Eiseman, Milwaukee Art Museum to Launch Ehlert Line
A four-piece children's clothing collection built on Lois Ehlert's 1970s designs goes on sale November 10, 2026.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Fashion
Florence Eiseman and the Milwaukee Art Museum will launch the Lois Ehlert x Florence Eiseman collection on Nov. 10, 2026. The four pique-knit pieces reissue designs Ehlert created as a freelance designer for Eiseman in the 1970s.
Why it matters
The launch revives archival designs from two Milwaukee-linked figures, Eiseman and children's author-illustrator Lois Ehlert, through a local museum partnership. It also places the reissued line in local and national retail channels.
The collection includes four pique-knit pieces priced at $88 each, with dresses sized 2T to 6X and a shortall sized 6M to 24M. The extraction does not specify production quantities or whether additional runs are planned.
The players
Florence Eiseman
Florence Eiseman was a Milwaukee children's clothing designer whose label was known for its dresses, and she died in Milwaukee in 1988.
Lois Ehlert
Lois Ehlert was a children's author and illustrator born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, who died in 2021 and designed for Eiseman in the 1970s.
Milwaukee Art Museum
The Milwaukee Art Museum is the Milwaukee institution partnering with Eiseman on the collection and selling it through its museum store.
The details
The heart and carrot dresses are direct reissues of Eiseman releases from the 1970s, and the duck appliqué is an Ehlert design from the same period. The pieces will be sold through the Milwaukee Art Museum store, florenceeiseman.com, Nordstrom, and Maison Ette.
Timeline
1970s: Ehlert creates designs as a freelance designer for Eiseman.
1985: The Milwaukee Art Museum displays an Eiseman retrospective, with Ehlert designing the catalog.
1988: Florence Eiseman dies in Milwaukee.
2017: The Museum of Wisconsin Art and Chipstone Foundation hold an Eiseman exhibit in West Bend.
Nov. 10, 2026: The Lois Ehlert x Florence Eiseman collection launches.
Culture Shift
The collection extends a 1985 Milwaukee Art Museum retrospective on Eiseman, for which Lois Ehlert designed the catalog, into a new joint project. It reflects a continued interest in reissuing archival children's fashion from Wisconsin designers.
Milwaukee shoppers can buy the four-piece line at the Milwaukee Art Museum store at $88 per item starting Nov. 10, 2026. Parents shopping for children in sizes 2T to 6X or 6M to 24M can also order online from the listed retailers.
The takeaway
The launch offers a way to buy a locally rooted children's clothing line tied to a well-known Wisconsin author and a Milwaukee designer. Buyers interested in the collection can plan for the Nov. 10, 2026 release date.
What happens next
The collection launches Nov. 10, 2026, with sales through the Milwaukee Art Museum store, florenceeiseman.com, Nordstrom, and Maison Ette.
Further reading
For more on local style and design, see Fashion coverage from across Milwaukee.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Journal Sentinel.
