Designer Maria Pinto, well-known for dressing first lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, used her eye for fashion to curate antiquities from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago for a new exhibit that includes a century-old shredded bark Brazilian ceremonial costume and a woven monkey fur necklace.

The materials are a stretch from the rich, bright purple silk Pinto used to design the sheath Obama wore during the 2008 Democratic National Convention. "Fashion and The Field Museum Collection: Maria Pinto" opened Friday and includes an Inuit raincoat made of seal intestines. It was the first item that caught Pinto's attention, she said.