Public Session: Fashioning Belief and Commitment
410 Chartres Street
Williams Research Center, Boyd Cruise Room
Free and open to the public
A Taste of Antiques Forum
August 7–9, 2026, HNOC’s 2026 New Orleans Antiques Forum will explore the intersection of the spiritual and material worlds, a rich landscape of antiques shaped by belief, devotion, and spiritual practice across cultures.
This year, we are excited to invite the general public to a free session on the first day of the forum. If you’ve been curious about the forum or simply love the decorative arts, this session is for you!
Fashioning Belief and Commitment
From baptism to burial and every milestone in between, some of life’s most meaningful moments are marked by what we wear. The LSU Textile and Costume Museum (TCM) includes a remarkable collection of nearly 10,000 artifacts, from prehistoric textile fragments to contemporary fashion.
In this talk, TCM Curator Michael E. Mamp, PhD, will highlight selections from the collection—including christening gowns, a liturgical vestment, and wedding dresses—to explore how clothing expresses faith, love, identity, and tradition. Rich visuals and stories of each object’s journey will reveal the often-surprising histories and deep personal meanings stitched into every garment.
Admission for this session is free and open to the public and registration is not required.
Guest Speaker
Michael E. Mamp, PhD
Textile and Costume Museum, Louisiana State University
Michael E. Mamp, PhD
Michael E. Mamp, PhD, is an award-winning curator and educator. An associate professor of fashion and textile history at Louisiana State University (LSU), he stewards approximately 10,000 artifacts as director and curator of the LSU Textile and Costume Museum. His work bridges material culture, fashion and textile history, and curatorial practice. A specialist in 20th-century American fashion, he examines garments as sites of artistic expression, craftsmanship, and scholarly inquiry. Mamp curates exhibitions regularly at LSU, and his work has been published widely.
Support
The 2026 New Orleans Antiques Forum is made possible by generous support from our sponsors.
Learn More
Material Belief: Objects of Faith, Spirit, and Tradition
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Material Culture from our Holdings
Leila’s Collectible Boxes
A look inside the Williams Residence offers insight into some of the interior decorating styles of the late 1940s and early ’50s, as well as Leila Williams’s personal collecting interests.
Meeks Dresser
A fine example of early 19th-century furniture, this dresser has a hidden drawer.
Related Virtual Exhibitions
Goods of Every Description: Shopping in New Orleans, 1825–1925
Peer into shop windows of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Related Books
Complementary Visions of Louisiana Art
with essays by William H. Gerdts, George E. Jordan, and Judith H. Bonner
Garden Legacy
by Mary Louise Mossy Christovich and Roulhac Bunkley Toledano
with a foreword by S. Frederick Starr
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