Behind the Glamour: Margaret’s the Couture Cleaner Textile Care Featured in Denver Art Museum’s DIVA Exhibition

Established in 1953, Margaret's is North America's first Five Star Certified Cleaner, offering couture garment care, handbag restoration, and heritage preservation services.

Behind the Glamour: Margaret’s Textile Care Featured in Denver Art Museum’s DIVA Exhibition

Liza Minnelli, New York, New York (1977): A costume designed by Theadora Van Runkle, identified in the museum’s exhibition guide as sequins and polyester.

Costumes from the legacies of Liza Minnelli and Joan Crawford— preserved by Margaret’s the Couture Cleaner — are now on public view at the Denver Art Museum.

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 8, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Before a historic costume reaches a museum gallery, a less visible story matters: the specialized care that keeps fragile, decades-old garments ready for exhibition. Two Hollywood costumes from the Norman Tipton Collection — treated by Margaret’s the Couture Cleaner — are now on view in DIVA at the Denver Art Museum, the exhibition’s exclusive U.S. venue.

The costumes connect the screen legacies of Liza Minnelli and Joan Crawford with the specialized textile care that helps preserve them for future audiences. A screen costume carries more than the memory of a performance: its silhouette, fabric, and embellishment record the designer's choices and the visual language of its era. Caring for these garments requires attention to each textile, construction, and condition, with treatment decisions shaped by each piece's needs.

“When a garment has lived on screen, and then in a private collection, every treatment decision is a balancing act between stability and preservation — one that will help this piece survive another generation of audiences,” said Chuck Horst, President

The San Diego–headquartered Textile Conservation & Restoration House provided cleaning, repair, and/or restoration services for the three costumes through its work with collector and longtime client Norman Tipton, who has entrusted multiple historic costumes to Margaret’s textile conservation team over the years.

The featured pieces span more than three decades of Hollywood costume design:
Liza Minnelli, New York, New York (1977): A costume designed by Theadora Van Runkle, identified in the museum’s exhibition guide as sequins and polyester.
Joan Crawford, Mildred Pierce (1945): A costume designed by Milo Anderson, identified as a synthetic textile.

For Margaret’s, including these costumes in DIVA brings its work for a private collection into public view—illustrating the role specialized textile care can play in helping collectors steward garments that later become part of museum exhibitions.

Created by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London, DIVA explores the influence of performers across opera, dance, theatre, film and popular music. Since its debut at the V&A in London in 2023, DIVA has also been presented at Kunsthal Rotterdam, Auckland Museum, and Arts Centre Melbourne. The Denver Art Museum is the exhibition’s exclusive U.S. venue. DIVA opened October 4, 2026, and remains on view through January 31, 2027, in the museum’s Hamilton Building.

Exhibition information and tickets: https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/exhibitions/diva

For information about Margaret’s textile conservation and restoration services, visit https://www.margarets.com.

Media availability: Margaret’s is available to discuss the textile-care considerations involved in preserving historic costumes, the stewardship of private collections, and how garments move from private care into public exhibition. To arrange an interview or request additional images, contact the media contact below.

About Margaret’s the Couture Cleaner
Margaret’s the Couture Cleaner is a San Diego–headquartered textile conservation and restoration house serving museums, collectors, and private clients. Its services include couture cleaning, vintage textile conservation and restoration, bridal gown care, and leather and accessory care. With five Southern California locations and nationwide CleanByMail service, Margaret’s provides specialized care for garments and textiles of personal, cultural, and historical significance. Visit www.margarets.com.

Media contact
Katia Graytok
Chief Marketing Officer
Margaret’s the Couture Cleaner
katiag@margarets.com
www.margarets.com

Katia Graytok
Margaret's the Couture Cleaner
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Introduction to Margaret's the Couture Cleaner