The newest exhibition at the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery, “Giant Historic Hats,” features innovative work created by students in the Visualization Studio course in the Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design. The exhibition, which opened Dec. 15, 2025, will be on display through May 4.
The 10 students in the course selected hats from the department’s historic costume collection to create oversized replicas using recycled chipboard. After sketching the hats and measuring proportions, they worked in groups to recreate them using the chipboard to four or five times their original size. The exhibition features five giant hats displayed alongside the originals, highlighting skill development, material research and problem-solving.
The Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery is located on the second floor of the Gwendolyn Newkirk Human Sciences Building, 650 N. 35th St., East Campus. The gallery is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for university holidays.
