The Museum at FIT in December

DECEMBER EVENTS NEWSLETTER  THE LATEST NEWS CURRENT EXHIBITION Fantastic: FIT Art and Design Faculty Exhibition  CURRENT EXHIBITION Ivy Style  CURRENT EXHIBITION Fashion and Technology  UPCOMING EXHIBITION Shoe Obsession  LINKS WE LIKEA world of fashion is on the web MUSEUM PUBLICATIONIvy Style MUSEUM INFORMATION

THE LATEST NEWS ... What's Happening ... **Ivy Style Video Walk-through** We'd like to invite you to experience the Ivy Style exhibition via a video walk-through with MFIT Deputy Director Patricia Mears and co-curator Richard Press. Visit the video page of the Ivy Style website or watch it on the MFIT Youtube page. **Online Collections has gotten bigger** Over the past few months we've steadily been adding to the MFIT Online Collections. You can search, browse, collect, and share over 800 objects and 1100 images of fashion and accessories dating from the last 300 years to the present. Of note this month? Lots and lots more shoes in anticipation of this spring's exhibition Shoe Obsession. **Fashion Culture Photos** We had a wonderful line-up of public programming this fall and we've added photos from these events to our Flickr page. You'll find images from our Ivy Style symposium, as well as from events such as our Artistry of Fashion Award ceremony, the Rad Harouni conversation, and panel discussion on Swedish Fashion.

CURRENT EXHIBITION Fantastic: FIT Art and Design Faculty Exhibition  Photograph by Ron Amato, Giardini di Boboli, Florence, Italy  November 10 - December 8, 2012 This exhibition of FIT faculty artists features a variety of artworks from ten different departments within the School of Art and Design. Media include painting, drawing, digital, animation, sculpture, photography, and jewelry, based on the theme of the fantastic, otherworldly, and imagined. Participating artists are donating proceeds from their sales to Kids in Distressed Situations, an organization that supports relief efforts in Haiti.

CURRENT EXHIBITION Ivy Style  Chipp, madras jacket, circa 1970, gift of Glenn Forbes.  September 14, 2012 - January 5, 2013 Ivy Style celebrates one of the most enduring clothing styles of the 20th century. While viewed today as a classic form of dressing, in its heyday, Ivy style—or the “Ivy League look” —was actually so cutting-edge that it went on to inform the evolution of menswear for decades. This exhibition examines the genesis of Ivy style on the prestigious college campuses of the United States during the early years of the twentieth century, looks at the ways in which the style became codified by mid-century, and reveals how, nearly one hundred years after its inception, Ivy style is still a thriving global influence. Ivy Style presents three main periods of the look: the interwar years of the 1920s and 1930s; the post-war era to the end of the 1960s; and the revival from the 1980s to the present. Focusing almost exclusively on menswear dating from the early 20th century through today, more than sixty ensembles, both historic and contemporary, are intermingled in an environment evocative of an Ivy League university campus. Read more here or visit the online exhibition

CURRENT EXHIBITION Fashion and Technology  Jean Paul Gaultier, jumpsuit, multicolor nylon/spandex, 1996, France, 96.66.1, Museum Purchase.  December 4, 2012 - May 8, 2013 Fashion and Technology examines how, throughout history, fashion has engaged with technological advancement and been altered by it. Time and again, fashion’s dynamic relationship with technology has both expanded its aesthetic vocabulary and streamlined its means of production. In recent years, designers have made technology a focal point of their collections, but as early as the mid-18th century, technological advancements were shaping fashion design and fabrication. The development of aniline dyes, the sewing machine, synthetic fibers, and zippers have all sent fashion in new directions. More recently, so have wireless circuitry and the creation of fashion design software. Technologies outside of the fashion industry also contribute to change within it. These include global transportation, the internet, blogging, online retailing, and the increased speed of global communication through digital platforms and social-media outlets. The goal of this exhibition is to analyze the impact of technologies on the nature of fashion and its design, and to question whether these developments push the industry forward or ultimately set it back. Fashion and Technology begins with a display of examples from the 18th and 19th centuries, such as a 1780s suit made with a machine-knit textile, and an 1860s dress produced using synthetic dyes. From there, it showcases prominent developments from different time periods, travelling chronologically all the way to the present day. The exhibition features objects exclusively from The Museum at FIT’s costume collection alongside a selection of textiles and accessories that highlight the multifaceted nature of technological developments. The use of video monitors and computers enhance the exhibition, offering the opportunity to showcase works by small, cutting-edge design teams, such as the Dutch label Freedom of Creation, alongside pieces by fashion icons such as Elsa Schiaparelli, André Courrèges, Issey Miyake, and Nicholas Ghesquière for Balenciaga. Fashion and Technology is organized by Ariele Elia and Emma McClendon. Read More Here

UPCOMING EXHIBITION Shoe Obsession  Roger Vivier (Bruno Frisoni), Eyelash Heel pump, Rendez-Vous (Limited Edition Collection), Fall 2012-2013, Courtesy of Roger Vivier / Photos by Stephane Garrigues.  February 8 - April 13, 2013 Shoe Obsession examines our culture’s ever-growing fascination with extravagant and fashionable shoes. In fact, designer shoes have overtaken “It” bags as the most coveted fashion accessories. In response, shoe departments in major department stores have undergone significant expansions, and the “great designer shoe wars” have escalated. Shoes by established designers such as Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin continue to be bestsellers, while the number of rising stars within the footwear industry is multiplying. Over the past decade, heels have reached new heights —as have prices. High-heeled shoes—the fashion shoes of the 21st century—have become so tall that even a 4-inch heel is considered “low.” Shoe Obsession will feature approximately 150 examples of contemporary footwear, highlighting the extreme, lavish, and imaginative styles that have made shoes central to fashion. The exhibition will include work by prominent footwear labels such as Manolo Blahnik, Salvatore Ferragamo, Christian Louboutin, and Roger Vivier, as well as shoes from influential design houses, including Azzedine Alaïa, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, and Prada. Avant-garde designers such as Kei Kagami and Noritaka Tatehana—who have made some of the most extreme shoes of the 21st century—will further underscore the exceptional creativity of contemporary shoe design. Shoe Obsession will also include highlights from the incredible shoe collections of several stylish women, including jewelry designer Lynn Ban and fashion icon Daphne Guinness. The exhibition is curated by Dr. Valerie Steele, director and chief curator, and Colleen Hill, associate curator of accessories.

LINKS WE LIKEA world of fashion is on the web Ethical chic  The best fashion label ever! (scroll down a bit when you hit the page) Morbid Anatomy Photographer Jane Fradgley looks at turn-of-the-century "strong clothes" used in mental institutions. Odd yet beautiful forms. The Stones at 50 These men have seriously gone through a myriad of fashion styles, as this slideshow attests. A generous donation Ralph Lauren contributed $2m to Sandy relief funds in the wake of the hurricaine. Headpieces for Peace The winner of this year's Shaded View of Fashion Film Festival. Desk Side with Valerie Steele Fashionista.com interviews Valerie Steele and talk Gareth Pugh, Japanese fashion, and glass slippers. Fashion Studies scholarships The V&A and Royal College of Art have announced two new scholarships as part of their History of Design MA partnership. One is for a U.K. or EU student...the other is not! A most fantastic curatorial moment Curators at the MFA, Boston matched an Art Deco dress in in an auction catalogue to a photograph in their collection of Marion Morehouse (who later became Mrs. E. E. Cummings) modeling the very same richly sequined chiffon dress. The latest fashion internet sensation Yes to models in all sizes, ethnicity & ages! "I’m very old and all that I care about is to be happy," says a 72-year-old modeling grandfather. High inspiration from Rijksmuseum online The Rijksmuseum lauches a website of high-resolution images from their collection that you can do whatever you like with! Images of the works can be freely shared, zoomed in on, added to personal 'studios' or manipulated copyright free. Users can reprint entire works or simply details from them.

MUSEUM PUBLICATIONIvy Style Book Cover Many of the most familiar sartorial images of the 20th century can be traced to the prestigious college campuses of America. The "Ivy League Look," or "Ivy Style," was once a cutting-edge look that for decades led the evolution of menswear. Far more than a classic way of dressing, Ivy Style spread beyond the rarified walls of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton to influence countless designers. Focusing on menswear dating from the early 20th century through today, this elegant book traces the main periods of the look: the interwar years when classic items, such as tweed jackets and polo coats, were appropriated from the English man's wardrobe and redesigned by pioneering American firms such as Brooks Brothers and J. Press for young men at elite East Coast colleges; then from 1945 to the late 1960s, when the staples of Ivy Style—oxford cloth shirts, khaki pants, and penny loafers—were worn by a new, diverse group that included working-class students and jazz musicians; and finally the current revival of the Ivy look that began in the early 1980s. Ivy Style celebrates both high-profile proponents of the style—including the Duke of Windsor, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and Miles Davis—who made the look their own, and designers such as Ralph Lauren, J. McLaughlin, Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Bastian, and Thom Browne, who have made it resonate with new generations of style enthusiasts. Edited by Patricia Mears, deputy director of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology; With contributions by Christopher Breward, G. Bruce Boyer, Christian Chensvold, Patricia Mears, Masafumi Monden, and Peter McNeil. Available from Yale University Press

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. For more information, be sure to visit our website at www.fitnyc.edu/museum or phone our information line at212-217-4558 For Press Information about any of our exhibitions or programs, please call the Office of Communications and External Relations, 212-217-4700