Ithaca, N.Y. – The Cornell Costume and Textile Collection will launch an exhibition titled Dressing the Circus on February 22, 2022. This explores the history, fashion, function, and labor behind circus costume, and is curated by Jenny Leigh Du Puis, PhD Candidate ’22 as part of her dissertation research on circus costume.
From the glitz of the stage to the grit of the physical performance, circus costumes must serve multiple needs from protection to storytelling, visual enticement to second skin. These garments and accessories are designed objects whose forms are impacted by their intended use, and whose silhouettes and construction methods are informed by long histories. From flexible contortionists to inverted aerialists, grand entrances to acrobatics and beyond, the costumes of circus are intentionally designed to support, protect, and enable the body through extreme movements while providing visual clues about the performance and doing it all with panache and poise.
Items featured in this exhibition include costumes from the 124th and 142nd editions of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, costumes for the youth performers of the Circus Smirkus Big Top Tour, aerialist and ringmaster costumes from performers with Circus Vargas, an ensemble worn by Mihaly “Michu” Meszaros, an antique accessories ensemble from the late 1800s, unitards for contortionists, publicity photographs, original sketches and costume development artifacts, and more. These items have been loaned for the exhibition from members of the circus community across the USA and institutions of circus including the following: Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus (@ringlingbros) courtesy of Feld Entertainment, Inc. (@feldentertainment), the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Archives (@theringling), Circus Smirkus (@circussmirkus), Circus Vargas (@circusvargasofficial), the Milner Library Special Collections at Illinois State University (@isumilnerlib). These costumes are complemented by objects from the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection (@cornellfashioncollection) such as a women’s riding habit from 1913, a sequined Arnold Scaasi gown, and a top hat from the 1800s. Images used in the exhibition showcase some of the history of circus costume.
The physical installation is accompanied by a digital exhibition, hosted through the Cornell University Library system. This exhibition is funded in part by the Cornell Council for the Arts, the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection, and the Department of Human Centered Design in the College of Human Ecology.
“Circus costumes are extraordinary objects – they have to function in a certain way for the wearer while meeting aesthetic needs for the show or act and accommodating for safety. All of the sewing and patternmaking requires specialty knowledge, because the costumes can’t impede the movements of the performers and they need to be durable enough to withstand repeated wear and tear while looking great for every show. It’s a balance of safety and aesthetics” says Jenny Leigh Du Puis, Cornell PhD Candidate ’22. “Behind the spectacle lies the function – not every costume will work for an aerialist spinning 30 feet up in the air holding onto an apparatus. Safety has to come first, but you still want the costumes to suit the show”
The exhibition will be on display in the Level T vitrines, Human Ecology Building, February 22, 2022 – April 29, 2022, and the opening reception will take place on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at 5 pm.