MFIT

Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme explores how select items of clothing made for survival on journeys to the highest mountains, the deepest oceans, and even outer space, influenced high fashion and became modern wardrobe mainstays. The exhibition features fashions by a diverse group of designers, including Norma Kamali, Junya Watanabe, Thom Browne, Karl Lagerfeld, and Hussein Chalayan.

WHEN: September 15, 2017 – January 6, 2018

WHERE: Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology
7th Avenue at 27 Street
New York, NY 10001

ADMISSION: Free

Image source: FITNYC.com

Force of Nature examines how the beauty and complexity of the natural world have inspired fashion designers for centuries. The exhibition places more than 95 objects from MFIT’s permanent collection, dating from the 18th century to the present, within a context of period philosophies and scientific literature in order to demonstrate the deep interconnectedness between fashion and nature.

A 1775 robe à l’anglaise with a naturalistic pattern of fruit and flowers, illustrates a movement towards simple dress, influenced by philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau, who urged a return to nature. A dress by Alexander McQueen from his acclaimed final collection in 2010, presents a meditation upon Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and concern over climate change. More than a survey of flora, fauna, and geology as merely decorative, the exhibition reveals the natural world as a nexus of ideas and symbolism in fashion design. Force of Nature aims to contribute to today’s important, ongoing conversation about society’s relationship with the natural world and humankind’s place within it.

WHEN: May 30 – November 18, 2017

WHERE: Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology
7th Avenue at 27 Street
New York, NY 10001

ADMISSION: Free