Fashion, A-Z Part 2

Martin Margiela, sleeveless jacket, beige linen, spring 1997, France, museum purchase. Photograph ©The Museum at FIT. The sculptural jacket is firmly constructed to resemble a couture dress form.

Over the Fourth of July holiday, I finally had the chance to see Fashion, A-Z: Highlights from the Collection of The Museum at FIT Part Two. It felt quite decadent to leave my office in the middle of the day and head over to 27^th Street. In my mind an afternoon at a beloved museum is a small luxury. The Museum at FIT is one of the city’s great gems- a highly specialized fashion museum committed to advancing knowledge of fashion. 

The Museum at FIT collects, exhibits, conserves, interprets and documents fashion. Since 1975, the museum has been producing award-winning exhibitions. Isabel Toledo: Fashion From the Inside Out and Madame Grès Sphinx of Fashion are two of the museum’s exhibits that have lingered in my mind- both feature innovative designers who leave me in awe.  

Charles James, Tree dress, pink silk taffeta, pink and lavender netting, 1955, USA, gift of Robert Wells In Memory of Lisa Kirk. Photograph ©The Museum at FIT. The Tree dress exemplifies James' mastery of construction. James made fewer than 1,000 dresses during his career-the Museum at FIT has 40 of his dresses in the permanent collection and is the largest collector of his work.

 

I know I’ve said it before, but hands down the best way to learn about quality is to closely analyze construction. The opportunity to get so close to couture garments, that have been taken apart and reconstructed is what made last year’s Daphne Guinness exhibit so special. There’s something very intimate about the museum. The guards put you at ease when the alarms are accidentally set off and encourage you to take a closer look. 

The permanent collection contains more than 50,000 garments and 30,000 textiles and Fashion, A-Z: Highlights from the Collection. Curated by Jennifer Farley and Colleen Hill under the watchful eye of Director and Chief Curator Valerie Steele, the exhibition breaks from the museum’s conventional chronological organization. Instead, the curators opted to organize this exhibition alphabetically- beginning with Adrian, Balmain, Comme des Garcons and continuing through the alphabet.

Madeleine Vionnet, dress, black silk taffeta, 1936, France, gift of Carole K. Newman. Photograph ©The Museum at FIT. Madeleine Vionnet and Madame Grès dresses still look so modern.

I love that this is not an exhibit of greatest or best designers, but a look at the breadth of the museum’s holdings from the 20^th and 21^st centuries. I enjoyed the diversity displayed in Part One and Part Two doesn’t disappoint…

There’s a Christian Dior Trapeze Dress by Yves Saint Laurent from spring 1958 that speaks to the curators’ desires to draw connections between original house designers and their successors. Martin Margiela’s brilliant construction is displayed along with Ferragamo’s penchant for experimenting with unusual materials- raffia, cellophane, and cork.  A dress by Jean Patou left me wondering if it might be time for a retrospective. 

Alexander McQueen, dress, digital printed silk chiffon, spring 2010, England, museum purchase. Photograph ©The Museum at FIT. Computer generated prints, saturated colors and that signature couture cut.

Careful consideration was placed on selecting pieces that are representative of each designer. The exhibit features 60 items and the tight editing that I’ve come to expect from the Museum at FIT. If you are in New York, I highly recommend stopping in to see this. 

The Museum at FIT 

Seventh Avenue at 27^th Street