style popular at the time in London. […]
The Center aspires to be a hub for exchanging ideas, building skills, and broadly promoting the value of objects to enrich our understanding. Our affiliates form a community and are an essential part of our mission! We hope our affiliates will contribute to, participate in, and benefit from our Center programs and join us in […]
With the now ubiquitous nature of smartphones and internet access, new opportunities to collaborate around the world are possible. During the Fall 2016 semester, students enrolled in a textile design class were paired with artisans in the Kutch district of Gujarat, India. With no opportunity to meet in person, 13 design teams used the popular […]
Request to view items in Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection To schedule a visit to the Collection, please fill out and submit this form. Requests need to be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to preferred date of visit. Confirmation of availability will be sent within 3-4 business days. This Collection is open Monday-Friday. Fields […]
Ruth Ketterer Harris Lecture Monday, November 6, 2017 7 – 8 pm, Room 2235 Nancy Nicholas Hall 1300 Linden Drive, Madison The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection is pleased to host Noa Raviv as its 2017 Ruth Ketterer Harris Lecturer Noa Raviv, an emerging Israeli fashion artist and designer, will speak publicly on “The Power […]
Ruth Ketterer Harris Lecture — Weaving and Innovation Thursday, March 21, 2013 5:30 – 6:30 pm Ebling Symposium Center, Microbial Sciences Building 1550 Linden Drive, Madison The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection is pleased to host Lia Cook, Professor of Art from the California College of the Arts, as its 2013 Ruth Ketterer Harris Lecturer […]
Ruth Ketterer Harris Lecture — Seven Fibers that Changed the World Thursday, March 6, 2014 5:30 – 6:30 pm Conrad A. Elvehjem Building, Room L160 University of Wisconsin — Madison 800 University Drive, Madison The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection is pleased to host Patrice George, Assistant Professor in the Fashion Institute of Technology, New […]
Ruth Ketterer Harris Lecture Global Color: Textiles, Dyes, and Colors in the Interwoven Globe, 16th-18th centuries Thursday, March 12, 2015 6 – 7 pm, Room 2235 Nancy Nicholas Hall 1300 Linden Drive, Madison The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection is pleased to host Dr. Elena Phipps, Senior Research Scholar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, […]