What is the Original Costume Museum Society?

What are the goals of the Original Costume Museum Society?

How does the Original Costume Museum Society contribute to Vancouver's Cultural and Economic Life?

WHAT IS THE OCMS?

The Original Costume Museum Society was incorporated as a not-for-profit society in 1992 for the purpose of establishing a museum of costumes and textiles.   It has the status of a registered charitable organization, which enables it to issue tax receipts when donations of goods or funds are received. 

The constitution states “The purpose of the Original Costume Museum Society is to establish and operate a museum that will collect, preserve, study, display, and interpret historic and contemporary fashion, ethnic costume, and other textile and fabric arts to residents of and visitors to the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.”

The Original Costume Museum Society collects historic fashion, traditional costume, and textiles.  Its current collection includes thousands of artifacts, which range in date from circa 1800 to1985.   A small space to store and manage the collection has been rented.  The interest in donating is high; the need for a new site is urgent.

The themes of an Original Costume Museum have already been shown to be popular.  Members of the OCMS have developed and contributed to exhibitions on a variety of topics related to the history of fashion.  The Vancouver Museum, the Royal British Columbia Museum, the North Shore Museum and Archives (North Vancouver), Irving House Museum (New Westminster), the Delta Museum and Archives, the Nanaimo Regional Museum, the Fort Langley Centennial Museum, and the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre were some exhibition venues.  Many of these institutions noticed increases in attendance when these exhibitions and their related programs were offered.

The OCMS also produces educational programs about the history of fashion.  Lecture series and historic fashion shows have been presented at Hycroft (the University Women’s Club) and the Vancouver Museum.   Historic fashion shows have been presented at Frederic Wood Theatre (University of British Columbia), the Vancouver Academy of Music, Performance Works (Granville Island), and the Vancouver Museum Auditorium.   Society members have lectured at local colleges, universities, and trade schools, some of which are the Vancouver Vocational Institute, the University of British Columbia’s Continuing Education Program, Kwantlen College, Capilano College, University College of the Fraser Valley, and John Casablancas Modeling and Acting Studio.  They have also presented lectures and historic fashion shows that have raised funds for charitable and service organizations, such as the Canadian Cancer Society, the Ballet Society, the Probus Club, the Native Daughters of British Columbia, the Optimists Club, and the Daughters of the Nile.  A permanent home for the Original Costume Museum would increase educational programming.

Currently, all the work of the OCMS is done by volunteers.  The backbone of the organization is a corps of dedicated individuals who oversee the society’s administration, acquisition of the collection, and coordination of educational programs and outreach opportunities.  An annual gala has provided significant operational funding since 2008.

The OCMS is in a new phase of organizational development.  For the past decade, the membership of the OCMS had been small.  In 2004, a concerted effort to increase membership and pursue a museum site resulted in an enormous increase in membership.  Currently there are approximately 150 members and new members are joining each month. Back to Top

What are the Goals of the OCMS?

The Original Costume Museum Society wants to establish a museum that will collect, study, display, preserve, and educate people about the history, manufacture, design, merchandising, and significance of fashion, costume, and textiles.  As a public attraction, the museum will offer changing exhibitions about high fashion and everyday fashion, the fashions of diverse ethnic groups, the skills and processes of the textile trades, and the people and businesses that make up the fashion industry, past and present.  It will offer educational programs to school groups (secondary schools, post-secondary schools, continuing education programs, trade schools), community groups, tour groups, and the general public.  Guided tours of the exhibitions, lectures, demonstrations, workshops, fashions shows, and other presentations will animate the visitor’s experience.  A research library will offer other forms of information.  A gift shop will sell postcards, books, historic clothing patterns, and other small items related to the museum’s mandate, in order to provide visitors with souvenirs and materials related to historical fashions, as well as to provide a source of revenue that will sustain the museum’s operation.  A behind-the-scenes area will be used to maintain and store the collection, as well as to prepare the exhibitions and programs. 

The OCMS would like approximately 15,000 square feet of space, which would cover exhibition galleries, a lecture/theatre space for two hundred fifty people, an all-purpose program presentation/meeting room, a reception area, staff and volunteer offices and meeting room, a collection storage area, collection conservation spaces, an exhibition preparation area, a research library, staff and public washrooms, a gift shop, and general storage/maintenance facilities.  The OCMS’s goal is to have a fully operational museum, but this may have to be done in stages.  The OCMS is actively pursuing a site for a museum.

Ultimately, the OCM will be an active cultural facility.  It is anticipated the museum will be open to the public Tuesdays through Sundays, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, with one opening a week to 9:00 pm.  In addition to these regularly scheduled hours, other evening openings will be arranged for booked groups, scheduled educational programs, and special rental of the facilities.   

Who will come to the OCM?  Everyone with an interest in fashion, cultural costume, and history.  Individuals (local residents, regional, provincial, national, and international tourists, people from a variety of cultural backgrounds), family groups, tour groups (conferences, cruises, sightseeing companies, local organizations), individual students and school groups (secondary schools, post-secondary schools, trade schools), fashion industry workers, film industry workers, and costume researchers are just some of the expected visitors.  

A museum masterplan and construction budget will be created once the location for the future OCM is named.   Dedicated fundraising will be required to meet what will likely be a multi-million dollar goal.

As for operational expenses, a full business plan will be prepared as part of the museum development process, but museum admission fees, educational program fees, membership fees, and gift shop sales are expected to make the OCM financially viable and self-sustaining.  School groups, pre-arranged tour groups from conferences, cruises, sightseeing companies, and local organizations, as well as individuals, will pay for guided tours of the exhibitions and special programs (lectures, workshops, fashion shows, etc.).  OCM staff will provide speaker services for a fee to other museums, business meetings, etc.  Spaces within the museum will be rented out for meetings and special events.  It is also expected that traveling exhibitions produced by the OCM will be rented by museums across Canada and the United States, which will bring in additional revenue.  For the development of specific exhibits and programs, the OCMS will take advantage of provincial and federal grant opportunities.  As a charitable organization, the OCMS will provide tax receipts for cash donations, bequests, and donations in-kind.  Moreover, fundraising will be a primary responsibility of the OCMS board.  Back to Top

 HOW WILL THE OCM CONTRIBUTE
TO VANCOUVER’S CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE?

Many major cities around the world have benefited from museums of costume.  The Original Costume Museum will provide an educational and entertaining “destination” activity that culturally enhances all of Vancouver.  The museum will be a lively cultural center, setting high standards for its displays, its tours, its workshops, and its publications.  The OCMS’s intention is to construct and operate a museum that is physically and intellectually accessible to all.

The OCM’s themes (historical and cultural clothing and textiles) add a new dimension to the local museum scene.  The OCM will be a cooperative part of Vancouver’s over-all museum community.  It already has a productive relationship with museums in Vancouver and its surrounding municipalities, as well as the Royal British Columbia Museum.  These exhibition and programming links will increase.  It will partner with other cultural and heritage organizations, galleries, and artists on tourism initiatives.

The OCMS will partner with multicultural groups to produce programs and exhibitions about traditional and non-traditional ethnocultural costume and fashion.  The variety of cultural clothing styles and textile arts offer unlimited opportunities for collaborations.

The expertise of the OCM will be a resource for the educational institutions of the area.  Partnerships in programs to train fashion and textile designers at secondary schools, trade schools, community colleges, and universities will be mutually beneficial.

The lecture hall/theatre and meeting room will be rented out when they were not being used by the OCM.  These will provide additional spaces for community meetings and cultural presentations.

The OCMS already has links with several local textile craft guilds (quilting, embroidery, crocheting, lacemaking).  Once the OCM is operational, these clubs could meet at the museum, as well as assist in the museum’s work.  A research library will assist all.

The OCMS already has links with many not-for-profit organizations in Vancouver.  Members of the OCMS have presented fashion shows and lectures whose proceeds have supported charitable causes, such as the Canadian Cancer Society, the Vancouver Ballet Society, the Native Daughters of British Columbia, the Optimists Club, and other service organizations.  These links will increase.

The Original Costume Museum will provide economic opportunities for local businesses.  At the same time, it will benefit from strong ties to the community.  The OCMS will create partnerships with local merchants and craftspeople.  Individual visitors to the museum, as well as groups that book museum tours and programs, will be encouraged to use local restaurants, cafés, and stores.  The increase in sidewalk traffic that is expected from the museum as an attraction will aid local businesses.  As well, craftspeople working in the fashion, accessory, jewelry, and textile trades could sell their wares in the museum gift shop.  Exhibitions might feature local designers, thus publicizing Vancouver’s garment trade.

The OCM is looking forward to support from the community.  Individuals will be encouraged to become members and donors.  Local businesses will be encouraged to become corporate members of the museum and to sponsor exhibitions and programs. Back to Top