Power Mode: The Force of Fashion  

Power Mode: The Force of Fashion explores the role fashion plays in establishing, reinforcing, and challenging power dynamics within society. It includes both men’s and women’s clothing from the 18th century to the present, organized thematically to concentrate on five categories: military, suits, status, rebellion, and sex. Each section investigates how certain designs and garments have come to be culturally associated with power, as well as how their meanings have evolved over time. The exhibition also examines how fashion designers have interpreted these stylistic archetypes — both to convey and to subvert power.

December 2019 - May 2020

The Body: Fashion and Physique 

The Body: Fashion and Physique explored the complex relationship between fashion and body politics from the 18th century to the present. Garments were juxtaposed with images from the popular press, fashion media, film, and other sources to demonstrate how the fashion industry has contributed to both the marginalization and celebration of certain body types within our culture.

December 2017 - May 2018

Uniformity

Uniformity examined the dynamic history behind a variety of uniforms, considering both their social role and influence on high fashion. Simultaneously designed to blend in and stand out, uniforms occupy a unique place in our society. We encounter uniforms everywhere, from those of soldiers and school children, to the distinctive attire of flight attendants and fast-food clerks. They are overt symbols of social order, but they are also considered so commonplace that they are often overlooked.

May 2016 - November 2016

Denim: Fashion's Frontier

Denim: Fashion’s Frontier considered the multifaceted history of denim and its relationship with high fashion from the 19th century to the present. The exhibition featured more than 70 objects from The Museum at FIT's permanent collection. In addition to the history of jeans, Denim examines a variety of denim garments—from work wear to haute couture—in order to shed new light on how a particular style of woven cotton has come to dominate the clothing industry and the way people dress around the globe.

December 2015 - May 2016

Yves Saint Laurent + Halston: Fashioning the 70s

Yves Saint Laurent and Halston were the most famous and influential fashion designers of the 1970s. Drawing inspiration from menswear, foreign cultures, and historical periods, Saint Laurent and Halston crafted a new, chic, and modern way of dressing that became synonymous with the sexy and glamorous lifestyle of the decade. While they and their designs are recognizable to fashion enthusiasts and monographic books and exhibitions on each designer abound, Yves Saint Laurent + Halston: Fashioning the 70s was the first exhibition to juxtapose and analyze their contributions to fashion at the height of their careers, as well as how they came to exemplify this singular, dynamic era in fashion history. 

Co-curated with Patricia Mears

February 2015 - April 2015

Trend-ology

Trend-ology examined the vast array of sources from which fashion trends have developed over the past 250 years. Trends have emerged from high fashion runways and urban street style, but they have also derived from art, music, novels, and socio-political movements. Particular trends change every season, but the phenomenon of the trend has come to define the modern fashion system itself. By looking back at the multifaceted and dynamic history of trends, Trend-ology aimed to help visitors gain insight into the current state of the trend cycle.

Co-curated with Ariele Elia

December 2013 - May 2014

Fashion and Technology

Fashion and Technology examined how, throughout history, fashion has engaged with technological advancement and been altered by it. Time and again, fashions dynamic relationship with technology has both expanded its aesthetic vocabulary and streamlined its means of production. The exhibition featured objects exclusively from The Museum at FIT's costume collection alongside a selection of textiles and accessories that highlighted the multifaceted nature of technological developments.

Co-curated with Ariele Elia

December 2012 - May 2013