Take yellow for example: grouped together are a satin and taffeta dress by designer Arnold Scaasi from his 1986 fall/ winter collection, a silk dress made by artists in China at the turn of the 20th century and a wedding gown from 1719, one of the oldest surviving wedding dresses from Colonial America.

A banyan, a brown silk gown that belonged to the ninth president of Harvard College, is juxtaposed with a leather Native American (Nez Perce) shirt, embellished with porcupine quills, glass beads and deer claws, that proclaimed the owner’s status as a warrior, spiritual leader or diplomat.

Two blue bathing suits reveal changing attitudes about fashion and modesty. Women who wore the wool suit from the 1900s had to contend with “beach police” — men tasked with measuring the length of their bathing dresses. Contrast that with the gingham bikini and consider how our social mores have shifted.

Instead of labels, detailed guidebooks in the galleries tell stories about the designers, the clothing and, in some cases, the original owners. Or, some may simply seek to experience the visual feast and savor the colors, textures and extraordinary artistry on display.

There was no precedent for what PEM wanted to do: combine fashion with design and show very disparate time periods and cultures together. Typically, a fashion exhibition explores a specific era, a designer or a type of clothing, say shoes or hats.