SMOC – originally named the BC Museum of Original Costume Society – was founded as a not-for-profit society in 1992 to create a collection of historical fashion to narrate a humanist social history, illustrative of Canadian diversity and changing manners and mores. SMOC’s goals as a cultural and educational organization are: To preserve the Society’s collection of historic fashion and to interpret the collection’s history for the community, students, scholars, collectors, and local fashion designers; to use fashion as a vehicle to express intergenerational, intercultural and intercommunal exchange; to emphasize sustainable design and craftsmanship rather than consumption and waste. To create a site of learning for the fashion and film industry. SMOC is home to thousands of artifacts, dating as far back as the 19th century, and including contemporary fashions. From glamour and glitz to everyday grit, we present the story of how people have adorned themselves in all walks of life for centuries.
