Upcoming Exhibitions at the Museum at FIT

Fashion and Textile History Gallery: The Tailor's Art
On view from May 23, 2006

The Museum at FIT reveals The Tailor’s Art, the second rotation of the permanent Fashion and Textile History Gallery. With all new objects, the gallery will explore the art of tailoring (what it is and how it differs from other forms of clothing design, such as draping.)

Tailoring has had a profound influence on fashion for both men and women. In contrast to draping, a relatively modern invention, tailoring was truly the first form of constructed dressmaking. Unlike ethnographic clothing, tailoring highlights the idealized human form. The man’s suit, the quintessential tailored garment, came into being in the 18th century and was “the” modern ensemble. Tailored menswear took a leadership role in pushing women’s fashion forward.

The Tailor’s Art will include tailored fashions for women as well as styles that are the antithesis of the man’s somber suit. This exploration of gender differences will also feature examples of ornamental waistcoats and dressing gowns, and a range of menswear, such as the cowboy suit and counterculture clothing that will add visual and intellectual excitement.

Love and War: The Power and Charm of Fashion
On view from May 23, 2006 September 9 to December 16, 2006

Modern fashion is often inspired by what might be called the discourse of silk and steel. As designers seek to express both sensuality and power, they draw on two important sources of inspiration: 1) lingerie, which is symbolically associated with the naked body, intimacy, and seduction, and 2) armor and military uniforms, which are associated with power, protection, and discipline.

Different designers have, of course, focused on different aspects of this theme. Jean Paul Gaultier designed a camouflage ballgown for the haute couture, while Thierry Mugler envisioned sexy robots with hard, metallic bodies. The British design team Boudicca create styles that evoke transgressive warrior women, and Junya Watanabe channels chic soldier boys. Both Narciso Rodriquez and Alexander McQueen have juxtaposed silk with chain mail. The list goes on…

Love and War is the first museum exhibition to explore the influence on fashion of both “intimate apparel” and military “body armor.” If lingerie is like soft skin, armor is a hard exoskeleton. But clothing symbolism is complex and multifaceted. Uniforms can signify both order and disorder. Moreover, uniforms, like lingerie, are fetishized cultural artifacts, which embody ambiguous erotic impulses. By focusing on the dichotomy between armor and underwear, we can more easily see how modern fashion alludes to a series of other visual and conceptual polarities, such as male/female, hard/soft, outside/inside, armed/disarmed, rigidity/fluidity.

For more information, consult the website.