Kansas State University

MANHATTAN — The "Mid Century Moderne: fashion, furnishings and furniture a la Mad Men" exhibit continues through May 23 in the William Kemper Gallery at the Kansas State University Student Union.

The popular 1960s theme was chosen to coincide with the season finale of the hit television series "Mad Men."

The exhibition was created by Marla Day, senior curator for the Historic Costume and Textile Museum in the College of Human Ecology, and guest curator Carole Chelz. It features 16 ensembles from a recent donation to the museum in honor of the late Janet Lee Rees by her husband Richard D. Rees. He earned degrees from Kansas State University in 1961 and 1964.

Furnishings, iconic furniture pieces and period music add to the look and aesthetics of the era.

Rees, Overland Park, said he chose the apparel, textiles, and interior design department's museum as a repository of his family's items as he knew the items would be well-cared after, studied by scholars, appreciated for their style and inspire student designers. His financial gift supports the museum's collections providing storage and preservation.

"Building Janet's legacy through preserving the garments that she carefully chose, spectacularly wore, and dearly treasured so that they will live on to inspire future generations of fashion designers…she and I could not expect nor want more," Rees said.

Rees also contributes by finding new objects to fill gaps in the museum's holdings and researching the people and the provenance of each item, Day said.

The museum, which features selected pieces in rotating displays in exhibit cases throughout Justin Hall on Kansas State University's Manhattan campus, has a notable collection of more than 15,000 traditional and artistic artifacts dating back to the Byzantine period.