Texas Fashion Collection

Home
United States
Denton, TX
Texas Fashion Collection

Bridging academic and popular understandings of fashion history through research and programming

The Texas Fashion Collection collects, preserves, and documents historically significant fashion. First founded in 1938 by Stanley and Edward Marcus, in honor of their aunt, Carrie Marcus Neiman, the fashion collection was later merged with the Fashion Group of Dallas, who had created the Dallas Museum of Fashion at the Apparel Mart in the early nineteen-sixties. Their stewardship of the collectio

n made it possible for the entire collection to be donated to the University of North Texas campus in 1972. The Texas Fashion Collection is operated as a non-profit enterprise by the University of North Texas through the College of Visual Arts and Design (CVAD) and housed on the UNT campus in Denton. Since 1972, UNT and CVAD have preserved and expanded the collection, which now includes nearly 20,000 historic and designer garments, accessories, and dress-related objects. Today, the TFC is housed at the Welch Street Complex at UNT and is overseen by Annette Becker. Becker has lead the TFC since fall 2016, following Myra Walker’s tenure starting in 1987.

06/18/2026

Members of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of North Texas get special behind-the-scenes tours of the TFC. Join them to see where the archiving magic happens!

06/14/2026

For this 1997 skirt, Todd Oldham transformed textiles from simple to sensational! Printed cotton fabric from the 1940s served as the foundation, the floral print still visible from the inside of the garment. Oldham worked with Mystic Beading to embellish the other side of the fabric, creating a related floral pattern entirely in hand-stitched beads and sequins!

Image 1: Burgundy fabric framing a white label with the name Todd Oldham and a crown logo, with other fabric showing stitches and a pale floral pattern and densely beaded black, pink, and green floral motifs on the other

Image 2: A white mannequin featuring skirt with all-over sequins creating a pink, green, purple, and black large-scale floral motif

06/11/2026

Pierre Cardin offers two bold elements in this 1970 design. First, the bold “flower power” textile graphically lays across the wearer’s body and devolves into chaos as the sheer fabric overlaps on the sleeves. Second, the statement sleeves flow to the ground, their volume contrasting with the slim line of the dress.

Image 1: Detail of the bodice and sleeves of a boldly patterned dress with rainbow colored concentric circles creating floral motifs overlapping over bars of color over a black and white checker grid, shown on a brown mannequin and white background

Image 2: Back ¾ view of a maxi dress with long, handkerchief-like sleeves with a bold geometric pattern, shown on a brown mannequin and white background

06/05/2026

Created in the late 1970s by Yves Saint Laurent, this ensemble deploys a delightfully coordinated set of materials. A floral printed fabric is embellished with matching crochet bands in black, teal, red, and purple, with beads mimicking the silk’s reflective properties. A matching skirt accentuates the teal in the floral, draping casually in contrast to the structured jacket.

Image 1: Detail of a delicate teal, purple, and red floral print with textured crochet trim embellished with beads

Image 2: Structured floral jacket with black crochet trim creating swirls at the center front, paired with a draped teal full-length skirt, shown on a brown mannequin and white background

06/01/2026

This ensemble features coordinated patterned textiles, likely created through resist dying and block printing techniques. Both textile treatments have long histories in India, where these cotton fabrics were created and transformed into a dress and jacket by House of Arts.

Image 1: Halter bodice of a dress made with green fabric with a geometric brown floral print, plunging neckline, patterned band from the empire to natural waist, shown on a white mannequin

Image 2: Detail of a dress waistline with bright green lining framing a design house label, with a bold patterned waistband and green and brown printed skirt fabric

Image 3: Detail of the jacket and bodice of a green and brown floral print ensemble

05/28/2026

This recently donated dress is easily identifiable as a Bob Mackie design, featuring his signature beads and sequins, a figure-hugging silhouette, and a sense of theatricality. Luckily celebrity reporters made narrowing down additional details easy, as a similar design was recently sported by Sabrina Carpenter! We love welcoming this Spring 1986 “Swamp Dress” to our permanent collection!

Image 1: Detail of the bodice of a dress with all-over sequins in iridescent black, teal, and pink creating the illusion of boning, with bright pink lining in the background

Image 2: Bob Mackie designer label on pink lining fabric with iridescent beads and sequins in rows and creating fringe

Image 3: Cocktail dress of black fabric with all-over black and cool-toned sequins creating the illusion of a corset and shawl draped over the hips and legs, with beaded fringe at the sleeves and hem, shown on a white mannequin and white background

Image 4: Singer Sabrina Carpenter wearing a black and cool-toned sequin dress, posing at a red carpet event

05/25/2026

This 1950s Sophie dress features feminine details - a shaped waist, pleats to fill out the skirt, and a floral textile. That fabric offers a dimensional print with overprinting or overlapping colors to create depth in pinks, blues, and purples.

Image 1: Detail view of the bodice of a dress made of white fabric with a dense, complex blue, pink, and purple floral pattern, with a high neckline and narrow waist, shown on a dark brown and white background

Image 2: Day dress made of white fabric with a dense, complex blue, pink, and purple floral pattern, with a high neckline and narrow waist, shown on a dark brown and white background

05/21/2026

Roberto Cavalli worked in Florence, Italy, a cultural region known for artisinal textile production. Here we see Cavalli’s innovation with leather, with bands of brightly-colored material screen printed with delicate, metallic floral patterns. These bands emphasize the silhouette of the jacket, creating a V that emphasizes the shoulders and narrows the waist.

Image 1: Detail of teal, orange, red, and dark blue leather creating angled stripes meeting at a center zipper, with a black leather sleeve across the top

Image 2: Front ¾ view of a black leather ensemble with striped, colorful bands of printed leather at the sleeves, making a V across the front, and as trim at the bottom hem

05/16/2026

Innovative designer Lucie Ann created elegant but accessible peignoirs and lingerie of nylon tricot and trimmed with marabou. Sets like this loose, dark floral one were popularized by stars like Eva Gabor.

Image 1: Front ¾ view of a black peignoir set with light pink flowers trimmed in dense black feathers, shown on a brown mannequin and white background

Image 2: Back ¾ view of a black and light pink floral nightgown of gently gathered tricot, shown on a brown mannequin and white background

Address

405 S Welch Street, Ste 102
Denton, TX
76201

Telephone

+19405652732

Website

http://www.tfc.cvad.unt.edu/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Texas Fashion Collection posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Texas Fashion Collection:

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Clothing Store in Denton?