The Grand Couturiers

Many internationally recognized designers have contributed their exquisite designs over the years through widely-distributed licensed, commercial paper sewing patterns, which strongly influenced the democratization of haute couture. These designers' corpus constitutes a large portion of the museum's holdings.

The designers and design houses in the museum's holdings include fashion giants such as: Pierre Balmain, Christian Dior, Madame Gres, Jacques Fath, Nina Ricci, Elsa Schiaparelli, Hubert de Givenchy, and Pierre Cardin, just to name a few.