Cheat Sheet on Sandy Schreier

The Met’s Costume Institute will be exhibiting works from the collection of Sandy Schreier this fall. While the news of a new exhibition is always great, many of us had never heard of Schreier before a few weeks ago. But just scroll though her Instagram feed and you’ll see she’s a pretty well-connected lady, posting pictures with Zandra Rhodes, Vidal Sassoon and Steven Tyler (and all while wearing some pretty fabulous outfits). So, who is this lady having an exhibition at one of the most celebrated fashion spaces in the world? Girl, we’ve got you covered.
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Sandy Schreier Has A Huge Collection
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Well, duh. But seriously, Schreier’s private collection includes 20^th century French and American couture and ready-to-wear pieces, which she amassed not to wear herself, but in order to appreciate the craft. In fact, some credit Schreier as the world’s largest private collector, citing its size as up to 15,000 pieces.
 
She Gifted Pieces Of Her Collection To The Met
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Super generous, huh? The new exhibition will include 80 pieces Schreier donated to the museum, which is less than half of the 165 gifts given to the museum. These will include accessories, clothing and even fashion illustrations.
 
The Collection Includes Some Pretty Remarkable Pieces
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Schreier managed to get her hands on pieces of Valentino worn by Jacqueline Kennedy and a dress worn in a photograph of Twiggy taken by Richard Avedon.
 
Her Father Was In The Fur Business
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Schreier’s father was a furrier at Russeks department store in Detroit, and his clients would bring her the couture pieces that they had worn once and no longer had a use for. She clung onto these, beginning her collection at a very young age.
 
She Designs Clothes Too
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In the past Schreier designed accessories for Yves Saint Laurent, and even came up with costume designers for The Supremes. Seriously, how are we just learning about her?!
 
She Treats Her Clothes As Works Of Art
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Schreier never wears anything from her collection as she believes that her pieces are artwork, and are too precious to be worn. That said, she is often photographed wearing some pretty fabulous outfits, so we know that this lady does like to dress fashionably herself.
 
She Is An Author Too
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I mean, as the owner of so many items of clothing, she has to be an authority on fashion history right? Schreier’s two books are about Hollywood style (what else).
 
The Whereabouts Of Her Collection Is Top Secret
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Where would you store 15,000 pieces of clothing history? Well, don’t ask Sandy Schreier. The location of her collection is top-secret in order not to upset her insurers.
 
The Met Isn’t The First Museum To Display Her Collection
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In the past pieces of Schreier’s collection have been loaned to the Louvre, the Hermitage and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
In Pursuit of Fashion: The Sandy Schreier Collection will be on display at The Met’s Costume Institute from 27 November 2019 through 17 May 2020
 
Text Lizzy Vartanian
Images via @sandy.schreier, @metcostumeinstitute, @joulesvintage, @urbanitaclan