Ann Lowe: American Couturier Members Day Program
Celebrate the opening of the largest exhibition of Ann Lowe’s work to date—featuring 40 iconic gowns designed for America’s most prominent debutantes, heiresses, actresses, and society brides. Take in a fascinating lecture by the exhibition curator and enjoy an array of activities fit for all ages throughout the day.
10:30 – 11:30 am | Ann Lowe: Dressmaker to Designer Lecture
Elizabeth Way, Guest Curator
Ann Lowe was a gifted seamstress from the age of six, taught by her grandmother and mother, who ran a custom fashion salon in Montgomery, Alabama. These skills and her creative design talent took Lowe from an apprentice to a live-in dressmaker and then business owner in Tampa, Florida, and ultimately to the head of several custom ateliers in New York City. Along the way she designed for nationally known labels, that is, creating gowns under others’ names. Lowe’s career from the 1910s to 1972 witnessed the evolution of the American fashion industry, and her extraordinary couture dresses transformed her from a dressmaker to a fashion designer. Join Elizabeth Way, associate curator at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and guest curator of Ann Lowe: American Couturier as she takes you through Lowe’s fascinating journey from seamstress to “Society’s Best-Kept Secret.”
Members free; $15 with admission. Book signing to follow.
Sold out.
1:00 – 4:00 pm | Textile Lab Tour with Winterthur’s Textile Conservators
Tours will take place at 30-minute intervals. Exclusive for Patron-level-and-above Members.
Tour the Textile Conservation Lab, where the Ann Lowe exhibition came together over the past two years. Learn about ways you can protect and preserve textiles at home with our textile conservation staff.
For Patron-level-and-above Members only. Call 302.888.4713 to upgrade your Membership today! Reservations required. To reserve online, Patron-level-and-above Members must log in here; once you are logged in, the textile tours will appear on the ticket calendar.
1:00 – 4:00 pm | Guided Gallery Walk
General Guided Walk: 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 pm
Family-Friendly Tours: 1:30, 2:30, and 3:30 pm
Take a guided tour through the exhibition and learn about the life and legacy of Ann Lowe, an American fashion designer who created couture-quality gowns for America’s high society yet remained virtually unknown to the wider public.
Drop-in tour, reservations not required. This Gallery Walk begins in the Galleries Reception Area. Members free. Included with admission.