Denim: Fashion's Frontier

I've gotta give the FIT Museum a round of applause on this one... 

They took a terribly mundane, quotidian subject, and made it... well... fascinating.

If you go in and ponder the pieces, then explore the work and the descriptions for yourself, you will see what joy can be found in the exploration of these denim pieces.  Looking at its evolution, I can see how incredibly important denim is and has been to our American culture/lifestyles, and what it represents in the "bigger picture".  I think this particular exhibit could have gone much deeper, and been a significantly broader study... but they probably limited the discussion and pieces for exactly that reason.

I will show you some personal photographs from this exhibit for your perusal.  

A denim loincloth?  For swimming?  Yes.

Entirely hand stitched brushed cotton and denim jeans - circa 1840

Repurposed denim jacket - circa 1973

Do you love denim?  Wanna work with denim? I have created a DENIM ONLY map of the garment district.  Click here to see it!  Want more map choices? See the Speakeasy Map page!

On view now at the Museum at FIT - "Fairy Tale Fashion"

The term "fairy tale" is often used to describe clothing that is especially lavish, beautiful, and seemingly unattainable... Each of the 15 tales included in Fairy Tale Fashion, ... was selected for its direct references to clothing or its mention of recurring motifs, such as blonde hair or red roses.

- Colleen Hill, curator 

Today I went to the FIT Museum specifically to experience...

This was a wildly creative exhibit, showcasing the work of many designers I have long admired, and the pieces were just breathtaking. On view until April 16, 2016, and I suggest you visit.

Photography is allowed in this exhibit, and I will share some of my personal photos with you, just to share a taste of how wonderful it all was/is.

A Charles James Gown - La Sirene, 1956

The red shoes

Alexander McQueen Asymmetrical Snowflake dress

And the piece that stole my heart...

Red Riding Hood - Comme de Garcons (Rei Kawakubo) - Spring 2015

While there, I decided to check out the other exhibit (upstairs), which was far more fascinating than I ever would have imagined... 

If you'd like to see the exhibit with a group, you might want to check my friend Peter's blog for meet-up information...

Stay tuned for the next post...