Food & Fashion
![french fries purse and hot dog purse with fork and and american flag keychains](/museum/images/food-fashion-mfit-banner-01.jpg)
Exhibition Image Gallery
![wine stained dress](/museum/images/food-fashion-mfit-issoude-2009.19.1.jpg)
Isoude, organic silk “wine-stained” painted gown, spring 2009, USA. Gift of Katie Brierley, 2009. 19.1
![two dresses, one corn printed and one tomato printed](/museum/images/food-fashion-mfit-rowley-93.96.1-93.96.2.jpg)
Cynthia Rowley, corn and tomato printed rayon dresses, 1993, USA. Gift of Cynthia Rowley, 93.96.1
![chocolate bar dress](/museum/images/food-fashion-mfit-moschino-2019.55.1.jpg)
Moschino, chocolate bar gown, fall 2014, Italy. Museum purchase, 2019.55.1
![black button down vneck top with white ruffled skirt and small plate bag](/museum/images/food-fashion-mfit-chanel-2015.64.1.jpg)
Chanel, “Brasserie Gabrielle” ensemble, fall 2015, France. Gift of Chanel, 2015.64.1
![corn cob netted hat](/museum/images/food-fashion-mfit-bes-ben-86.104.1.jpg)
Bes-Ben, corn cob hat, 1944, USA. Gift of Hope W. Levene, 86.104.1
![black jacket with gray united farm workers t-shirt underneath](/museum/images/food-fashion-mfit-rick-owens-2020.5.1.jpg)
Rick Owens, United Farm Workers T-shirt ensemble, spring 2020, France. Gift of Rick Owens. 2020.5.
![wine stained dress](/museum/images/food-fashion-mfit-issoude-2009.19.1.jpg)
![two dresses, one corn printed and one tomato printed](/museum/images/food-fashion-mfit-rowley-93.96.1-93.96.2.jpg)
![chocolate bar dress](/museum/images/food-fashion-mfit-moschino-2019.55.1.jpg)
![black button down vneck top with white ruffled skirt and small plate bag](/museum/images/food-fashion-mfit-chanel-2015.64.1.jpg)
![corn cob netted hat](/museum/images/food-fashion-mfit-bes-ben-86.104.1.jpg)
![black jacket with gray united farm workers t-shirt underneath](/museum/images/food-fashion-mfit-rick-owens-2020.5.1.jpg)
Share using #FoodAndFashionMFIT
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
![food and fashion book cover](/museum/images/food-fashion-mfit-publication.jpg)
Read the Publication
In the Press
Press Release (PDF)
Food Culture Through the Lens of Fashion
Food & Fashion Family Program
Food & Fashion Symposium
Food & Fashion According to The Taste Curators
Dive Deeper with a Special Audio Feature
Food & Fashion was made possible thanks to the generosity of the Couture Council of The Museum at FIT and The Coby Foundation. This project was supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov. Additional support was provided by The New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.