Balancing the Creative and Professional: Collecting For Interior and Fashion Design

Guidance from the Literature

A search through the library literature for materials about collection development for design and applied arts subjects reveals almost nothing. While there is a wealth of information on collection development for related subjects such as fine art and art history, there is relatively little about selecting and managing a collection specifically in support of design and applied arts programs. Regarding interior design, there have been a few articles about home decoration and how-to collections and many articles about the interior design of specific libraries, but nothing written on collections to support academic programs. Like interior design, fashion design articles tend to run more toward public library collecting rather than materials that a design student would find helpful. Frederiksen’s (2006) article on fashion collecting is the only one that provides substantive information, with current collection suggestions on fashion theory, haute couture, street fashion, and historic costume. One strategy for addressing this lack of specific information is to use a trusted general source on collection development such as the second edition of Peggy Johnson’s Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management (2009), and apply it to design and applied arts. The additional readings at the end of this chapter include other broad sources on collection development and related readings that may also be helpful. In the remaining sections of this chapter, the author will seek to augment these sources by providing guidance on collecting practices specific to the support of interior and fashion design programs.