Old Beginnings
In 1948, Dagmar Gustafson began a position as Associate Professor of Textiles and Clothing in what was then called the Division of Home Economics at Colorado A&M. For the next twenty years, she taught several courses in clothing and textiles, became head of the department, and expanded the curriculum to include industry internships for students. Among her many achievements, and one of her most visible and lasting legacies, was the establishment of the historic clothing and textiles collection.
“I have always felt a growing department of textiles and clothing should have a costume museum.”
- Faculty member Dagmar Gustafson in 1967 interview for The Coloradoan
In 1965, the first items were formally donated to the university to form a study collection and design resource for students and faculty in the Department of Clothing and Textiles. Gustafson envisioned a museum that organized and preserved a collection of textiles and clothing from around the world. She wanted dedicated spaces for it to be available for students to examine and research, and a gallery for hosting exhibitions that welcomed visitors to campus.
“She was very independent, free thinking, wasn't afraid to try anything. The impression she left with her reputation and just the way she conducted herself and opened up herself with her interests; she set a goal and got things done. I mean she was a woman ahead of her time.”
- Alum Dr. Karen Kruse-Shirey in 2019 oral interview
After Gustafson retired in 1968, the collection she started continued to develop under the care of other faculty and staff. Items were stored in small rooms, closets, and drawers spread around Guggenheim Hall until the opening of the Gifford Building in 1976. Space on the top floor of Gifford was designated to store the growing collection.
“When I first got there, we had to unpack them. We had to see all the different things that were there. There was one window that you could put some stuff in. While I was there, we got some dress form mannequins so that we could put some clothing and such on them. We had one big table, but it was not really a working table, to lay stuff out on to be able to have people really study it.”
- Former Curator Pat Trautman in 2020 oral interview
In the mid-1980s, a group of faculty, staff, and community members began meeting and organizing to raise funds for a dedicated gallery space to exhibit the ever-growing collection.
“I’d like to have exhibitions going on all the time, sort of a museum that people in the community can come to and see all of our beautiful treasures.”
- Former Curator Janet Hethorn in 1986 interview for Triangle Review
Finally, on March 11, 1987, the Gustafson Gallery opened on the third floor of the Gifford Building with the exhibition, “Old Beginnings.” It featured a mixture of collection pieces representing early donations of clothing and textiles from around the world. While Dagmar had passed away four years earlier, her sister Evelyn was involved in the dedication and celebration of this new space.
The Gustafson Gallery showcased exhibitions from the third floor of the Gifford Building until 1990, when it relocated to a larger space in Aylesworth Hall. The collection storage and study spaces remained in the Gifford Building. Five years later, silverfish – dreaded pests for any historic collection – were spotted in Aylesworth, so the gallery was moved again to the first floor of the Gifford Building. The Gustafson Gallery remained the primary exhibition space for what became known as the Historic Costume and Textile Collection until the collection was moved to the University Center for the Arts in 2009. The Gustafson Gallery relocated once again to the third floor of Gifford, where today student and faculty apparel and textile design works are exhibited.
More than 60 exhibitions have been presented in the Gustafson Gallery since its 1987 dedication. The vision of Dagmar Gustafson, who began collecting and preserving historic clothing and textiles in the 1960s, is now the Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising.