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With an extraordinary and unique gift valued at more than $1.2 million, the School of Design in the is likely to become a travel destination for fashion researchers, haute couture designers and sewing enthusiasts worldwide. The school has received thousands of stunning designer garments, books, patterns and accessories that once belonged to an iconic figure in the fashion industry: Claire B. Shaeffer.

Shaeffer’s career path, from aspiring circus performer to couture expert and educator, is fascinating. Her relationship with Syracuse University is equally intriguing, given that it began when she was 80 years old after she reached out to a professor who shared her passion “for reading garments,” including every stitch, hem and buttonhole.

“Claire was all about delving one layer deeper to understand and show how each garment was constructed,” says Jeffrey Mayer, professor of fashion design and coordinator for the fashion design program. Shaeffer reached out to Mayer after seeing a book he co-authored, “Vintage Details: A Fashion Sourcebook,” which documents 160 garments found within the Sue Ann Genet Costume Collection at Syracuse University.

Shaeffer was impressed by the detailed photography, from hems to buttons. She told Mayer she wanted her next book to have similar photography. “That’s what fascinated Claire, how things were created,” Mayer says. “She went down rabbit holes to understand every detail of design.”

A Collection of Garments, Patterns and Books

Shaeffer’s relationship with Mayer blossomed, and when she began to think seriously of where she might want her collection of more than 2,500 garments, patterns and books to end up after her lifetime, she chose Syracuse University, a teaching institution where students could learn from the study of each garment and pattern.

Shaeffer began her own studies in fashion design in the early 1960s after initially exploring the idea of circus performance. Proficient in acrobatics, she enrolled in the circus curriculum at Florida State University after high school. Her broad shoulders and slight build made it difficult to find clothes that fit, so she began to sew her own wardrobe. After realizing that basic patterns just wouldn’t fit her frame, she switched her academic interests and professional pursuits, turning a fascination with detail into a distinguished career.

Throughout her life, Shaeffer collected examples of haute couture and designer ready-to-wear and studied others in museum collections, design workrooms and factories. She excelled at the analysis of garment construction details and sewing techniques.

Shaeffer taught classes at the College of the Desert in Palm Springs, gave workshops, wrote dozens of magazine articles and books, developed instructional videos, had her own , and created the Claire Shaeffer Custom Couture Collection of patterns for Vogue Patterns. She received the Professional Association of Custom Clothiers Lifetime Achievement Award and the American Sewing Guild Sewing Hall of Fame Award.

A Dedication to Precision

Mayer was a former designer of women’s wear himself and a specialist in 20th-century fashion and construction techniques. He knew of Shaeffer’s history and stature, but never foresaw working so closely with this icon of industry. Given his personal history, though, it seemed destined. Mayer was the son of a seamstress.

“I would sneak into my mother’s room and, at the age of 6, I would start cutting out patterns,” Mayer says. When his mother saw him so engaged with very pointy scissors, she told him: ‘If you’re going to do this, you’re going to do this right.’”

Similarly, Shaeffer taught countless students of fashion how to do things right and came to believe that Syracuse University’s program was similarly dedicated.

Before her passing in January 2025, she had shipped close to 1,000 pieces from her collection to the school. Afterward, Mayer and Kirsten Schoonmaker, fashion design collections manager, flew out to Palm Springs and worked with Shaeffer’s sons to pack up another 1,500 pieces.

The gift perfectly matched the mission of the Sue Ann Genet Costume Collection and Research Center: “…to provide the University and broader community with access to exemplary garments and accessories that reflect high standards of craftsmanship, design and stylistic significance. With a sustained focus on the object itself and its material, structural, and aesthetic integrity the collections advance the preservation, study and interpretation of these works.”

Pieces of History

Among the many works that will be available for study is a Chanel suit recognized around the world and a part of American history. It is the “twin” of the suit worn by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

There are dozens of Chanel pieces in the collection, along with pieces by many other iconic designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, Givenchy and McQueen, and such American designers as Adrian, Norman Norell, James Galanos, Geoffrey Beene and Bill Blass.

“This collection is a unique gem,” says Michael Tick, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. “Its value is truly priceless. I had the pleasure to visit with Claire and her late husband many times in Palm Springs. More than once I expressed to them how excited our students and visitors to the collection will be to learn from her extensive body of work.”

Mayer says that Shaeffer received offers from other academic institutions to house pieces of her collection, but Syracuse University was the one place willing to keep her collection together, including all the clothes, patterns, books and even handbags from her personal closet. That willingness means generations of students will be the beneficiaries of an extraordinary woman’s talents, determination and dedication.

“Our students don’t just design, they learn to actually make things, from concept to garment,” says Mayer. “We fall into that ‘maker space’ in our approach and we are honoring Claire’s commitment to detail, process, research and design.”