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The Most Fashionable
Museum
in New York City
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August 6,
2013
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THE
LATEST NEWS
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Photograph
by: Jamel Shabazz
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...
What's
Happening ...
**SPARC Adds Jamel
Shabazz to FIT Special
Collections**
SPARC, the Department
of Special Collections and
FIT Archives,
recently acquired fifty of Jamel
Shabazz's
11" x 14" photographs from
1980-2012. For those new to
Shabazz's work (b. 1960,
Brooklyn NY), the visionary
street and fashion photographer
began documenting urban street
culture in the early days of hip
hop before it rose to become a
global phenomenon.
From SPARC's Material
Mode blog: "In the words of Fab
5 Freddy, who wrote the
introduction to Shabazz’s
photographic survey of his work
Back in the Days, “These are the
faces of of the generation that
gave birth to hip hop—not only
the most dominant and inclusive
youth culture in history, but
also the most stylishly
innovative and consistently
advanced generation since the
Rock ‘n Roll era…
...If among the many
emotions you feel while viewing
these photos, cool comes to
mind, here’s why—back then, cool
was all about having the right
flavor and savoir faire."
See Material
Mode for
more images, and if you like,
follow SPARC
on Twitter!
**RetroSpective
Is Now Online**
Are you not
able to visit the
Museum at FIT in
person? Well, RetroSpective
now has its own
website! Visit
today!
**Evening
with Michael Kors**
Michael Kors joined
the Couture Council at his
Madison Avenue store for cocktails,
h'or duerves,
and a presentation of his
Pre-Fall 2013 collection.
**Note For Visitors**
This summer the restrooms
off the Museum's lobby are
being remodeled. We
apologize for any
inconvenience, however
restrooms for Museum
visitors are available
across 27th street in the
lobby of the Feldman
building. Security guards
are able to direct you.
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CURRENT
EXHIBITION
RetroSpective
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Norman Norell,
dress, red wool crepe
and satin, 1962, USA,
gift of Claudia Halley.
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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. In doing so, they
create inventive and modern
re-interpretations of
everything from crinolines to
“flapper” dresses. As
cutting-edge designer Yohji
Yamamoto once said, “Going to
the future means you have to
use your past.”
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.
Visit
our website for more
info and images
or
Visit the
new Online Exhibition
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UPCOMING
EXHIBITION
A
Queer History of Fashion:
From the Closet to the
Catwalk
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Jenny Shimizu,
Helmut Red campaign.
Photograph by Mark
Seliger.
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September 13, 2013 -
January 4, 2014
From Cristobal Balenciaga and
Christian Dior to Yves Saint
Laurent and Alexander McQueen,
many of the greatest fashion
designers of the past century
have been gay. Indeed, it is
widely believed that most male
fashion designers are gay. Is
this just a stereotype? Or do
gay men really have a special
relationship with fashion? To
what extent have lesbians,
bisexuals and transgender
people also made significant
contributions to fashion?
Fashion and style have played
an important role within
the LGBTQ
(lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-queer)
community, both pre- and
post-Stonewall, and even as
early as the eighteenth
century. Yet surprisingly
little has been researched
about high fashion as a site
of gay cultural production.
A Queer History of
Fashion: From the Closet to
the Catwalk seeks to
explore the “gayness” or
“queerness” of fashion by
drawing attention to the
historic presence of gay men,
lesbians, bisexuals,
transgender, and other “queer”
people in the fashion system.
The exhibition also looks at
the creativity and resistance
to oppression expressed by
LGBTQ subcultural styles.
Curated by Fred Dennis, senior
curator of costume, and
Valerie Steele, director and
chief curator of The Museum at
FIT, with exhibition design by
award-winning architect Joel
Sanders, the exhibition
features approximately 100
ensembles spanning more than a
century of fashion. Organized
in roughly chronological
order, the exhibition explores
the history of modern fashion
through the lens of gay and
lesbian life and culture,
addressing subjects including
androgyny, dandyism,
idealizing and transgressive
aesthetic styles, and the
influence of subcultural and
street styles, including drag,
leather, and uniforms.
The exhibition will be
accompanied by a symposium
(November 8-9, 2013) and a
scholarly, multi-author book
published by Yale University
Press, as well as a free
public lecture series,
exhibition tours, and an
educational website, with the
goal of helping to foster a
climate of inclusion for those
who have often been
marginalized due to their
sexual orientation, gender
identity, or gendered
expression. The exhibition and
programs are supported by The
Diversity Council of FIT.
Special thanks to the Advisory
Committee.
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LINKS
WE LIKE
A
world of fashion is on the
web
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The Hoodie:
Sign, Screen,
Expectation, and Force
In light of recent
events, Threadbared examines
the hoodie from a fashion
theory perspective.
Valentino Fall
2013 Mines the Dutch
Golden Age
The breathtaking
designs of the house of
Valentino are displayed in
line with images of the
collection's art-historical
inspirations.
Wearable Tech
Needs Fashion
Wired UK: "Integrate
technology and fashion and
clothing becomes a conduit for
self-determination,
empowerment, personalisation
and creative expression in new
and exciting ways."
Fashion
Victims
This urban action by
Spanish artist Yolanda
Domínguez was inspired by the
recent tragedy in Bangladesh
where at least 1,129 textile
workers were killed
in a factory collapse.
Domínguez hopes to inspire
a wave of change amongst
consumers and retailers
alike .
Grunge - Icons
From the Archive
Grunge has
gone around and come
back...the ultimate RetroSpective
short-cycle.
Fashion
Museums - What's
Coming Up
A video discusses fashion
exhibitions on the horizon.
Vision in
Hue
Georgian spectacles in tints
of "green or blue glass,
tho’ it tinge every Object
with its own Colour."
A
Queen Within: Adorned
Archetypes, Fashion
and Chess
From object to
archetype to runway, does form
follow fashion? Thoughts on
fashion exhibited in a chess
museum?
Travels
with Zarafa
Ah, 19th century
Exoticism...explore textile
treasures at the DeYoung
Museum through the lense
of...a giraffe!
Swimwear
Through the Ages - CBS
Photo Gallery
Can you imagine swimming in
wool in this crazy heat?
Well, Valerie Steele
explains that's just what
folks did!
Schiaparelli
Returns!
18 creations by Lacroix at
the Musée Arts Decoratif:
"it had to be Shocking...a
violent blue-toned pink
which Saint Laurent
described as having "the
nerve of red."
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MUSEUM
PUBLICATION
Shoe
Obsession
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Book Cover
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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
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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.
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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 at
212-217-4558
For Press Information
about any of our exhibitions or
programs, please call the Office
of Communications and External
Relations, 212-217-4700
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The exhibitions
and programs of The Museum at FIT
are supported in part by the
generosity of the members of the
Couture Council
Banner
image: Nicolas Ghesquière for
Balenciaga, dress,
printed
canvas, wool or cotton knit, Fall
2004, France, gift of Balenciaga.
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