The Museum at FIT in March

THE LATEST NEWS ... What's Happening ... **Valerie Steele discusses What to Wear** The Jewish Theological Seminary's special day-long event, What to Wear: Women, Clothing, Religion on Sunday March 11th, explores women's clothing and its relationship to religion and clothing. Valerie will speak on "Fashion—What It Means and Why It Matters" as part of this interdisciplinary, interreligious, intergenerational event with special programming for teens and families. See www.jtsa.edu/whattowear for details about the program and registration fees, which include lunch and dinner **Online Collections** The Museum at FIT is re-vamping its Online Collections. Later this spring, you'll be able to explore many new objects, browse hundreds of new photos, and enjoy a brand new look! We'll keep you posted in this newsletter when an exact launch date is known.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS Fashion Culture: Special Programs Fashion Culture programs and events are free unless otherwise indicated, and are organized by The Museum at FIT to provide insightful and intriguing perspectives on the culture of fashion.  Reservations are required. Space is limited. To RSVP for a program, Register Online Here In Conversation: Bob Mackie and Hal Rubenstein  Don't miss designer Bob Mackie and InStyle magazine Fashion Director Hal Rubenstein for an entertaining, colorful chat about their spectacular careers. Friday, March 9, 6pm Look At Me: Fashion Photography: Documenting the Evolution of the Modern Woman: Cathy M. Kaplan, Etheleen Staley, Deborah Tuberville, and Vince Aletti  Photography collector Cathy M. Kaplan and Staley-Wise Gallery director Etheleen Staley join distinguished photographer Deborah Tuberville and critic Vince Aletti for an illuminating panel discussion of the roles of women in contemporary photography. Tuesday, March 13, 6pm  Eleanor Lambert: Still Here: John A. Tiffany  John A. Tiffany presents Eleanor Lambert: Still Here, his biography of the extraordinary woman who dedicated herself to the advancement of American fashion and founded the CFDA. Wednesday, March 14, 6pm

CURRENT EXHIBITION Youthquake! The 1960s Fashion Revolution Bob Dylan by Harry Gordon, paper, 1968, England, gift of Estelle Ellis.  March 6 - April 7, 2012 Youthquake! The 1960s Fashion Revolution explores the dramatic impact of youth culture on fashion during the 1960s. More than thirty garments, accessories, videos, and other related media are featured, including fashions by Yves Saint Laurent, André Courrèges, and Giorgio di Sant’Angelo. The epicenter of youth-generated style was London, where young shoppers flocked to boutiques opened by energetic, equally young designers. By comparing designs ranging from cutting-edge boutique and mass-market labels to high fashion ready-to-wear and couture, the exhibition attests to the ascendance of youth as the driving force in fashion. This exhibition has been organized and curated by FIT graduate students of the Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practiceprogram. Visit the exhibition website

CURRENT EXHIBITIONIMPACT: 50 Years of the CFDA Thom Browne ensemble - Pheasant feather / wool suit with grey felted fur bowler hat - Autumn/Winter 2008-2009, USA - lent by Thom Browne . February 10 - April 17, 2012 Conceived by CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg and curated by Patricia Mears, deputy director of The Museum at FIT, IMPACT: 50 Years of the CFDA is an ode to the illustrious designs of the CFDA’s many members and marks the organization’s fiftieth anniversary in 2012. The exhibition includes approximately 100 objects, both garments and accessories, by the CFDA’s most impactful creators of the last 50 years. Also included are visual images and acknowledgement of the nearly 600 designers who have been members over the past five decades. Each living designer selected to participate in the exhibition has chosen a single object or ensemble that best represents his or her impact on the fashion world. A visually rich publication also entitled Impact, produced by the CFDA and published by Harry N. Abrams, is the companion book to the exhibition. Read more here

CURRENT EXHIBITION Fashion, A-Z: Highlights from the Collection of the Museum at FIT, Part One  Thierry Mugler ensemble - Metallic silver lilac lamé, lilac satin - Circa 1987, France, Museum purchase.  November 29, 2011 - May 8, 2012 Fashion, A-Z: Highlights from the Collection of the Museum at FIT, Part One is the first of two exhibitions that highlight modern and contemporary pieces from the Museum’s permanent collection. More than fifty garments and accessories are featured by designers from Alaïa to Zoran, including work by Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, Christian Dior, and Miuccia Prada. Full portraits of all exhibition objects from the two exhibitions will be included in a companion publication by TASCHEN, forthcoming fall 2012.  Read more here.

LINKS WE LIKEA world of fashion is on the web Is Fashion Art? Another attempt to answer this question that just won't go away. Happy 50th CFDA! Refinery 29 chats with the CFDA's CEO Steven Kolb about 50 years of American fashion design.  Lights! Camera! Fashion!  In this radio conversation, Oscar-nominated costume designers talk movies, fashion and a new exhibit at FIDM in Los Angeles. Fashion Exhibitions 2012  Been to see any fashion exhibitions lately?? If you haven't, we've compiled a list of exhibitions going on around the world in 2012. No excuses now.  Kate Winslet was in the house!  Miss Kate attended the opening of IMPACT: 50 Years of the CFDA and we have to admit that even we get a little star-stuck at times.  Barbie gets an historic make-over.  French artist Jocelyn Grivaud celebrates the 50th birthday of Barbie in a very arty way.  A big WOW!! And a big THANK YOU!!  Calvin Klein donates 2mil to FIT!!  Wearable Electronics are Making a Statement  A fun piece from The New York Times about hi-tech clothing....including some DIY projects!  Who is that bringing a critical eye to clothing? Oh yes, our very own Valerie Steele. "The Freud of Fashion" is a piece Suzy Menkes wrote for The New York Times on how Valerie Steele's analysis of clothing and styles has enriched museum exhibitions. “Valerie Steele’s interest in a social, gender and contextualized interpretation of fashion grabs me precisely because she is trying to interest a wider public, not just fashionistas,” says Nathalie Bondil, director and chief curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

MUSEUM PUBLICATIONIMPACT - 50 Years of the CFDA Book Cover IMPACT is the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, exploring the influence of the careers of America’s most influential designers over the last five decades. Anchored by Patricia Mears’s illuminating essay on the history of the CFDA, this book incorporates over 300 personal Impact statements from the most important names in American fashion, including Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, Ralph Lauren, Proenza Schouler, and Donna Karan. Illustrated with many never-before-seen images, this is the ultimate American fashion who’s who and a celebration of this important fashion organiza­tion. Accompanied by elegant images of these career-changing moments, this book is the definitive word on the voice of American fashion. About the authors Cathy Horyn is an American fashion journalist who works as a critic for the New York Times, where she also keeps a highly noted and provocative blog called On The Runway. Diane von Furstenberg is an internationally renowned designer and current president of the CFDA. Patricia Mears is deputy director at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology and is the curator of the 2012 IMPACTexhibit that accompanies the publication of the book. Available from Abrams

MUSEUM INFORMATION The Museum at FIT is dedicated to advancing knowledge of fashion through exhibitions, programs and publications. The Museum is open to the public free of charge, Tuesday - Friday, Noon - 8pm, and Saturday 10 am - 5pm. Located on the Southwest corner of Seventh Avenue at 27th Street in New York City, the museum can be reached by subway: 1, C, E, F, M, N, or R, and by bus: M20 and M23. Penn Station is close by at 31st Street for the Long Island Railroad, New Jersey Transit, and Amtrak.