Naturally, they considered transforming some skirts into rugs, which Colburns family had done before.
Here, the artist shares more on the mesmerizing archive and how it came to be.
Vogue: Tell me about your grandmother.
Photos: Courtesy of Mae Colburn
What was she like, and how would you describe her style?
Mae Colburn:She was very warm, very gentle, and she had a wonderful laugh.
She loved to celebrate and dance, and she loved holidays.
A family photo from 1987 shows the artist as a baby held by her mother, grandmother Audrey on the right, and great-grandmother Laura, left.
She played the accordion too.
She would wear slacks with an elastic waistband and a sweatshirt, maybe with a decorative pattern.
And she always wore Reebok Princess shoes in either black or white.
She had many boxes of those in her closet.
She would likely have made all these things because she was a really expert home sewer.
Do you know what prompted your grandmother to start collecting skirts?
She started collecting much later in life, and she collected far beyond what she could actually wear.
How did the idea to document her skirt collection come about?
She died in 2022 at 99; she lived a really long life.
We were left with the question: What to do with all of them?
A thousand square feet.
Thats a lot of rag rug.
As the decades have passed, that historical value has grown.
Im not sure if it was an actual Christian Dior skirt, but who knows?
How did you go about archiving them?
Were there any details of the collection that stood out to you?
Theyre all unique, and I think thats in part because theyre all secondhand.
Some are pristine, and some have signs of wear.
Theres an amazing black, A-line maternity skirt that we came across, probably from the 50s or 60s.
The collection raises lots of questions about the people who owned the skirts before.
Your mom was the first employee at Starbucks?
Long before it was corporate.
Thats some serious lore.
Yeah, its definitely lore.
Its very playful, very kicky; its pink and purple.
Have you worn any of the skirts?
I dont wear them, but my mom certainly has.
Because Im working with them in this way, I think I need to keep some distance.
So I keep the skirts in my studio, and I keep my wardrobe separate at my apartment.
Are you a vintage shopper?
Certainlymy grandma taught me well.
What inspired you to make the archive public?
Exploring the politics of gender and skirts is interesting to me too.
Its a really important moment.
