Fashion parade for dolls weaveit skin#

That return process began in May.Īll summer, Osborne and a team of volunteers, like Jan Alexander, have been methodically unpacking the museum, again.Įvery Thursday, Alexander puts on a pair of white cotton gloves and spends hours removing exhibits from their carefully packed tissue paper, documenting their intake number, photographing them, and getting them ready for permanent storage. Most of the items had to be inventoried and padded in enamel drawers, specially created not only to move the items, but to house them once they came back to the museum. They swell, they expand and contract with moisture.'įinding the space was just one hurdle. 'What we don't like to see is a jump of 20 degrees of temperature, or 15 percent humidity. 'Textiles are really vulnerable to humidity and temperature swings,' Osborne said. Luckily, the former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention facility on the university's Foothills Campus fit the bill. To safely store the collection during the renovation, Osborne needed the ultimate walk-in closet – complete with climate control. 'There's a lot more sort of pre-planning that has to go into it.'įirst of all, there's just the sheer size. 'Unfortunately it's not like moving, packing your home,' Osborne said. KUNC Mannequins of all shapes and sizes sit in a storage room awaiting their next wardrobe change. In 2013, another grant provided room to expand – necessary since the collection's first move, as it had grown by almost 7,000 pieces.īut before the renovation could begin, the collection had to move yet again.Īvenir curator and collection manager Megan Osborne has been a part of moving all 20,000 pieces four times. In 2009, a grant from the Avenir Foundation made it possible for the collection to move from CSU's cramped Gifford building to the then-new University Center for the Arts, where it would have its own museum and gallery space. Curator emerita Linda Carlson grew the collection into one worthy of museum exhibitions

The former head of CSU's Department of Textiles and Clothing donated items from her personal historic costume collection to help students learn about textiles, textile preservation and design. It was started in the 1950s by Dagmar Gustafson. The folks at the Avenir have been thinking about the fashions and textiles of the past for a while now.īefore there was the museum, there was just the collection. If we need a new bedspread, we go out and buy it.' 'I mean, every age probably thinks that but - relatively speaking - we do. 'In today's society, we have it so easy,' said Doreen Beard, director of operations and engagement at the Avenir, which is part of CSU's Department of Design and Merchandising. I’m beyond thrilled for my young patients to see and play with a doll who looks like them,” Dr Richardson said of the collection.Whether it's pre-Columbian burial ties from South America or a pre-millennium MC Hammer doll, you never know what you might find at Colorado State University's Avenir Museum.Īt the Avenir – French for 'future' – the collection of more than 20,000 items of clothing and textiles aid students in directing the future of fashion by showing them the past. As an educational audiologist with over 18 years of experience working in hard-of-hearing advocacy, it’s inspiring that those who experience hard of hearing are reflected in a doll. “I’m honoured to have worked with Mattel to create an accurate reflection of a doll with behind-the-ear hearing aids. To accurately portray the hearing aids, Mattel consulted with experts in their fields including leading educational audiologist and hard of hearing advocate Dr Jen Richardson.

There are 11 million people that are deaf or hard of hearing in the UK, so it’s no surprise that Mattel was receiving lots of requests for a doll that reflected this demographic. And these latest additions should be celebrated.

Fashion parade for dolls weaveit skin#

The Barbie Fashionistas line – thankfully – now has more than 175 dolls offering children the chance to see different skin tones, eye colours, hair colours and textures, body types, disabilities, and styles. However, Mattel is on a mission to make Barbie more relatable to reflect society as a whole.

The blonde figurine has historically been synonymous with an unachievable and one-dimensional beauty standard.

This is the latest step that Barbie creator Mattel has made to make the brand more diverse.