The Costume Institute Research

The Costume Institute Conservation department supports an active curatorial program of exhibitions, publications, and loans through its preservation, conservation, and technical research of the 33,000 objects in The Costume Institute’s collection, spanning from the fifteenth century to present.

The Costume Institute's Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library collection contains 30,000 books and periodicals as well as over 1,500 designer files all pertaining to the history of fashion, haute couture, regional clothing, and costume from around the world, dated from the sixteenth century to today.