Texas Tech University

Ladies in Red: The Fashion of Arnold Scaasi

November 29
5:30 p.m.
Helen Devitt Jones Auditorium

Lecture and reception are free
RSVP is requested by Nov. 20
(806) 742-2443

The Canadian-born designer Arnold Scaasi created gowns for first ladies Mamie Eisenhower, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush.

bush gownArnold Scaasi designed red dress worn by Laura Bush for a Dec. 7, 2003 portrait with President George W. Bush in front of the White House Christmas Tree. Courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. White House photo by Eric Draper.

Scaasi's fashion is the subject of a talk at 5:30 p.m., Nov. 29 in the Helen DeVitt Jones Auditorium at the Museum. Pamela Parmal, the David and Roberta Logie Curator of Textile and Fashion at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and an expert on Arnold Scaasi will discuss his life and influence on the fashion industry. Parmal is the author of the book "Arnold Scaasi: American Couturier."

The red gown Laura Bush wore for a Dec. 7, 2003 portrait with President George W. Bush in front of the White House Christmas Tree is part of the Ladies in Red exhibition at the Museum of Texas Tech University.

Scaasi, who died in 2015, also designed fashions for such notable personalities as Joan Crawford, Lauren Bacall, Elizabeth Taylor, Catherine Deneuve, Brooke Astor, and Mary Tyler Moore.

Ladies in Red draws on its superb clothing and textiles collection to create an exhibit featuring red clothing from local fashion leaders Margaret Talkington, Louise Underwood, and Carol Krueger Layne.