Conservators and technicians worked for nearly two years to stabilize and prepare the forty dresses and mannequins for the highly praised Ann Lowe: American Couturier exhibition at Winterthur. Conversations, research, and planning for a revolutionary new mannequin-making project began even earlier.

To display Lowe’s historic dresses, Winterthur’s textile lab partnered with Katya Roelse, an instructor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware (UD), and with UD’s MakerGym, an interdisciplinary design and fabrication studio, to develop mannequins that are both cost effective and archival quality.

The exhibition presented the life and work of the remarkable and influential American designer who created couture gowns for debutantes, heiresses, actresses, and society brides, including Jacqueline Kennedy, Olivia de Havilland, and Marjorie Merriweather Post.

Elizabeth Way, associate curator at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, served as guest curator of the exhibition. It was the largest exhibition of Lowe’s work to date, featuring gowns never before on public view.

Way delivered a sold-out lecture when the exhibition opened in September 2023.

“The event was stunning. I couldn’t believe the level of connection everyone had with her story.”

Allison Tolman, associate director of collections management, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian, on the opening reception for the Lowe exhibition.

A highly acclaimed symposium on Lowe followed in October and drew an international audience of fashion scholars and journalists.

Leading up to and during the exhibition, Winterthur also led a successful hunt for previously “undiscovered” or “forgotten” original Lowe dresses.

Ann Lowe’s recently emerging visibility as a designer stands in contrast to much of her career and the countless unrecognized Black dressmakers and designers who have contributed to American fashion for generations, including her own grandmother and mother. She blazed a path for others to follow, and her legacy is still felt in fashion culture.

The exhibition also featured the work of contemporary couturiers and fashion designers whose current design practices, perspectives, and career paths reflect the trajectory of American fashion emanating from Lowe’s foundation.

Why was Winterthur the right place to mount such a substantial effort to celebrate a fashion designer?

  • Winterthur is a place that celebrates stories of American craft and achievement. The story of Ann Lowe was one Winterthur was uniquely positioned to tell.
  • It started here. Margaret Powell, whose three-year tenure at Winterthur from 2013 to 2016 as a cataloguing assistant for a grant-funded project with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), coincided with the early stages of Margaret’s research into Lowe’s life and legacy. The exhibition was a tribute to Margaret.
  • Winterthur has the skill. Internationally renowned conservators conducted critical treatment of many of the gowns featured in the exhibition.
  • Winterthur has the connections. Winterthur’s longtime partnership with the University of Delaware enabled the recreation of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy’s 1953 wedding gown. The original is too fragile to display. Winterthur donated the recreation to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum so the public can continue to see this iconic gown.
  • Winterthur is leading the field. Working with UD, Winterthur pioneered a 3D printing technique to create customized mannequins for the exhibition. Other museums and institutions will benefit from this work.
  • Winterthur left a legacy. Winterthur’s publication Ann Lowe, American Couturier (Rizzoli) was the first scholarly representation of Lowe’s contributions to twentieth-century couture in the United States. The book received the Costume Society of America’s 2024 Millia Davenport Publication Award and sold out and was reprinted by Rizzoli within months of its first printing.

“I think it’s a testament to Margaret (Powell) that she made connections strong enough to withstand her passing. It truly took a village of women committed to Margaret and Ann Lowe to ensure that the work continued.”

Rachel Delphia, Alan G. and Jane A. Lehman Curator of Decorative Arts and Design, Carnegie Museum of Art, on Margaret Powell and her research

The day the Lowe exhibition opened on September 9, 2023, saw Winterthur welcome 88% more people and a 37% increase in self-paced tours than on a normal day.

The week of the exhibition’s opening saw a 54% increase in overall visitation and a 96% increase in self-paced tours. The exhibition was featured in worldwide media coverage.