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| THE LATEST NEWS |
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... What's Happening ...
**Fashion and Sustainable Practices** On Friday, March 8,MFIT presents an engaging program with Evie Evangelou of the non-profit group Fashion 4 Development (F4D). Evie will share stories of how F4Dempowers women around the world to build sustainable futures by working with new fashion business models. Learn more or register below.
**Read Shoe Obsession** Our latest publication coincides with our current exhibition Shoe Obsession. Enjoy an extract from the introduction of the book on YaleBooks' website.
**The Night that Changed American Fashion** In 1973, an extraordinary evening left an unforgettable imprint on the fashion industry and forever changed fashion history. Versailles '73: American Runway Revolution recounts the legendary fashion show at Chateau de Versailles that catapulted African American models and American sportswear designers onto the European stage. Don't miss this special screening and talk with the director on Tuesday, March 5, 5:30pm. Please visit our webite for registration information.
**Fashion Designers A-Z Hits the Road** Valerie Steele will be visiting Dallas and Miami on March 7 and 8 to participate in a conversation and book signing for this very special limited-edition book published by TASCHEN. Visit our website for details .
**Go See Fashion** Fashion-related exhibitions abound! Whether you're as near as NYC or as far as Melbourne, Australia, we've put together a list of shows sure to help you get your fashion fix.
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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 limied.
The Technology Trap: Fashion, Copying, and the Speed of Information ~ Jeffrey Banks, Ariele Elia, Emma McClendon , Susan Scafidi, and Te Smith
Wednesday, March 6, 6 pm
Fashion designers and labels face complex new challenges as technology continues to advance exponentially. Of particular interest to this panel will be issues of design ownership and intellectual property rights. Panelists include Te Smith, of the online brand protection company MarkMonitor, who will explain the relationship between information technology and copying; distinguished fashion designer Jeffrey Banks, who has testified in Congress regarding the proposed extension of intellectual property protection to fashion designs and whose designs are available online; Professor Susan Scafidi, who will speak on the legal aspects of copyright and piracy; and Ariele Elia and Emma McClendon, curators of the current MFIT exhibition, Fashion and Technology.
REGISTER NOW
F4D: Giving Back Is the New Luxury ~ Evie Evangelou, Chris Collins, and Ruth DeGolia
Friday, March 8, 6 pm
Are you interested in Eco fashion’s sustainable practices? Well, Fashion 4 Development (F4D) is on the cutting edge! Join entrepreneur and philanthropist Evie Evangelou, President & Global Chair of F4D, for an inspiring evening on fashion and social change. F4D harness the power of fashion to empower women with job and business opportunities that build sustainable futures whether they are in Bangladesh, Africa, or Denmark. They fight to conquer poverty through creativity and have influenced various regions around the globe, whether by revitalizing age old craft heritages, such as exquisite hand-woven muslins, refined silks, and extremely fine cottons; helping to develop handloom fabrics with colors that are non-chemically produced and environmentally conscious; or by utilizing progressive microfinance models. Organized in collaboration with the FIT Diversity Council. REGISTER NOW
Antonio Lopez: Fashion, Art, Sex & Disco ~ Roger and Mauricio Padilha
Tuesday, March 12, 6 pm
Authors Roger Padilha and Mauricio Padilha, along with special guests Pat Cleveland and Corey Tippin, discuss their first complete monograph on the work of extraordinary fashion artist and illustrator Antonio Lopez. For three decades, Lopez produced illustrations, paintings, and photographs for Vogue, The New York Times, Women’s Wear Daily, and other publications while executing campaigns for labels as diverse as YSL, Valentino, and Versace. A book signing will follow the presentation. REGISTER NOW
A Career in Fashion ~ John Bartlett
Tuesday, April 2, 6 pm
Fashion designer John Bartlett joins us to talk about his unique career. He is known for his rugged American style, as well as his support of animal rights. In 2012, Bartlett presented the first entirely eco-friendly, cruelty-free menswear collection at New York Fashion Week, and he was recently named winner of the CFDA/Lexus Eco-Fashion Award. Organized in collaboration with the FIT Diversity Council. REGISTER NOW
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CURRENT EXHIBITION
Boots: The Height of Fashion |
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| Jack Jacobus, Ltd., boot, leather, circa 1900, Austria, gift of Victoria and Albert Museum. |
March 5 - April 6, 2013
Boots: The Height of Fashion examines how boots emerged as a modern fashion phenomenon during the last century and evolved to become a staple of the fashionable woman’s wardrobe. The exhibition features 20 pairs of women’s boots from the museum's permanent collection, including boots originally worn by fashion icons Jane Holzer and Tina Chow. The exhibition takes the view that boots, as objects, are expressive of power, and it explores this concept via three significant sub-themes: sex, rebellion, and status.
Christian Louboutin, Norma Kamali, Yves St. Laurent, Manolo Blahnik, and Marc Jacobs are among the designers featured. Special to this exhibition is a pair of Maison Martin Margiela Tabi boots, likely worn during Margiela’s legendary 1989 fashion show in a Paris, which took place in a vacant lot.
Another highlight of the exhibition is a pair of knee-high boots created by couturier Paul Poiret for his wife, Denise, who created a stir when she wore a similar pair on a trip to New York in 1913.
Rounding out the exhibition is a unique section that gives visitors a behind-the-scenes look at museum conservation practices. Highlighted here are the restorative and protective processes that are necessary to prepare boots for exhibition in a gallery.
Students in the Fashion and Textile Studies M.A. program at FIT's School of Graduate Studies have collaborated with the Museum at FIT to present Boots: The Height of Fashion.
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CURRENT EXHIBITION
Shoe Obsession |
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| Roger Vivier (Bruno Frisoni), Eyelash Heel pump, Rendez-Vous (Limited Edition Collection), Fall 2012-2013, Courtesy of Roger Vivier / Photo 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 features approximately 150 examples of contemporary footwear, highlighting the extreme, lavish, and imaginative styles that have made shoes central to fashion. The exhibition includes 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—further underscore the exceptional creativity of contemporary shoe design. Shoe Obsession also includes 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.
Read More Here
or, See the Slideshow on Flickr |
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CURRENT EXHIBITION
Fashion and Technology |
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| Jean Paul Gaultier, jumpsuit, multicolor nylon/spandex, 1996, France, 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 development. 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 Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga. Fashion and Technology is organized by Ariele Elia and Emma McClendon.
Visit the Virtual Exhibition |
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UPCOMING EXHIBITION
Retrospective |
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| Norman Norell, dress, red wool crepe and satin, 1962, USA, gift of Claudia Halley. |
May 22 - November 16, 2013
Retrospective explores fashion’s relationship with its own history. The speed of the fashion cycle is faster than ever, and yet, in the constant drive for newness, the past is often used as a point of reference. Many contemporary designers embrace looking back at fashion history as a fundamental part of the design process. As cutting-edge designer Yohji Yamamoto once said, “Going to the future means you have to use your past.” In doing so, they create inventive and modern re-interpretations of everything from crinolines to “flapper” dresses.
Featuring more than 100 garments, accessories, and textiles from the Museum’s permanent collection, Retrospective begins with a selection of fashions that references historical periods prior to the eighteenth century, including a 1981 gold lamé ensemble by Zandra Rhodes and a 1999 painted silk chiffon gown by Alexander McQueen for Givenchy Couture, both of which draw inspiration from sixteenth-century England. The remainder of the exhibition showcases groupings of period fashions—from 18th century to grunge—and their more recent revivals.
Curated by Jennifer Farley, the exhibition also includes work by innovative designers such as Norman Norell, Yves Saint Laurent, Anna Sui, Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga, Walter Van Beirendonck, and artist Cat Chow.
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LINKS WE LIKE
A world of fashion is on the web |
Tech-y Fashion
Holography has been around since the late 1940s but is becoming more popular in the fashion curcuit. This blog post discusses the use of holography, and other visual tricks, in contemporary fashion shows. (Our current exhibition Fashion and Technology has a number of inventive runway shows on view.)
Designers & Books
"Books Every Fashion Designer Should Read" -- a list by Valerie Steele.
The Coach archivist
If you love Bonnie Cashin and seeing behind-the-scenes of collections' storage....this short video by Selby is for you.
Responsible design
An inspirational post about how "Fashion Design Thinking" can improve the world!
The Kodachrome test
A lovely four-and-a-half minutes of pretty actresses from 1922 gesturing and posing for a color film stock moving picture camera.
Teddy girls vs Teddy boys
It's obvious who wins the cool factor -- the forgotten 1950s girl gang!
Bill Cunningham looks down
Bill Cunningham shoots shoes in the snow and slush during New York Fashion Week, as well as many at the opening reception for Shoe Obsession. (VIDEO)
Is Facebook changing fashion?
In this Business Insider article, Burberry is used as an example to show how some big brands are changing how they make their products.
OMG. Snoopy in designer fashions!
Thirteen years ago, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Peanuts, 150 fashion designers created their own outfits for Snoopy and sister Belle to wear on their travels.
Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity
Our beautiful black and white dress from the 1860s is featured front-and-center in the latest exhibition at the Met Museum!
Resilience - A call for fashion students!
The International Arts of Fashion Competition exists to promote and reward creativity and inventiveness. 50 selected design students may compete. Only 500 applications are accepted so get yours in today. Deadline is April 1. |
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| MUSEUM PUBLICATIONShoe Obsession |
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| Book Cover |
This fabulously illustrated book explores western culture's fascination with extravagant and fashionable shoes. Over the past decade, shoe design has become increasingly central to fashion, with fashion companies paying ever more attention to shoes and other accessories. High-heeled shoes, in particular, have become the fashion accessory of the 21st century.
Co-written by Colleen Hill and Valerie Steele, one of the world's leading historians of fashion and an authority on fashion accessories, the book features approximately 150 pairs of the most extreme and ultra-fashionable styles of the past 12 years, including work by such prominent designers as Manolo Blahnik, Pierre Hardy, Christian Louboutin and Bruno Frisoni for Roger Vivier, as well as shoes by influential design houses such as Azzedine Alaia, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, and Prada. Avant-garde styles by up-and-coming designers such as Japan's Kei Kagami and Noritaka Tatehana are also highlighted.
Shoe Obsession examines recent extreme and fantastical shoe styles in relation to the history of high heels, the role of shoes as a reflection of their wearers' personality traits, and the importance of shoes in art and exhibitions. The book is lavishly illustrated with full-colour photographs of spectacular contemporary shoe designs.
Available from |
Yale University Press
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| MUSEUM INFORMATION |
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| 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 |
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