ART X FASHION @FITMUSEUM

Close up of Leeann Huang's "Six Course Meal" dress (Spring 2019) as part of the Art x Fashion exhibit at the Museum at FIT

A red snapper on a silver platter--accompanied by a dish of lobster claws, oysters and scattered chandelier beads--rests atop a dress titled "Six Course Meal" by Leeann Huang. My favorite piece of the new ART x FASHION exhibit at the Museum at FIT is tucked in the back corner and embodies the true sense of wearable art. Equal parts couture, sculpture and storytelling, Huang's masterpiece captures the exhibition's central theme: when fashion becomes art, the body becomes the canvas. Keep reading to have a look inside.

FABRIC IN FASHION @FIT MUSEUM

Fabric in Fashion: [L] Bob Bugnand (1958-59) / [M] Jacques Griffe gold Lurex evening dress (1958) / [R] Christian Dior (1962) satin evening dress

Over the last 250 years, fabric in fashion evolves as a symbol of both style and status.  Definitions of class and social structure shift from emphasizing fibers and construction technique to scalability and brand recognition. Though fabric remains the foundation of fashion, its cultural significance unfolds with time. Fabric in Fashion--the latest exhibit at the Museum at FIT--analyzes the morphing role of textiles through history. Keep reading for a look inside...

PARIS REFASHIONED 1957 - 1968

#ParisRefashioned at The Museum at FIT // Trench coats by Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) and Courregès 

Striving to rival stylistic counterparts London and New York, Paris reinvents "fashion" in a post-World War 2 economy. Between 1957 and 1968, an emergence of fresh designers capitalizing on pop culture's influence--and answering the demand of prêt-a-porter--begins to alter the Parisian trademark of haute couture. Coinciding with Paris Fashion Week, the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) fêtes the opening of its latest endeavor Paris Refashioned: 1957-1968. Reaching into collection archives, FIT Museum curator Colleen Hill conjures a surprisingly respectable exhibit of clothing by French designers changing the fashion climate at the time. Keep reading for a look inside...

FAIRY TALE FASHION @ FIT MUSEUM

Cinderella's glass slipper #FairyTaleFashion @FITMuseum

Conceptualized clothing, culled from the pages of fifteen fairytales, prove that crystal chausseurs cannot be confined to the pages of Charles Perrault's Cinderella. In a groundbreaking exhibition that draws parallels between fairytales and high fashion, The Museum at FIT presents red hoods, ballgowns, ruby slippers and other fashion finds buried in tall tales written by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen and others. Summarized by the Museum's press release, "it is evident that dress is often used to symbolize a character's transformation, vanity, power or privilege [source]. Keep reading for a look into the exhibit...

FASHION UNDERGROUND: THE WORLD OF SUSANNE BARTSCH @ FIT MUSEUM

Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch at the Museum at FIT; Realistic mannequin looks just like Susanne Bartsch

With guest-list in hand, a lifelike replica of Susanne Bartsch leads a line of mannequins en maquillage, greeting guests at an alley-like entrance to the Museum at FIT's Fashion Underground exhibit. Behind closed doors, black walls, disco balls and 80+ designer-clad divas pay tribute to the 'Queen of NYC Nightlife' in a club-themed showcase of clothing as a means of transformation. From her first party in 1986 to the weekly productions almost 30 years later, Susanna Bartsch continues to unite the creatively energetic in a flamboyant ecosystem of self-expression. Keep reading for a look into the exhibit (and some great ideas for Halloween!)...