Food & Fashion

Special Exhibitions GallerySeptember 13, 2023 - November 26, 2023

#FoodAndFashionMFIT

Delvaux, French fries and burger miniature leather bags, 2017, Belgium. Gift of Delvaux, 2019.87.1

Exhibition Brochure (PDF) | View Installation Images on Flickr | Family Guide (PDF) 

Podcast Interview | Special Audio Feature | Designer Interviews

Exhibition Image Gallery

 

Isoude, organic silk “wine-stained” painted gown, spring 2009, USA. Gift of Katie Brierley, 2009. 19.1

Cynthia Rowley, corn and tomato printed rayon dresses, 1993, USA. Gift of Cynthia Rowley, 93.96.1

Moschino, chocolate bar gown, fall 2014, Italy. Museum purchase, 2019.55.1

Chanel, “Brasserie Gabrielle” ensemble, fall 2015, France. Gift of Chanel, 2015.64.1

Bes-Ben, corn cob hat, 1944, USA. Gift of Hope W. Levene, 86.104.1

Rick Owens, United Farm Workers T-shirt ensemble, spring 2020, France. Gift of Rick Owens. 2020.5.

View more images in our Online Collections

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Both food and fashion are central to our daily lives. They speak to people’s most basic needs while also expressing our individual and cultural identities. The exhibition Food & Fashion explored how food themes and motifs are used to comment on critical topics from luxury, gender, and consumerism to sustainability, social activism, and body politics. Food has influenced fashion design from the eighteenth-century to today. So while the connection between the two genres is hardly new – think of woven pomegranates, embroidered ears of wheat, or fruit-trimmed hats –  in 2023, the New York Times reported that food motifs are “the new florals” in fashion. Food & Fashion was an exciting and timely exhibition that included over 80 garments and accessories by designers including Chanel, Moschino, and Stella McCartney. It was a multifaceted look at how intertwined these genres are and what they can express about our culture and society.

Food & Fashion was co-curated by Melissa Marra-Alvarez, curator of education and research, and Elizabeth Way, associate curator of costume at MFIT.

Read more about the exhibition via the press release (PDF).

Press, Related Events, and Additional Content

 

Read the Publication

With its superb selection of images, and thought-provoking and engaging discussion, Food & Fashion appeals to fashion enthusiasts who have an overlapping interest in food and food studies, including scholars and students, those who enjoy the fashion of food, and all who appreciate the visual culture of food, fashion, and art.

Purchase a Copy

In the Press

CNN

Conspicuous consumption: Why the worlds of food and fashion are colliding

Delish.com

Food Fashion Will Always Be In Style

Fashion Theory

Food and Fashion (review)

Vogue

Before There Was Tomato-Girl Summer, There Were Tomatoes on the Runways

Bon Appétit, Cheddar News (video), Fashion Network, Food & Wine, Forbes, Foodbeast, Guest of a Guest, Harper's Bazaar Spain, LookOnline, New York Times, South China Morning Post (publication review), Today.com, V Magazine, Vogue China

Press Release (PDF)

Related Events

Past Event

Feb

15

Food Culture Through the Lens of Fashion

The Museum at FIT's curator of education and research, Melissa Marra-Alvarez, and associate curator of costume, Elizabeth Way, spoke in conversation with food studies scholar Fabio Parasecoli about their most recent book, "Food & Fashion", which examines the influence of food culture through the lens of fashion over the last 250 years. A book signing followed. This event was organized in collaboration with the Museum of Food and Drink.

Past Event

Sep

26

Opening Reception

View Images on Flickr

Past Event

Oct

27

Food & Fashion Family Program

This event was an afternoon of intergenerational activities: an exhibition tour, games, and a creative dye workshop! Parents and children had the opportunity to learn more about how food and fashion influence each other as they experiment with shapes, colors, and textiles.

Past Event

Nov

3

Food & Fashion Symposium

The Food & Fashion Symposium featured preeminent food and fashion scholars, as well as designers, chefs, and artists. Topics included sustainability, the creative overlap between fashion and food within haute cuisine and through social media, how cultural identity and social justice are communicated through food and fashion, how body image and eating practices intersect with food and fashion, and how artists express the relationship between these two vital aspects of culture and society.

Symposium detailsEvent photos on Flickr

Past Event

Nov

15

Food & Fashion According to The Taste Curators

The Taste Curators Abbey Cook and Lish Steiling discussed the exhibition Food & Fashion with co-curators Melissa Marra-Alvarez and Elizabeth Way. The evening focused on the coincidences between fashion and food and included tasting dishes inspired by objects featured in the exhibition.

Watch the event on YouTubeView Event Images on Flickr

Dive Deeper with a Special Audio Feature

Dive deeper into some of the objects that were on display in Food & Fashion with curators Melissa Marra-Alvarez and Elizabeth Way. Listen on our digital guide on Bloomberg Connects or on our Special Audio Feature page. 

Listen to Special Audio Feature

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