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Conservation Overview

The objects in this exhibition belong to the Graduate Study Collection and were selected to coordinate with some of the sketches from the Beller archive. Each of the garments required some level of conservation treatment to be made ready for exhibition. These treatments were professionally done by the second-year conservation-emphasis students in the Fashion and Textile Studies program. Conservation work does not seek to take a garment in a current state of disrepair back to its original look – but attempts to slow down the deterioration while giving support and stability to weak or problematic areas. Below is a list of the most common types of treatments that are performed in conservation labs, and which were needed on most of the garments in this exhibition:

  • Stitch Treatment (ie sewing)
  • Adhesive Treatment
  • Surface Cleaning (ie vacuuming)
  • Wet Cleaning
  • Humidification
  • Partial Reproduction/Replication
  • Conservation Dying