NYC Study Tour: FIT Museum - Forces of Fashion

Part 1 - Research:  Done prior to visiting the company, designer, speaker, etc. 

The Museum at the Fashion Insitute of Technology is one of the few museums in the world that focuses on fashion alone. The Museum was created in 1969 and has been curated by teachers at FIT. The most current curator is Dr. Valerie Steele who has been in the position since 1997. Since its creation, the museum has obtained over 50,000 items of clothing and accessories. They represent fashion all the way back to the 18th century and some were created by the worlds most renowned fashion designers. 

Part 2 – Observations:  Based on what you heard on the tour as well as information from the FIT website, briefly describe the impact of nature on fashion designers and/or the apparel industry. 

After going on this guided tour I feel like I really learned a lot about the influence that fashion has on nature and the influence nature has on fashion. In the early 18th century fashion really started to explode with botanical prints and textiles because scientists were just starting to discover all these interesting things about plants. A lot of the dresses has flower or fern patterns incorporated into them. And even in recent years, we find fashions inspired by flowers and animals and the natural world. Most notably is probably Alexander McQueen who started out the exhibit and had many pieces throughout. He was really fascinated by evolution and so many aspects of the natural world. Then as the exhibit ends it focuses on how nature is now influencing fashion. There's been a huge push in the last ten years to think about sustainable fashion and innovations in a fashion that helps the environment. So it was really interesting to see those pieces as well. 

Part 3 - Weekly Question:  Select one garment, and identify which of the ten “sections” of the exhibit it was a part of.  Include designer name and description of the garment.  Why did you select this piece to discuss?  Why does it attract or inspire you?  In your opinion, how does the garment connect fashion to that particular facet of nature?

My favorite garment was from the Naturalist section of the exhibit which displayed fashions from the 18th century that were influenced by scientific discoveries. The piece is called the Tree evening dress and it was made by Charles James in 1955. I chose this piece because I found it very inspiring. I love vintage styles so much and it was really cool to see this piece incorporating the natural elements in such a modern way. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before which is super unusual for a vintage piece. The most stunning part of this garment is the flower stole. When the wearer wraps it around themselves it looks like they are popping out of a flower. It really spoke to the way that we use flowers as a language of love because in this case, the wearer is the flower.