Wondrous Objects Symposium

March 28, 2025 - March 28, 2025

magnifying glass highlighting a blue butterfly on a long sleeved white dress with butterflies in a grid pattern — Mary Katrantzou, printed, embroidered, and beaded dress with net overlay, spring 2019, England, museum purchase, 2023.52.1

Friday, March 28, 2025
10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Katie Murphy Amphitheatre
Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center

Wondrous Objects was The Museum at FIT's 33rd symposium, planned in conjunction with the exhibition Fashioning Wonder: A Cabinet of Curiosities. Scholars, artists, and designers examined how the study and collection of historically and personally meaningful objects inspired their thinking, creativity, and curiosity.

Speaker Bios

Brochure (PDF)

Schedule

Friday, March 28, 2025
10 am	Welcoming Remarks, Dr. Joyce F. Brown, President of FIT
10:05 am	Introduction, Dr. Valerie Steele, Director and Chief Curator of The Museum at FIT
10:15 am	Dr. Colleen Hill, "Fashioning Wonder: A Cabinet of Curiosities"
10:45 am	Hilary Davidson, "Shoes of Wonder: The Legacy of the Ruby Slippers"
11:15 am	Q&A with the audience
	10 minute break
11:30 am	Mei Mei Rado, "The Lady's Fan: Accessorizing Modern Femininity in Republican China."
Noon	Colleen Hill in conversation with Niio Perkins and Ted Meuhling
12:30 pm	Q&A with the audience
12:45 – 2:15 pm	Lunch
2:15 pm	Jason Cyrus, "Draping Innovation: Cristóbal Balenciaga and the Sari"
2:45 pm	Petra Slinkard, "When Fashion and Design Are your Life: the Stylings of Iris Apfel"
3:15	Q&A with the audience
	10 minute break
3:30 pm	Evan Michelson, "Ephermeral Beauties: Wax Women and the Dawn of Consumer Culture"
4:00 pm	Mark Dion, "Wonder Rooms"
4:30 pm	Q&A with the audience

The Wondrous Objects Symposium has been made possible thanks to the generosity of the Couture Council of The Museum at FIT. The Museum at FIT's programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.