SLCC Fashion Institute Reimagines Workwear History in Threads of Labor

Salt Lake Community College’s Fashion Institute opened a student-curated exhibition titled Threads of Labor at the Markosian Library on the Taylorsville Redwood Campus, with an opening reception that began at 4:00 PM on February 28. Calendar and CampusGroups listings show the exhibit running Feb 28 through Mar 30, 2026 and list the reception start at 4:00 PM; an Instagram blurb and flyer note the opening event as “February 28th 4-6 pm” while a Calendar header lists a 4:00–7:00 PM window, and The Globe and an exhibition write-up state the show will be on display through March 31. Admission was free with an RSVP option and availability listed as unlimited.

The work on view grew out of the 20th Century Fashion History course, offered every fall, with students producing complete looks as final semester projects. “All the outfits were created as a final semester project by students taking the 20th Century Fashion History course, offered every fall,” the exhibition materials note, and the show’s brief asks visitors to “Discover how workwear has shaped culture, fashion, and identity over the years.” The year’s theme—Threads of Labor—explicitly focused on clothing people in modern Western civilization wear for work, and students responded with what the exhibition calls “a wide range of creative solutions for workwear.”

Visuals documented by The Globe underscore that variety: photo captions include “Mannequins decorated with student designs,” “Mannequin wearing Regency period clothing designed by a student,” and “Close up of blue pocket, belt and suspenders on brown overalls.” Other captions note “Close up of decorative pins and beads on a black sash,” “Mannequins wearing student fashion designs,” and a runway shot labeled “Model walking the catwalk while wearing a student's design.” The Globe’s images also carry portraits captioned “Carolina posing with her fashion designs” and “Laura posing with her fashion design,” while adjacent captions elsewhere on the site show related campus activity such as “Photo of Casey playing a guitar with a description of his story being displayed on a wall” and “Hannah standing behind her winning cake design.”

The exhibit was presented by SLCC’s Fashion Institute in partnership with the Fashion Club, and promotional posts used the hashtags #SLCCFashionInstitute, #ThreadsOfLabor, and #SLCCExhibit. The Markosian Library served as venue, and the Globe included a wide shot captioned “View of north face of the Markosian Library” to orient visitors to the campus setting.

Every year, Salt Lake Community College’s Fashion Institute shows off its hard work and creativity in an exhibition, and Threads of Labor keeps that tradition focused on labor and identity through tangible, wearable projects. Whether rendered as Regency detail, studio-ready overalls, or office attire, these student-made outfits test the boundaries between costume and uniform and keep the Markosian Library gallery open to interpretations of workwear into late March.