Emphatics: Avant-Garde Fashion 1963-2013

Last year, Phoenix Art Museum acquired a rare archive of avant-garde contemporary fashions and ephemera collected by James and Karin Legato who owned and operated Emphatics, an exclusive boutique in Pittsburgh.

This comprehensive archive features fashions and accessories by renowned designers such as Alexander McQueen, Issey Miyake, Thierry Mugler, John Galliano, Romeo Gigli, Alaia and Jean Paul Gaultier with original runway show invitations, videos and other materials and accessories. On view together for the first time, this exhibition celebrates the enormous creativity of fashion from 1963-2013 in a dynamic, multi-media installation.

Emphatics: Avant-Garde Fashion 1963-2013 is organized by Phoenix Art Museum. Its Phoenix premiere is made possible by Arizona Costume Institute as Presenting Sponsor; by the Ellman Foundation as Supporting Sponsor, with additional support provided by Jane Jozoff. Museum purchase of Emphatics Archive with funds provided by: Barbara Anderson, Arizona Costume Institute, Milena and Tony Astorga, Jacquie Dorrance, Kelly Ellman, Michael and Heather Greenbaum, Diane and Bruce Halle, Nancy R. Hanley, Ellen Katz, and Miriam Sukhman. Emphatics photos by Ken Howie.

Image © Phoenix Art Museum, photographer Edgar Cardenas.