Sage Collection

A row of mannequins wearing clothes.
A room of mannequins wearing clothes.

Just a sample of the more than 28,000+ objects housed in the Sage Collection include:

  • Haute couture
  • Military, occupational, and sports uniforms
  • Senior Cords, Indiana’s unique expression of school pride
  • Ensembles designed by noted European and American designers including Hoosier natives Bill Blass, Halston, and Norman Norell
  • Fashion publications, DVDs, and videotapes
View a portion of the holdings

Elizabeth Sage

The Sage Collection’s namesake, Elizabeth Sage, arrived at Indiana University in 1913 as the first professor of clothing and textiles. During her teaching career at IU, Ms. Sage accumulated clothing and textile samples for use in her classroom, and then donated those teaching materials to the department upon her retirement in 1937.

Sage Collection Staff