Museum at FIT

12/02/2023

Happy Birthday to Gianni Versace (1946 - 1997)
Born , Versace was called a genius and often accused of going over the top. So prolific was Versace that it is nearly impossible to single out one design as his most memorable: perhaps his safety-pin dress, famously worn by Elizabeth Hurley; or his influential leather ensembles, which were strapped, studded, and bondage-inspired; or the colorful, exuberant Versace prints that revealed his unabashed love of art. Versace was bold, sometimes baroque. He brought the theatricality of costumes he designed for stage and ballet to his runway collections, and while his references were often historical, he dismissed the idea that he was nostalgic. “I have a sense of the future that pervades my fashions,” he said.

This ensemble from autumn/winter 1992-1993 was lent by Gianni Versace, SpA to MFIT’s 2005 exhibition, “Glamour: Fashion, Film, Fantasy.”

12/01/2023

Each year on December 1st, we recognize to honor the memories of those we've lost to the disease. AIDS devastated the fashion world. Members of the fashion and design industries responded to the AIDS crisis by organizing fund-raisers to support research, prevention, public policy reform, and assistance to people who were HIV-positive. Designer Geoffrey Beene created the paper dress on the right for the Love Ball, one of many AIDS benefits. On the left, Italian designer Franco Moschino exaggerates the iconic red lapel ribbon, signifying solidarity with people with AIDS. Moschino (1950-1994) died of complications from AIDS..

L: Moschino, vest: circa 1992, pants: 1990s, Italy, gifts of Michael H. Harrell
R: Geoffrey Beane dress, tulle, newsprint paper, and chenille, 1989, USA, gift of Paper Magazine

11/30/2023

Fashion & politics is the theme of the latest issue of The Fashion Studies Journal. It was guest-edited by the Milan-based fashion writers Sara Kaufman and Anna Zinola.
https://fashionstudiesjournal.com/

11/30/2023

Happy Birthday Madame Alix Grès!
Born in 1903, Grès was one of the twentieth century's most brilliant couturiers. During a career that spanned six decades, beginning around 1930 and lasting until 1988, she developed unique construction techniques that allowed her to craft garments of exquisite sculptural beauty. Grès relied upon the inherent structure of fabrics such as paper silk taffetas or heavy woolens to give her cocktail dresses, capes, and coats their dramatic silhouettes.

Visit our Online Collections to learn more about fashion designers and fashion history. http://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/

Grès, evening dress, silk satin, 1965, France, donated in memory of Isabel Eberstadt by her family.

11/29/2023

If you're a fashion fan of Newport's Gilded Age, in history or on HBO, you'll enjoy this free online lecture offered on Nov 30th by the New York Historical Society.

Join us as fashion historians explore Gilded Age Newport, RI, as a resort fashion capital.

11/29/2023

Exhibition Announcement | “Untying the Bow” opens March 1, 2024. Discover the ubiquitous influence of bows in our lives in this exhibition curated by graduate students in FIT’s MA Fashion and Textiles Studies program. Unassuming as they may seem, bows have played an indispensable role in securing garments and accessories for centuries. “Untying the Bow” is a transformative journey, unraveling the hidden narratives and cultural expressions that have elevated the bow from a mere structural element to a timeless icon in fashion.
https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/index.php?exhibitions=upcoming

Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada, dress and detachable bow in white silk taffeta with hand-painted yellow dots, spring/summer 2014, Spain, gift of Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada.

11/28/2023

Stetson isn’t just a hatmaker. Their hats have frequently been said to have “won the West,” and every history of the cowboy hat really begins with them. What could be more American than Stetson?

Features The History Behind Stetson: The Quintessential Cowboy Hat John Stetson’s arduous experiences trying to prospect for gold may not have been a huge

11/28/2023

Giving Tuesday | To honor legendary model manager & fashion executive Ivan Bart, his family and friends have set up the Ivan Bart Memorial Scholarship Fund at FIT. As a board member of the FIT Foundation, Ivan was passionate about the next generation of leaders in the fashion industry.

You can support Ivan’s incredible legacy by donating to this fund.
Learn more: https://impact.fitnyc.edu/ivan-bart

11/27/2023

“In order to be, never try to seem.”

Being & Becoming is open 📸 📸 📸
Don’t miss this exhibition from the BFA Junior Photography students. Thoughtful and thought-provoking! 💙

Being & Becoming is on view in the MFIT lobby through December 10!

https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/
Image by Anna Jewel Schluterman

11/26/2023

“Embroidery is to haute couture what fireworks are to Bastille Day,” François Lesage is quoted as saying. Enjoy this article that looks at the 100-year history and current role of Maison Lesage at Chanel.

Lesage, a French specialty house now owned by Chanel, has been using sequins, beads and metallic threads to create explosions of color for decades.

11/25/2023

Last chance for a taste of “Food & Fashion.”
Closing tomorrow, Sunday, November 26, 2023.

Elite Euro-American women’s etiquette during the 19th century held strict rules for what to wear and when. During the day, women wore high necklines and long sleeves, but at dinnertime, they could show a bit of the neck and arms. During the early-19th century, elite men wore formal tailcoats to social dinners. The style for shorter dinner jackets, inspired by casual lounge coats and smoking jackets, is credited to Prince Edward (later King Edward VII of Britain), who requested a short silk jacket for informal dinners from his tailor in 1865.

https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/food-and-fashion/index.php

L: Jacques Doucet dinner dress, pink brocaded silk satin, c. 1880, France, museum purchase
R: Brooks Brothers evening suit, black worsted wool, c. 1907, USA, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Erik Rhodes

11/24/2023

McDonald’s, through its collaborations with brands like Crocs, is becoming an unlikely source of style. A look from Jeremy Scott's first Moschino collection “Over 20 Billion Served” (2014) is on view in Food & Fashion.

By working with Vetements, the skate brand Palace and now Crocs, the fast-food chain has become an unlikely source of style.

11/23/2023

Leean Huang’s fantastical “Banquet Dinner” coat was inspired by the sensual, food-centric films of Marco Ferreri and Juzo Itami’s, “La Grand Bouffe” (1973) and “Tampopo” (1985). The coat opens to reveal a Surrealist feast with imagery derived from the Sunday market in Bastille and La Grande Épicerie in Paris. Huang approaches fashion from a Surrealist perspective. “Every part of my work plays with expectations and reality, and questions everything,” she said.

A friendly reminder that MFIT is closed today but will be open throughout the weekend.

“Food & Fashion” closes Sunday November 26, 2023. https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/food-and-fashion/index.php

Leeann Huang, “Banquet Dinner” coat, plaid wool, synthetic, glass, and walnut buttons, spring 2019, USA, gift of Leeann Huang

11/22/2023

In the western Indian state of Maharashtra, tilgul—similar to sugar balls usually distributed in temples around the year all across India—are used to prepare halwa dagine, a special jewelry that symbolizes hope for future blessings. Halwa dagine is usually worn by newlyweds to celebrate their very first Sankranti festival as a couple, by newborns on their first Sankranti after birth, and sometimes by pregnant women for their baby showers. But as gorgeous as this jewelry is, the process to make it is time-consuming. A single bead, for example, can take five to seven days to make.

Maharashtra's halwa dagine symbolizes hope for future blessings.

11/21/2023

CLOSING SOON!
As the weather shifts at this time of year, so does our penchant for certain foods and fashions. The print on this Rei Kawakubo dress reproduces a famous 16th-century artwork of Emperor Rudolf II as Vertumnus, the Roman god of seasons, change, and growth. Depicted are an abundance of flowers, fruits, and vegetables such as gourds, cherries, grapes, wheat, peas, corn, and olives. Kawakubo’s avant-garde silhouette, here flattened and evoking a canvas, adds a sense of grandeur to this-food-meets-fashion artistic display.

Visit “Food & Fashion” before it closes November 26th to see the ways that food has influenced fashion design for over 250 years.
https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/food-and-fashion/index.php

Comme des Garçons, Multidimensional Graffiti collection, brushed polyester printed dress, spring 2018, Japan, gift of Nordstrom

11/20/2023

Check out event images of the food and fashion scholars, designers, chefs, and artists who gathered for an intellectual and fashionable feast at the Food & Fashion Symposium on Friday, Nov 3rd. From sustainability and the creative overlap between fashion and food within haute cuisine to cultural identity and social justice, the symposium participants explored how food culture has impacted fashion and vice versa. 🥗👗🍔👚🍦👠🥑👛🍒

The Food & Fashion Symposium, held on Friday, November 3, 2023, featured preeminent food and fashion scholars, as well as designers, chefs, and artists. Topics included sustainability, the creative overlap between fashion and food within haute cuisine and through social media, how cultural ident...

11/20/2023

Happy Birthday Emilio Pucci!
Born in 1914, Pucci became known as “The Prince of Prints” for the dynamic, brightly colored fabrics that characterized his designs. Although he founded his label in the late 1940s, Pucci’s work became synonymous with the youthful vitality of the 1960s.

Visit our Online Collections to learn more about fashion designers and fashion history. http://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/

Emilio Pucci, dress, silk jersey and glass beads, 1962, Italy, gift of Helen O'Hagan

11/18/2023

Happy Birthday Calvin Klein!
Born in 1942, Klein, a graduate of FIT, founded his company in 1967, building it into one of America’s most recognized brands. While Klein’s first success was with his coats and suits, he quickly broadened his repertoire by designing sophisticated “no-frills” American sportswear. Of note is the line of “designer” jeans he introduced in 1978.

Visit our Online Collections to learn more about fashion designers and fashion history.

http://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/

Calvin Klein, cotton denim jeans, 1979, USA, gift of Mr. Calvin Klein

11/17/2023

Here's some to celebrate! This month last year, UNESCO, the United Nations heritage agency, added the baguette to its "intangible cultural heritage" list. Baguettes require specific knowledge and techniques; however the decision also honored a way of life. Learn the interesting history of the baguette from BBC News.

President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the news saying the loaf was "250 grams of magic and perfection".

11/17/2023

It’s Homemade Bread Day 🍞🍥
With so many types to choose from, what kind of bread might you make today? Fashion designer Rachel Antonoff’s babka sweater pays tribute to the sweet Jewish bread that originated in Poland and Ukraine during the late 19th century. Babka is popular throughout the Jewish diaspora and is especially associated with family-owned New York bakeries.

This sweater is on view in “Food & Fashion” through November 26, 2023.

https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/food-and-fashion/index.php

Rachel Antonoff, babka sweater and trousers, holiday 2022-2023. Lent by Rachel Antonoff. Second image by Louisiana Mei Gelpi. Model: Ravyanshi Mehta

11/16/2023

Are you looking to dive deeper into food and fashion? The companion publication to our “Food and Fashion” exhibition is a great place to start! It includes a collection of essays that explore the intersection between the two through time, touching on sustainability, self-expression, gender, eating disorders and more.

Food and fashion are inextricably linked in our culture, and a collection of essays highlights moments in history when the two have been harnessed to communicate values and make statements.

11/15/2023

RR Auction is celebrating the glamorous style of Prince in a dedicated auction event. Highlights include his white ruffled shirt and brooches worn during his triumphant 1985 AMA performance of Purple Rain, his screen-worn outfit and cashmere coat from Under the Cherry Moon, and his stage-worn gold chain hat from the 1993 Act II tour.

This November, RR Auction is celebrating the glamorous style of Prince in a dedicated auction event. Highlights include his white ruffled shirt and brooches

11/15/2023

Sky High Farm’s collaboration with designer Tremaine Emory of Denim Tears was a natural fit as both are “brands built on the belief that fashion can and should be an agent of storytelling and change.” Emory draws on his memories of growing up in Jamaica, Queens, eating “Black Foods” as a way to celebrate diasporic culture. The result is a collection “christened with a tapestry of okra, collard greens, black-eyed peas and watermelon seed packets.”

This fall 2022 ensemble is on view in “Food & Fashion” through November 26, 2023.

https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/food-and-fashion/index.php

Denim Tears for Sky High Farm Workwear. Image by Eric Nelson at Compton Community Garden in Los Angeles.

11/14/2023

The fashion industry has often been inspired by the world of fast food. But what about the legality of these take-offs? This intellectual property law blog dives into whether patent or copyright would apply to a Saint Laurent bag in the shape of a McDonald’s Happy Meal box.

The IPKat blog reports on copyright, patent, trade mark, info-tech and privacy/confidentiality issues from a mainly UK and European perspective.

11/10/2023

👜It’s National Handbag Day! 👜

🥖Did you know that Fendi’s famous “Baguette'' bag earned its name from the French loaf of bread, typically carried from the bakery under one’s arm?

🍞On its left is a more explicit “bread loaf” bag from 1986 that flaunts its likeness through molded plastic – in keeping with 1980s plastic-driven aesthetics. Bread bags highlight fashion’s enduring affinity for this staple food.

Both bags are on view in “Food & Fashion” through November 26, 2023. https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/food-and-fashion/index.php

Black Baguette bag, fall/winter 2023, lent by Fendi S.r.l.
Bread loaf purse, 1986, gift of Richard Martin

11/09/2023

In December 2022, Tokyo welcomed a food-fashion mash-up as New York-based culinary collective Ghetto Gastro – which promises to bring ‘Bronx to the world, and the world to the Bronx’ – united with Japanese brand Sacai on an ephemeral restaurant, ‘Sacai Gastro.’

Culinary collective Ghetto Gastro unites with Japanese label Sacai on a series of bandana-print pieces, originally designed as uniforms for the ‘Sacai Gastro’ restaurant in Tokyo

11/08/2023

Doughnuts are ubiquitous in the United States. But some kind of deep-fried dough blob is a treat found in cultures around the world—so why have doughnuts become uniquely American? This Gastropod podcast episode delves into the story of these sweet circles, from their debut in Dutch New Amsterdam to the momentous origins of the doughnut hole, from Salvation Army volunteers who cemented the doughnut's popularity on the battlefields of both world wars, to the Cambodian-American Donut King of California.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gastropod/id918896288?i=1000630877731

Image: Judith Leiber minaudière. Donut Strawberry Sprinkle, fall 2019.

11/08/2023

🍒 A cherry print is a perennial classic in women’s fashion. Surrealist examples from the 1930s took on more feminine characteristics during the 1940s, and cherries were established as whimsical conversation prints during the 1950s. Now associated with vintage styles, the sweet, bright summertime fruit lends its qualities to nostalgic reinterpretations such as the oversized rendition seen here.

This dress is on view in “Food & Fashion” through November 26, 2023.
https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/food-and-fashion/index.php

Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera, cherry print dress, resort 2023. Image Courtesy Carolina Herrera

11/07/2023

From an interdisciplinary lens, the study of fashion and race can be explored in different ways, informing how we view other aspects of culture.

"When we begin to have these discussions, it enriches us all."

11/06/2023

Our exhibition “Food & Fashion” invites us to ponder food-inspired fashion pieces and fashion from our fridge, but what about creative processes that include food and fashion?

Fulbright Visiting Scholar Lara Rössig interviewed Chris Campbell, designer of Shoe Bakery; Olivia Cheng, designer of Dauphinette; and digital artist Rewa Richter about how their respective works and production reinforce the sociocultural significance of food and fashion. Read more about the project and watch the interviews today.

https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/food-and-fashion/designer-interviews.php

11/04/2023

Happy National Candy Day! This festive day is all about indulging in a sweet treat. Whether it's enjoying a classic chocolate bar or savoring a nostalgic confection, today's a great day to satisfy your sweet tooth! Celebrate with your friends and family today and visit the "Food & Fashion" exhibition at The Museum at FIT. On view through Nov. 26, 2023.

Jean Dessès, cream silk chiffon tiered dress, circa 1957, gift of Mrs. Barbara Halpern
Mars of Asheville, Baby Ruth candy bar paper dress, circa 1968, gift of Mrs. Richard Koopman

https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/food-and-fashion/index.php

11/02/2023

This month’s podcast episode is a special collaboration with Radio Cherry Bombe. Host Kerry Diamond interviews the curators of MFIT’s exhibition “Food & Fashion,” Elizabeth Way and Melissa Marra-Alvarez, about Elsa Schiaparelli’s lobster dress, Rachel Antonoff’s pasta puffer, this summer’s grocery girl trend, and more!

Download and listen today!

Stream this episode and all our past episodes on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

https://museumatfit.podbean.com/

11/01/2023

Today is World Vegan Day and we're celebrating! Stella McCartney has been one of the most visible and influential high fashion designers to promote veganism in fashion, a reflection of her holistic environmental ethics that include food. In this ensemble she utilizes eco-friendly fibers – h**p uses a fraction of the water that cotton requires – and replaces leather with materials such as cork.

We hope you have a joyful day honoring veganism. This dress is currently on view in “Food & Fashion” through November 26, 2023.
https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/food-and-fashion/index.php

Stella McCartney, sustainable h**p burlap sleeveless shift dress and cork ankle boots, 2009, USA, gift of Stella McCartney.

10/31/2023

BOO! HAPPY HALLOWEEN! It’s time to don your masks, headdresses, capes, and costumes and get spooky! 🦇☠️🦇👻🦇
👻
☠️
Adolfo mask and feather headpiece worn by socialite Marietta Tree to Truman Capote’s Black and White masquerade ball in 1966. Gift of Penelope Tree

10/30/2023

Prada is partnering with commercial space company Axiom Space to design the spacesuits for NASA’s 2025 Artemis III mission, which will be the first crewed lunar landing since 1972 — and the first time a woman has landed on the moon, with Christina Hammock Koch part of the crew. “Prada’s technical expertise with raw materials, manufacturing techniques and innovative design concepts will bring advanced technologies instrumental in ensuring not only the comfort of astronauts on the lunar surface, but also the much-needed human factor considerations absent from legacy spacesuits,” said Axiom Space CEO Michael Suffredini.

The Italian luxury brand has teamed up with commercial space company Axiom Space to design the spacesuits for Nasa’s Artemis III mission to the moon in 2025.

10/30/2023

We’re just days away until the Food & Fashion Symposium! 🍽️

We are excited to offer a multi-course meal featuring delectably insightful talks and presentations from preeminent food and fashion scholars, designers, chefs, and artists. For starters, exhibition co-curators Melissa Marra-Alvarez and Elizabeth Way will share tales from organizing “Food & Fashion.” The day will continue with more tasty topics such as sustainability, the creative overlap between fashion and food within haute cuisine and through social media, how cultural identity and social justice are communicated through food and fashion, how body image and eating practices intersect with food and fashion, and how artists express the relationship between these two vital aspects of culture and society.

Register today and attend on Friday, Nov 3 starting at 10am.
https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/events/symposium/food-and-fashion/index.php

Spiked baguette bag, FW23 collection. Photo by Yanran Xiong, courtesy Dauphinette.

This symposium is organized in conjunction with the exhibition “Food & Fashion” (September 13 - November 26, 2023).

“Food & Fashion” has been made possible thanks to the generosity of the Couture Council of The Museum at FIT and The Coby Foundation. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov. Additional support was provided by The New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. We are happy to partner with INNSiDE by Melia New York NoMad Hotel for this event.

10/29/2023

It’s and we’re feeling the love for our black feline friends. 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛
Enigmatic, independent, and slightly otherworldly. Does that describe a black cat or the eccentric Italian heiress Marchesa Luisa Casati?

Marchesa Luisa Casatiby Augustus Edwin John (Welsh, 1878-1961), oil on canvas, c.1942, National Museum Wales

10/27/2023

"Even if you’ve never heard his name or that of the brand he designs for, you’ve almost certainly seen his work, and probably been perplexed, repulsed, seduced, delighted or all of the above. In an era defined by a beguiling abundance of fashion, his clothes may be the only ones that embody both the self-seriousness and hilarity of high fashion." Rachel Tashjian probes the intense appeal of Schiaparelli creative director and FIT alumnus Daniel Roseberry, "the internet's favorite fashion designer," in The Washington Post.

“What I am trying to do is to create the fashion equivalent of pop music,” Daniel Roseberry of Schiaparelli says.

10/27/2023

We Eat What We Are, so why not wear it too? Dumplings, yams, jollof, and okra belong both on our plates and in our fashion. 🍠🍠🍠

Join us Friday, November 3rd, where culture, couture, and cuisine fuse together at our Food & Fashion Symposium! Co-curator Elizabeth Way will be diving into “Food, Fashion, and African Diaspora” with Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson, professor and chair of the Department of American Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Williams-Forson is a materialist culturalist whose research explores the ways in which Black people (broadly defined) engage their material worlds, especially with food and food culture, as well as historical legacies of race and gender (mis)representation.

Register today and satisfy your appetite for food and fashion.
https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/events/symposium/food-and-fashion/index.php

This symposium is organized in conjunction with the exhibition “Food & Fashion” (September 13 - November 26, 2023).

“Food & Fashion” has been made possible thanks to the generosity of the Couture Council of The Museum at FIT and The Coby Foundation. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov. Additional support was provided by The New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. We are happy to partner with INNSiDE by Melia New York NoMad Hotel for this event.