Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960

Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960 explores the evolution of women’s sporting attire in Western fashion over this 160-year period. Beginning at the turn of the nineteenth century, when women ventured outside the domestic sphere to partake in outdoor activities, and concluding with the mid-twentieth century, when the basic forms of sportswear we know today were codified, this unprecedented exhibition traces garments and accessories that defined female participation in the sporting world as both athletes and spectators. Examining the competing priorities of fashion, function, and propriety, the exhibition consists of over 100 mannequins and related historic ephemera, and is accompanied by a fully illustrated 350-page catalogue with a preface by international tennis champion Serena Williams.

This exhibition is produced in partnership with the American Federation of Arts. It is travelling to venues across the United States before debuting in a larger format at the FIDM Museum in 2024.