Centuries of Fashion on Display in Immortal Beauty

A new exhibit in the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery will serve as a time machine for the last 300 years of high fashion and design.

Immortal Beauty: Highlights from the Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection opens Friday and will feature 70 items ranging from ornate slippers to flowing ball gowns and elegant outerwear.

It is the inaugural large-scale public showing of the museum-quality collection. The Richard C. von Hess Foundation — a philanthropic organization that supports museums and cultural organizations — provided a $220,000 grant to fund the showing.

“I am thrilled to share the highlights of the collection with the public and am grateful for the support of the Richard C. von Hess Foundation,” said Clare Sauro, curator of the Fox Historic Costume Collection. “My hope is that visitors will be dazzled by the sheer beauty of the exhibition and amazed at the breadth of the collection.”

Friday’s opening reception will run from 6–9 p.m. in the gallery. The exhibit will remain open until Dec. 12.

Among the pieces featured in the exhibit are garments by Gabrielle Chanel, Oscar de la Renta and Christian Dior.

Get a quick peak at some of the items that will be up for view here: