At the Museum: A Theatrical Headress Inspires Maria Pinto Clothing

 A Chinese theatrical headdress is created with pearls, blue kingfisher feathers, pompons, and other luxurious materials.  John Weinstein © The Field Museum

Lovers of art, style, and history alike will enjoy the Museum’s exhibit, Fashion and The Field Museum Collection: Maria Pinto. Running through June 16, 2013, the exhibition explores the world of design, mixing clothing hand-selected from the Museum’s collections by esteemed Chicago fashion designer Maria Pinto, and contemporary pieces created by Pinto.

A handcrafted armor vest from Cameroon (right), this masterpiece is made of crocodile skin. The vest inspired Pinto to explore the way material can be stitched together to take advantage of its patterns and textures. John Weinstein © The Field Museum

In 2010, Pinto selected objects that inspired her in collaboration with Alaka Wali, the Museum’s Curator in North American Anthropology. Driven by her designer’s eye, Pinto chose 25 Museum garments and adornments, attracted by their form, texture, and colors. Fascinated by the range of materials people used, the pieces’ meticulous craftsmanship, and their sheer beauty, the two women developed the exhibition. Pinto then drew connections between these pieces and her own designs, seven of which are featured in the exhibition.

Maria Pinto’s artistic perspective provides a fresh look at artifacts like a crocodile skin vest, a spectacular parka made of bird skins, and a necklace made of woven monkey fur. An incredible 18th century Chinese theatrical headdress inspired Pinto to design an entirely new ensemble of women’s wear, also on exhibit.

A translucent Inuit raincoat made of seal intestines is paired with Pinto’s “Tema” dress from her spring 2010 collection, creating a striking juxtaposition and revealing much about aesthetic principles of both that transcend time and geography.

Visitors are invited to engage with these objects in a new way and examine details they may not have noticed otherwise. The exhibition asks visitors how they can be inspired in their own creative pursuits by thinking of any Field Museum object as an object of beauty.

For further information, visit fieldmuseum.org. Click here to view a stunning interactive tour of Maria Pinto’s designs and the objects she chose from the Field Museum’s collections.

Some other collections on view

Contemporary Pacific Collections

While the acquisition of new collections for the Museum still involves obtaining actual objects, our collecting also involves much more than just this. 

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Latin American Textile Collections

The Museums’s Latin American collections include fine textiles from highland Peru and Bolivia and from Guatemala.

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Photo Archives – Malvina Hoffman Collection

This collection of sculptures and cast bronze figures by Mavina Hoffman depicting the peoples of the world, was comissioned in 1930 by Stanley Field the nephew of Museum Founder Marshall Field I.

Learn more