Current Exhibition at the Museum at FIT

Fashion and Textile History Gallery: The Tailor's Art
May 23 - November 4, 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 explores 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 includes tailored fashions for women as well as styles that are the antithesis of the man’s somber suit. This exploration of gender differences also features examples of ornamental waistcoats and dressing gowns, and a range of menswear, such as the cowboy suit and counterculture clothing that adds visual and intellectual excitement.

Image Credit: Jacket - tan wool with black soutache and fur trim - France, c.1895 - gift of Mr. Joe Simms - Photo by Irving Solero.