New Acquisitions
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As fashion has become more aware of its anti-fat biases and the unhealthy ideals of thinness it promotes, brands such as Chromat, designed by Becca McCharen-Tran, fight the per-ception that eating is negative and encourage "the message that beauty is expansive and that every body is worthy of love, acceptance and empowering swimwear." For Chromat's fall 2018 fashion show, in an act of resistance to food-shaming, models ate Flamin' Hot® Cheetos® that matched red and orange ensembles while walking the runway.
This set was on view in the 2023 exhibition Food & Fashion.
Phillip Lim designed this t-shirt in collaboration with the All of Us Movement during the height of 2020's anti-Asian incidents in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. The logo takes inspiration from the stamp all immigrants receive when passing through U.S. customs. Purchase proceeds were donated to marginalized communities affected by the pandemic.
This t-shirt was on view in the 2022 exhibition Asian Americans in New York Fashion.
Harlem-based 5001 Flavors built its reputation in the 1990s styling the artists of major record labels, such as Uptown and Bad Boy Records. Establishing their brand in 1992, the husband-and-wife team Guy and Sharene Wood, often referred as "the first family of fashion," are responsible for iconic looks worn by Heavy D., The Notorious B.I.G., Sean Combs, Mase, Aaliyah, and Fat Joe. They designed this jacket for Missy Elliott who wore a version of it the 1996 music video "The Things That You Do" by Gina Thompson.
This jacket was on view in the 2023 exhibition Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style.
These shoes feature eight-inch stilettos, and were deliberately designed to be too large for the wearer’s feet. Their soles extended well beyond her heels, and the shoes were only kept in place by the ankle strap. Martin Margiela often toyed with the concept of scale in his work, and he created this style for his 20th-anniversary collection..
This shoe was on view in the 2022 exhibition Shoes: Anatomy, Identity, Magic.
Below are the types of objects in the collections of The Museum at FIT.
The accessories collection consists of approximately 15,000 objects that date from the mid-17th century to the present day. The collection has a particularly strong emphasis on designer accessories from the second half of the 20th century.
The accessories collection is supported by the Solomon-Sloan Endowment Fund, which was established in 2005 to facilitate the acquisition, conservation, documentation and exhibition of accessories.
- The footwear collection contains more than 4,000 pairs of shoes, boots and sandals. It includes examples by designers such as Manolo Blahnik, Roger Vivier, Herbert Levine, and Salvatore Ferragamo.
- The millinery collection contains more than 3,000 hats by famous milliners such as Caroline Reboux, Lilly Daché, Halston and Philip Treacy. There are also many examples from designers such as Christian Dior, Balenciaga and Jacques Fath.
- The handbag collection includes fine examples by luxury houses such as Hermés and Gucci as well as examples by Roberta di Camerino, Judith Leiber and Bonnie Cashin for Coach.
- Other accessories include fans, gloves, belts, hosiery and costume jewelry.
The Costume Collection consists of more than 50,000 objects dating from the mid-18th century to the present. The strength of the collection lies in its 20th-century holdings and, particularly, in couture and ready-to-wear women's clothing. The collections are currently being computerized to facilitate research.
- The costume collection includes fashion by designers such as Azzedine Alaïa, Balenciaga, Chanel, Comme des Garçons, Dior, Galanos, Halston, Charles James, Norell, Paul Poiret, Yves Saint Laurent, and Vivienne Westwood.
- The Halston Archives and Study Room hold designs, patterns, and related records documenting this important designer's life work.
- The menswear collection features some 2,000 garments ranging from formal to activewear, including suits, coats, vests, and uniforms.
- Also included are swimwear, lingerie, outerwear, and knitwear.
The Textile Collection consists of more than 30,000 textiles dating from the fifth century to the present, and includes the work of artists and designers such as Junichi Arai, Salvador Dali, Raoul Dufy, and William Morris.
- The textile collection includes apparel and home furnishing fabrics, embroideries, and shawls.
- The collection also includes a number of ribbon sample books.
- The J.B. Martin Velvet Room archives handwoven and production velvets spanning a 125-year period.
The Photography Archive features the work of fashion photographers Louise-Dahl Wolfe (1895-1989), who produced 86 cover images and thousands of interior shots for Harper’s Bazaar magazine, and John Rawlings (1912-1970), who had more than 200 Vogue and Glamour magazine covers.
Image: Louise Dahl-Wolfe photograph of model Sandra Payson. Featured in Harper’s Bazaar, March 1947, page 205, gift of Louise Dahl-Wolfe, 74.84.54
For those looking for the Herman Landshoff collection, the archive has been transferred
to:
Munchner Stadtmuseum
Sammlungsleiter Fotomuseum
St.-Jakobs-Pl. 1
80331 Munchen
The contact for the collection is:
Dr. Ulrich Pohlmann
Tel.: 089/233-22948
Fax.: 089/233-27969
email.: [email protected]