MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.- Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is seeking buttons and more buttons for its upcoming exhibition, Patrick Kelly: A Retrospective. The late fashion designer and Vicksburg, Mississippi native emerged on the fashion scene in the 1980s just as the industry was welcoming color, ornamentation, and exuberance. Kelly was well known for his whimsical use of buttons in his designs. His famous button dresses (tight fitting jersey dresses adorned with buttons) were born of his grandmother’s habit of repairing clothes with mismatched buttons.

The Brooks is looking for buttons for the exhibition installation and for family art projects. Multicolored, no shank, plastic buttons, 1/2" or larger can be dropped off at the admissions desk during normal museum hours (Tuesday – Friday, 10 to 4, Saturday, 10 to 5, and Sunday 11:30 to 5) or sent to the exhibitions department at 1934 Poplar Avenue.

Thelma Golden, Deputy Director for Exhibitions and Programs at The Studio Museum in Harlem organized the exhibition for the Brooklyn Museum. The Memphis tour of Patrick Kelly: A Retrospective is funded in part by a First Tennessee Bravo Series grant. Presenting sponsor for the Patrick Kelly exhibition is Laurelwood Shopping Center.