Dolly Parton and the Makers: My Life in Rhinestones
Lipscomb’s one-of-a-kind exhibition brought Parton’s iconic fashion and career to thousands this fall.
A rhinestone shines just as good as a diamond. — Dolly Parton
Lipscomb University took that homespun wisdom to heart and decked out the Beaman Library and its John C. Hutcheson Gallery in rhinestones for its festive opening of the one-of-a-kind fashion exhibition “Dolly Parton and the Makers: My Life in Rhinestones,” which drew 8,000 visitors to campus from Oct. 31 to Dec. 9.
The exhibition, a one-of-a-kind, limited time fashion event, offered a glimpse “behind the seams” at 27 of global superstar Dolly Parton’s iconic outfits from throughout her storied career. The display was the first physical interpretation of Parton’s fashion-focused book, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, which debuted at No. 4 on the hardcover nonfiction NYT Bestseller List in November.
Check out these links to see photos from the exhibit and on-campus throughout its run, read more about the gala opening attended by Dolly Parton herself and more on student involvement from marketing to designing their own fashions inspired by Dolly.
- Photos from the exhibit, the opening ceremony and gala.
- Dolly Parton and the Makers opens to an enthusiastic crowd on Oct. 27.
- Student Sean Worth helps bring Dolly Parton’s Behind the Seams to center stage.
- Directing Fashion Design Behind the Seams: Brynn Abner.
- Designing for Dolly: Five fashion design students create outfits inspired by Parton exhibit.
- Lipscomb students join the sparkly village of Dolly Parton's team
- See local TV coverage of how our students were involved in the exhibit.