Fashion exhibit showcases thrift shop leftovers with Grace Kelly gown

Couture garments adorned with feathers and sequins will coexist with a heap of unwanted secondhand clothes at a new exhibit at the Academy of Natural Sciences.

“Ecology of Fashion” is a layered look at the industry that explores the materials that make our outfits and the ripple effects of textile production. By mixing striking designer threads with sobering statistics, the curators hope to spark conversations about sustainability.

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“We were looking to surprise, delight, alarm and inspire change,” said Marina McDougall, vice president of experience and engagement for the Academy of Natural Sciences.

The first thing visitors see when they walk into the exhibit, opening Saturday, is a pile of unsold items from the Plato’s Closet thrift shop in Paoli. Text beside it illustrates the scale of the fashion consumption problem: There are already enough clothes in the world to clothe the next six generations. Secondhand shopping alone, it implies, doesn’t solve the glut.

“Ecology of Fashion” is divided into sections dedicated to flora, fauna, fungi and fossil fuels. Some of the clothing draws literally from those categories — like a bucket hat made from mycelium, or mushroom strands — while others are a bit more interpretative. The leopard print on a Halston silk pantsuit, for instance, is made from PVC plastic.

While no jungle cats were harmed by Halston’s creation, the exhibit shows the ways in which fashion trends have threatened animal populations. The leopard skin coat that Jacqueline Kennedy wore on a 1962 trip to India gets a special spotlight. As photos of the first lady in the garment circulated, women clamored for copycats. It’s estimated that 250,000 leopards were killed to feed this trend. The effect was so devastating that Oleg Cassini, the designer of the coat, became a faux fur advocate later in life.

Abbie Rowe White House Photographs/National Archives

The Oleg Cassini leopard skin coat that Jacqueline Kennedy wore during her husband’s presidency drove a fashion trend.

One of the standout pieces in the collection is a Givenchy dress that belonged to Grace Kelly. The gown features intricate reddish-pink raffia embroidery with glass beads and branches of coral drilled through the fabric — but only at one end. The other end of the coral pieces dangle against the dress.

“That means they move when she moves,” said Clare Sauro, director of the Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection. “This gown, it tinkles. It makes the most delightful noise when it moves. So it must have been really lovely to wear.”

This dress and many other items from the Fox Historic Costume Collection will be swapped out halfway through the exhibit’s run for conservation purposes. Sauro tried to pick replacements that explored similar themes — and provided a similar wow factor. Kelly’s gown will be replaced with a 2006 Oscar de la Renta dress completely covered in pheasant feathers.

“Ecology of Fashion” also includes an area with positive actions visitors can take to reduce their impact. Groups like the PA Flax Project will hold workshops and demonstrations on sustainability in the space during the exhibit’s run through Aug. 31, 2025.

While Sauro and McDougall want the collection to get people talking, they also hope people leave feeling inspired rather than ashamed. Though fashion presents problems, the curators say, there’s a reason people care about their wardrobes.

“It’s OK to want beautiful things,” Sauro said. “It’s OK to appreciate those things. Because it is universal and ancient and really primal. … Like how do you tell a working class woman that she’s not allowed to have nice sheer stockings? That you have to have cotton stockings, nylon stockings are bad?

“There are no easy answers.”

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