Woodmere gives Mary McFadden archive a home members can wear
More than 200 original garments and accessories by designer Mary McFadden now have a dedicated home at Woodmere Art Museum, the Philadelphia museum devoted to the city's artists.
Members will soon be able to borrow them and wear them out.
It is a museum collection you can take home.
Woodmere received the collection in October 2025, WWD reported. Staff have reworked a room in the lower-level Jewelry Vault of Maguire Hall to hold and display the group. Member tours of the new space start in October 2026.
The range is wide. It takes in silk T-shirts, elegant separates, embellished tunics, distinctive daywear and dramatic couture, the hand-finished end of dressmaking. Separates here means the working parts of a wardrobe, the mix-and-match tops, skirts and trousers that pair with many outfits. Pleated gowns, quilted jackets and silk separates also feature in the museum's listing.
A large share comes from Joan Olden, who served for many years as president of Mary McFadden Inc., the designer's company. John McFadden, the designer's brother, is also connected with the holding. William Valerio, director and chief executive officer of Woodmere, leads the museum.
Access is built for screen and for visits. Every piece can be viewed online under The Mary McFadden Experience on Woodmere's website. In person, members were promised small-group tours from this month. A members' borrowing scheme called the Lending Library was still in development at the time of the report and was expected to start in the coming weeks.
The fashion vault sits inside a museum better known for painting and sculpture. Woodmere holds more than 11,000 objects centred on Philadelphia art and artists, according to Woodmere. The museum was founded from the estate of Charles Knox Smith (1845-1916) and has kept that local focus.
Its current programme includes Arc of Promise, which runs 20 June 2026 to 10 January 2027 and asks how the city's artists have pictured America in its 250th anniversary year. A second show, The Photo Review: Best in Show 2026, presents prizewinners from the 2026 International Photography Competition organised annually by The Photo Review, and runs 10 October 2026 to 3 January 2027.
There is earlier context for fashion gifts. Pratt and Woodmere both received designs by McFadden. A past exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Washington museum devoted to women artists, paired works from McFadden's art collection with her fashions.
What makes this stand out is the wearing plan. Most museum fashion stays in storage or behind glass. Woodmere wants members to handle it, study it up close and check it out for real use.
