Fashion Institute of Technology’s Museum

Fashion Institute of Technology’s Museum is devoted to “advancing knowledge of fashion through exhibitions, programs and publications”. With theatrical settings and household names the small museum features exhibitions that certainly rival with the larger Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

Set in the front gallery of the museum is a timeless exhibition titled “Arbiters of Style: Women at the Forefront of Fashion”. Women have always been vanguards of fashion either as muses to male designers or as creators themselves, but most importantly as promoters and disseminators of the newest styles. The delightful exhibition chronicles arbiters or trendsetters who “shaped the course of fashion for more than 250 years”.

The exhibition honors high profile en vogue women through the ages such as royals Marie Antoinette and Empress Eugénie, Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, photographer Louise Dahl Wolf, and actresses Lauren Bacall and Rosalind Russell. Furthermore, the exhibition brings to light behind the scene fashionistas often unnoticed such as textile designers, fashion photographers, models, and executives.

One of the most beautiful pieces in the exhibition is Anna Maria Garthwaite’s cherry colored floral damask dress. The eighteenth century textile designer worked in Spitalfields, a silk-weaving center in London. Her designs soon became iconic to Spitalfields style. As the only woman who worked in Spitalfields Garthwaite set a high standard for her predecessors such as the couturière Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, whose suit sets became a staple in every woman’s wardrobe.

The exhibition asks a final question…who are the arbiters of style today? Obviously celebrity culture is not a nuance but it is more and more present in today’s media. “Isabel Eberstadt and Jane Holzer epitomized the “society fashion celebrity” of the 1960s” and today Hollywood celebrities and high profile heiresses such as Paris Hilton foster today’s fashions. For this reason it is clear that there is a constant wave of new tastemakers each day. Time will tell who history chooses to recognize as the “true” judges of fashion for our generation.

Also on display is “Gothic: Dark Glamour” set in darkened labyrinth of the museum’s basement. Filled with vampy couture commemorating gothic notions and styles the exhibition is a tribute to the history and development of gothic fashion. Gothic style is responsible for inspiring household names in fashion history including John Galliano for Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Karl Lagerfield for Chanel Haute Couture.

Upon entering the space the visitor encounters an introductory gallery chronicling “the development gothic style from its origins in the eighteenth century literature of terror to its contemporary in art, fashion, and film”. Included in this section was a collection of accessories worn by mourning widows such as momento mori jewelry and black veils. Also on exhibit was a Cabinet of Curiosities, which was popularized during the Renaissance to showcase religious relics and art objects. On display were a death mask and a top hat covered with a bat image.

The gallery was arranged like a dungeon from a gothic castle. Although the exhibition design bordered on a bad haunted house on Halloween, it certainly added to the allure of this dark era. The inclusion of Eiko Ishioka’s costumes for the film, Bram Stroker’s Dracula, adds a contemporary perception of gothic to the exhibition. The crimson velvet dress stands out among the drab background of the gothic setting. Another show stopper was a Rodarte dress inspired by Japanese horror films. The red dyed chiffon dress looks like a wash of blood.

Most of the garments exhibited focused on pain and torture. Used for posture improving and to highlight the waist, corsets were featured on almost every piece. Many of the items appeared impractical and unable to wear. However, this is not a far stretch from high fashion today.

The “Bat Cave” allows a visitor to take a glimpse at modern day gothic sub-cultural styles with the use of two-way mirrors. However, after two separate visits to the museum this feature seems to be not working or not what was advertised.