Dazzling Day and Night celebrates the creative legacy of the KSU Museum鈥檚 founders, Shannon Rodgers (1911-1996) and Jerry Silverman (1910-1984). In 1959 Silverman and Rodgers established their own company, Jerry Silverman, Inc., which became one the most successful manufacturers of women鈥檚 better dresses in the industry through the 1960s and 1970s. Their showroom on Seventh Avenue in New York City was a favorite of clients and buyers for the timelessness of the ever-changing collections and the hospitality of the designer, Rodgers, and businessman, Silverman.
The exhibition highlights over 30 ensembles from the late 1950s, when Rodgers began designing in New York City, through the 1970s. The selections of stylish daywear and elegant eveningwear also provide a time capsule of American ready-to-wear styles during these decades. Rodgers and Silverman were able to translate the latest designs from the Parisian runways into looks their American clients would want. Dazzling Day and Night also include Rodgers鈥 sketches, photographs, and advertising鈥攅specially their famous New Yorker Magazine ads 鈥淛ust show me the Jerry Silvermans, please.鈥
In 2025, the KSU Museum celebrates its 40th anniversary.
