Exhibitions

Art X Fashion is a major exhibition exploring the entangled and shifting relationship between fine art and fashion—typically considered a "decorative" or "applied" art. Curated by Dr. Elizabeth Way, curator of Costume and Accessories, and featuring 140 garments, textiles, and accessories from The Museum at FIT’s permanent collection, this exhibition traces fashion and art's parallel aesthetics from 18th-century rococo to late-20th-century postmodernism. Utilizing the theoretical framework developed by art and fashion historian Dr. Christopher Richards, Art X Fashion invites viewers to consider the much-asked question, "Is fashion art?" through historic and contemporary examples. Further themes explore the overlapping art-and-fashion work of artists, such as Salvador Dalí, Sonia Delaunay, Kerry James Marshall, Antonio Lopez, and Pablo Picasso, and fashion designers, including Hussein Chalayan, Issey Miyake, Paul Poiret, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Vivienne Tam, as well as the ways artists use fashion to shape their identities and expand their cultural significance.

Image: Wales Bonner X Kerry James Marshall, cotton T-shirt reproducing "Lost Boys: AKA Black Sonny" (1993) by Kerry James Marshall, spring 2023, museum purchase, 2022.55.1

Beyond Utility, curated by graduate students in the Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice MA program in collaboration with The Museum at FIT, examines the perpetual transformation of utilitarian design within and beyond the fashion system. Throughout history, fashion and anti-fashion groups have adopted and abstracted clothing born out of necessity, continuously negotiating between form and function. Showcasing never-before-displayed objects from the MFIT Study Collection and the FTS Graduate Study Collection, the exhibition pairs utility dress archetypes with their later reinterpretations, featuring designs from Issey Miyake, BOY London, Bonnie Cashin, Junya Watanabe, Thierry Mugler, Burberry, Moschino, and more. The case studies span three sections, unbound by chronology: "Workwear: Beyond Labor," "Military: Beyond Combat," and "Craft: Beyond Domesticity," exploring the interplay between materials, aesthetics, and cultural connotations. By investigating objects that have unique biographies and lived-experiences, Beyond Utility reveals how utility dress can shape ideas of style, from factories and battlefields to runways and city streets.

Image: Yvonne Schictel, Trench Dress, spring 2021. Photo courtesy of designer.

Doll Dressing centers on the longstanding connections between dolls and high fashion. Historically, dolls operated as miniature fashion models—they were shipped around Europe and abroad, communicating the latest styles in three-dimensional detail. By the early twentieth century, dolls were not merely sharing the latest trends, but setting them. Curated by Dr. Colleen Hill, senior curator of costume, the exhibition explores the ways in which dolls have influenced fashion and dressed appearance. Doll dressing takes many forms, ranging from the appeal of youthful baby doll dresses, to the 2D quality of "paper doll" looks, to the influence of creepy dolls on fashion. It encompasses clothing and accessories, hair and makeup, and even movement and gestures that take their cue from dolls. Beginning with a brief history of fashion dolls from the eighteenth century to the present, Doll Dressing continues with designs from Marc Jacobs, Patrick Kelly, Lanvin, Jeremy Scott for Moschino, Martin Margiela, Anna Sui, and many others.

Image: Moschino Couture (Jeremy Scott), trompe l'oeil printed jacket and skirt, spring 2017, museum purchases, 2028.9.1-2.