Exhibitions

Fashioning Wonder: A Cabinet of Curiosities explores the fascinating and longstanding connections between cabinets of curiosities and fashion. Also known as wunderkammern, cabinets of curiosities were precursors to the modern museum, and many included examples of clothing. Nearly 200 garments and accessories represent the breadth of objects collected within the cabinets, and they are further selected to pique curiosity through their rarity, beauty, or originality.

An introductory gallery examines the history of cabinets of curiosities, explaining their significance to the Age of Exploration, their ties to colonialism, and the need to think more critically about contemporary museums and their objects. Within the main gallery, selections are organized into ten themed cabinets that highlight the connections between fashion and the natural world, fine art, human anatomy, and illusion. The immersive exhibition design also allows for interaction with objects, encouraging visitors to identify unusual or obsolete objects and to engage with the sensory appeal of fashion.

Fashioning Wonder: A Cabinet of Curiosities is curated by MFIT Senior Curator of Costume Dr. Colleen Hill.

Image: Mary Katrantzou, "Flyphoon" dress, spring 2019. Courtesy Mary Katrantzou.

FIT's School of Graduate Studies, in collaboration with The Museum at FIT, presents All That Glitters…, a new exhibition conceived and organized by graduate students in FIT's MA Fashion and Textiles Studies program. All that glitters is not always gold—it can be any medium that catches the light, shines, and reflects. The post-World War II era saw a blossoming of new textiles and technologies that changed the relationship between fashion materials and light. All That Glitters… explores surfaces that shine, focusing on themes of material production, social and financial values, and conservation. It examines not only the bright side of these materials, but also their darker side–including their environmental impact and their use in protests, such as "glitter bombing."  

Image: Paco Rabanne, evening dress, 1969, France, gift of Montgomery Ward, 81.48.2