54 | NOVEMBER 21 • 2019 

Arts&Life

exhibit

continued from page 52

TOP: Schreier with designers Isaac 
Mizrahi and Michael Kors, and with 
Bette Midler at the DIA’
s Frida Kahlo 
exhibit in 2015. 
ABOVE: Sandy and Sherwin 
Schreier, right, with fashion 
designer Zandra Rhodes and 
hairsylist Vidal Sassoon. 

to speak for Hadassah and who has visited 
her home in the past, has expressed plans to 
attend opening events, calling attention to 
exhibit items. 
A Mizrahi painting of Schreier appears 
in the exhibit catalog, which profiles the 
collector, who developed two books linked 
to the history of her holdings: Hollywood 
Dressed & Undressed: A Century of Cinema 
Style (1998) and Hollywood Gets Married 
(2002).
Schreier, the mother of four and grand-
mother of seven who is a longtime vol-
unteer in the library at the Holocaust 
Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, did 
not choose the pieces in The Met exhibit, 
but she readily remembers experiences 
associated with many of them.

EXHIBIT HIGHLIGHTS
“This exhibit is not totally reflective of my 
entire collection,” explains Schreier, who, 
over time, hosted Met representatives vis-
iting Michigan to make their selections. 
“These are the pieces that helped make the 
museum’
s collection more complete.
“The piece everybody likes talking about 
the most is the Twiggy dress. Richard 
Avedon took a famous picture of Twiggy 
(a 1960s model and actress) in this dress, 
designed by Roberto Rojas. 
“Shortly after my husband passed away 
in 2014, I got a call from Roberto. I had 
never talked to him before, but he wanted 
to thank me for giving him credit. We got 
together in Florida and became friends.”
The exhibited ensemble by Ives Saint 

Laurent is important to Schreier because 
it recalls the time she was an accessories 
designer working with him. She found the 
outfit when asked to appraise the couture 
estate of Elizabeth Parke Firestone.
Schreier owns several dresses by Adrian 
Greenberg, who went by Adrian as a Holly-
wood costumer associated with The Wizard 
of Oz, among many other film favorites. 
Schreier interviewed his widow, actress 
Janet Gaynor, about collecting some of 
Adrian’
s most famous pieces, which are in 
the exhibit and part of her Met donation.
“Sandy Schreier’
s gift — one of the largest 
in recent Costume Institute history — will 
dramatically enrich the museum’
s holdings 
of 20th-century fashion,” says Max Hollein, 
Met director. “We are thrilled and honored 
to receive these important treasures, and we 
look forward to presenting an exhibition 
that celebrates the exceptional artistry of 
the objects and reflects on the origins and 
impact of this tremendous collection.”
Schreier, who has never worn any item in 
her collection because she considers each 
artistically innovative and to be preserved, 
is busy deciding what she will wear to 
exhibit events. She also is working on her 
memoir, which will be released in 2020.
“My life has been a fantasy, especially 
meeting all the famous people in the cre-
ative arts who come to see my collection,” 
she says. “The item that came in November 
is a chocolate-colored couture gown made 
by Moschino many years ago. I have been 
looking for that dress for a long time. I’
m a 
chocoholic. How could I resist it?” 

“My life has been a 

fantasy, especially 

meeting all the famous 

people in the creative 

arts who come to see 

my collection.”

— SANDY SCHREIER

PHOTOS COURTESY SANDY SCHREIER