Organized by the Nantucket Historical Association, the exhibition Behind the Seams: Clothing and Textiles on Nantucket presents more than 150 objects from the NHA’s costume and textile collections to tell stories of making, meaning, and island identity from across Nantucket history.
On view from May 23 to November 2, 2025, Behind the Seams features clothing, accessories, household textiles, and tools for sewing and textile production from the NHA’s 2,000-piece costume and textile collections. Rarely seen objects, drawn from more than two centuries of clothing and textiles on Nantucket, demonstrates the skill and artistry of island makers and reveal the stories that clothing and textiles can tell.
Exhibition themes explore textile production and trade—from raw materials to finished garments—as well as the relationships, communities, identities, and values revealed by textile objects created and used by Nantucketers.
Making: From raw materials to finished products, textile goods were both imported and created on the island by Nantucketers—reflecting regional and international connections as well as local industry and craftsmanship.
Meaning: Clothing and textiles can be symbols of group identity, expressions of values, and can commemorate life events, community, and connections to the past.
Craft revivals & Nantucket brands. The influence and impact of the island’s robust craft revival movement and summer resort-inspired clothing brands extend the themes of making and meaning into the twentieth century.
Sustainable practices: Evidence of strategic construction and alteration, mending and fabric reuse, demonstrate how islanders historically cared for and valued clothing and textiles. Today, island makers incorporate sustainable textile practices by upcycling materials and reducing waste.
Behind the Seams is the first major exhibition of objects from the NHA’s costume and textile collection since completion in 2018 of a major inventory funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Carried out across eighteen months, this cataloging and rehousing project ensured the long-term preservation of the textile collection while increasing access and visibility for research and display. Plans for an exhibition based on the new insights revealed by the inventory are now being realized in Behind the Seams.
The guest curator for the exhibition is Jennifer Nieling, an independent costume and textile specialist whose association with the NHA goes back to 2015 when she inventoried the menswear collection and mounted the first of many costumes for NHA exhibition projects. In 2017 and 2018, she led the IMLS-funded collection inventory. A graduate of Boston University and the Fashion & Textile Studies master’s program at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Nieling now specializes in costume mounting and display through her business, JLN Costume Mounting LLC. She continues to pursue independent research and has published on the history of Nantucket Looms and weaver Andy Oates.
For more information: https://nha.org/whats-on/exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions/behind-the-seams-clothing-and-textiles-on-nantucket/
Photo: Behind the Seams: Clothing and Textiles on Nantucket at the Nantucket Whaling Museum. Photo by Bill Hoenk for the Nantucket Historical Association.
