Even some students and faculty at Jefferson’s East Falls Campus may not be aware that just footsteps away in the Goldie Paley House is a hidden treasure trove of historical and educational significance.

Thanks to an online event in March hosted by Jefferson’s Office of Alumni Relations celebrating International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, alumni, students, faculty, and supporters were treated to an insider’s peek into Jefferson’s renowned Textile and Costume Collection.

Curator and adjunct professor Jade Papa oversees this amazing repository, which has been growing since the founding of the East Falls campus in the late 19th century. Currently, the collection houses 100,000 items, ranging from the oldest fabric from the year 234 when Egypt was ruled by the Byzantines, to a dress dating from the early 1990s.  

Papa shares that this collection is incredibly important and unique. Titled a study collection, it offers students the opportunity to handle the contents, which is quite different from a museum-going experience where they would be separated from the items by Plexiglas or other barriers.

She explains, “There is great value in up-close and personal interaction with objects. Being able to touch evokes visceral response; and you see details that you might not have ever seen from a distance. Allowing students to interact with objects gives them the agency to uncover the stories they are interested in learning—stories of time, place, changing technology, and cultures and peoples different from their own.”

The presentation illuminated two women of the mid-20th century who are well-represented in the collection and have made significant contributions to the world of textiles and fashion—fashion designer Claire McCardell (1905-1958) and textile designer Dorothy Liebes (1897-1972). Papa notes, “While the impact of the two women was widely acknowledged during their lifetimes, somehow their names and work have fallen into a bit of obscurity.”

Papa says that there are stronger connections between the two than just being contemporaries. “Not only did both of these women have to advocate for themselves in a design world largely dominated by men, they also advocated for other women. The most common thread that connected them was how similar their design philosophies were—they believed that design should be for everyone, not just the elite few who could afford it.”

Claire McCardell revolutionized women’s fashion and is credited with being the mother of American sportswear. She designed clothes focused on affordability, practicality, and comfort that were appropriate for a wide range of activities. McCardell felt strongly that the average woman deserved to wear attractive clothes at a reasonable price.

She gravitated to natural fabrics including cotton, denim, and wool, incorporating thoughtful, comfortable design details including full-size, functional pockets inspired by menswear, and zipper placement on the side seam, easily accessible for a woman living on her own. She is also remembered for working with the iconic ballet flat, as all of her designs were intended to be worn with flats, never heels.

McCardell graced the cover of TIME magazine in 1955, where she said, “I’ve always designed things I needed myself. It just turns out that other people need them too.” She was part of the Fashion Walk of Fame in New York’s Garment District in 2000, and was memorialized in bronze in her hometown of Frederick, Maryland, in 2021, with a statue in her honor. 

Textile designer Dorothy Liebes’ impact goes beyond fashion. Dubbed the “First Lady of the Loom” at the time of her death, Interiors magazine named her “the greatest modern weaver and the mother of the 20th-century palette.”

After learning to weave, Liebes worked in Paris as a textile designer. She returned to San Francisco, where she produced architectural textiles for interiors including wall hangings and upholstery fabrics commissioned by architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright. Her work, later called “The Liebes Look” was known for its rich colors, lush textures, and unconventional combination of materials, including metal, sequins, glass, leather, yarn, cellophane, and bamboo.

Following World War II, man-made, synthetic textiles were more common and widely available. Companies like DuPont hired Liebes as a consultant and used her name to sell their products.  After moving her studio to New York City, her work shifted from custom design to mass production. She strived toward a new goal—making good design accessible to the average American, offering everyone the opportunity to be part of the modern design movement.

Papa shares that Liebes was one of the few women involved in the auto industry, reporting that she recently uncovered fabric samples in the collection that illustrate a real possibility that Liebes’ design could be seen in the fabric of the seat covers of the 1957 Plymouth Fury.

Dorothy Liebes continues to inspire Jefferson students, and samples of her textiles are some of the most requested items in the collection. As sustainability has become an important part of fashion and textiles today, her work is viewed as a wonderful example of using materials around you to create beautiful fabric.