Past Exhibitions
Unconventional Then, Now, & Always:
A Helix of FIT Influence from Max Meyer to Daria Dorosh
June 15 – July 16, 2023
This exhibition explored FIT founder Max Meyer's impact on the fashion industry through his role at Abraham Beller and Company, a women's clothing manufacturer in NYC. It highlights the connection between the fashion industry and FIT, showcased by significant donations that built the Library's Special Collections and College Archives. Meyer's gift of over 8,000 Beller company sketches depicting renowned Paris couture from 1915-1929 are featured, and garments from the F&TS collection were conserved by students and alumni.
Also presented were contemporary art and fashion vignettes by FIT alumna and professor emerita Daria Dorosh, Ph.D. The exhibition emphasizes Meyer's lasting influence on modern artists and the garment industry, aligning with celebrating the College's 80th anniversary.
Millinery at FIT:
It's all about the hat!
June 15 – July 16, 2023
Millinery at FIT celebrated the art of hat-making. Since 1944, FIT has nurtured a
passion for hats, with students mastering various styles, from fashionable felt hats
to exquisite fur pieces. The program includes men's hats, bridal headpieces, and weather-appropriate
headwear. In the late 1970s, millinery became a part of FIT's curriculum, led by renowned
milliners. This program has boosted the hat-making industry in New York City and nationwide.
Halston and Ultrasuede,
A Perfect Fit
June 15 – July 16, 2023
This exhibition features student designs from the 2023 Halston competition and a selection
of Halston pieces from the private collection of FIT Fashion Design professor Michael
Kaye.
The student winners were:
1st place: Nuo Cheng
2nd place: Cher Mouradzadegun
3rd place: Daniel Bochkov
School of Art and Design:
2023 Graduating Student Exhibition
May 16 - 28, 2023
The 2023 Graduating Student Exhibition presented the work of more than 600 student graduates in 16 areas of study from the School of Art and Design. The work was the culmination of each student’s unique experience in FIT’s diverse, challenging, and demanding undergraduate art and design programs. Featuring juried, award–winning, and thesis projects, this presentation is the manifestation of several years of research, experimentation, critical thinking, and artistic proficiency. The Graduating Student Exhibition advances the college’s philosophy that integrates practice in industry with theory and teaching inside the studio.
The exhibition was on view in several spaces on FIT's campus at West 27th Street.
Get more information on the GSE webpage.
Crafted:
Fashion Design AAS Exhibition
April 12 – 19, 2023
For the spring 2023 Fashion Design AAS program’s capstone projects, students were
asked to create their garments using muslin fabric exclusively. As a result, the exhibition
focuses on simple forms and techniques, encouraging innovation and skill. For example,
students could choose from a variety of weights, and the muslin could be draped, pleated,
embroidered, dyed, or hand-painted. Included are works selected for Critic Awards
by industry mentors who have worked alongside students throughout the semester—two
in fashion illustration and three in apparel design.
Student Showcase 2023
March 27 – 29, 2023
This showcase featured works by students from the School of Art and Design, the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences's Art History and Museum Professions (BS) and Film and Media (AAS/BS) programs, and the School of Graduate Studies’s Fashion Design program.
The Art and Design Gallery at FIT is an international showcase for the work of FIT students, faculty, distinguished alumni, and guest artists in every exhibition. It is a window into the college and a window out. The exhibition spaces serve as a place to foster learning and innovation.
FIT Fabulous:
A Modern Investigation of Hip Hop
February 8 – March 12, 2023
In a unique counterpoint to The Museum at FIT’s Fresh, Fly and Fabulous: Fifty Years
of Hip Hop Style exhibition, students present work with hip-hop themes from their
respective majors. Works include graffiti-themed murals by Illustration students,
hip hop–inspired furniture by Interior Design students, and a DJ booth for sampling
hip hop music created by a team from Spatial Experience Design. Also on display will
be a typeface created by Graphic Design students after exploring iconic spots in New
York City where hip hop got its start.
Creative Industry:
The Alumni Journey
November 16, 2022 – January 29, 2023
Diverse in medium, this exhibition spotlights the career trajectories of several illustrious
FIT alumni, highlighting their innovations and interesting journeys through the creative
industries. Co-curated by Troy Richards, dean for the School of Art and Design, and
Alumni Relations’ Kseniya Baranova, the work on display features photography, fashion,
video, weaving, wallpaper, graphic design, and painting.
Participating artists:
Bryant Carmona, Tiffany Chan, Andie M. Clarkson, Fern Clausius, Elianel Clinton, Terrace
Cook, Yasmine Dabbous, Ryan Frigillana, Terumasa Fujita, Angel Garcia, Nyla Hasan,
Sarah Merenda, Ni Ouyang, Sara Rabin, Suzanne Tick, Troy Vasilakis and Andy Zalkin
Work of Art:
Fashion Design AAS Exhibition
December 7, 2022 – January 29, 2023
For the Fashion Design AAS program’s capstone projects, students were asked to think
of themselves as fashion designers collaborating with famous artists for their designs.
They visited New York City's world-famous museums and art galleries, drawing inspiration
from sculpture, paintings, and even poems to create garments with movement, volume,
space, and light. This exhibition presents selections that speak for themselves emotionally—like
a work of art. Included are works selected for Critic Awards by industry mentors who
have worked alongside students throughout the semester—two in fashion illustration
and three in apparel design.
Learn more about FIT's Fashion Design AAS program.
Resurgence:
The Ingenuity of Artisan Work and Hand-crafted Objects, Lobby and Gallery
October 10 - November 6, 2022
Resurgence showcases the ingenuity of artisan work and hand-crafted objects from textiles,
jewelry, and decorative accessories. Contributors to this show include FIT alumni,
faculty, and students, as well as finalists from the 2022 Global Eco Artisan Awards,
a recognition given by the AGAATI Foundation.
By Design:
Collections, Public Art and Spatial Experience
August 15 - September 25, 2022
This exhibit was about physical placemaking and was be used as a teaching tool. Craig Berger, chair, Communication Design Pathways and faculty in Spatial Experience Design, in collaboration with Keith Helmetag, designer, created an immersive, spatial, digital, illuminated installation with sound elements.
Fast Forward:
Selected Work by Illustration Faculty Alumni
August 15 - September 25, 2022
This exhibition featured the work of 13 FIT BFA and AAS alumni who were also current or recent Illustration department faculty members. Curated by John Nickle, the exhibit included works by: Carlos Aponte, John Jay Cabuay, Mara Cespon, Qi Debrah, Bil Donovan, Dan Fillipone, Nathaniel Gold, Kam Mak, Jason Raish, Angela Rizza, Anita Rundles, Daehyuk Sim, and Ed Soyka.
In Pictures
June 17 - August 7, 2022
This summer group show featured unique sculptural installations, figurative-based
photography, interludes of painterly abstraction, and a photograph in words without
a picture.
All artworks on display, as is the mission of the Gallery, were from recent graduates, faculty members, alumni, and invited guest artists.
Thanks to Sally Morgan Lehman, director, Morgan Lehman Gallery, NY, and Jaclyn Burke for co-curating this exhibition.
FIT Art and Design
2022 Graduating Student Exhibition
May 17 – May 29, 2022
This 2022 Graduating Student Exhibition (GSE) presented the work of more than 600
student graduates in 16 areas of study from the School of Art and Design. The work
was the culmination of each student’s unique experience in FIT’s diverse, challenging,
and demanding undergraduate art and design programs. Featuring juried, award–winning,
and thesis projects, this presentation was the manifestation of several years of research,
experimentation, critical thinking, and artistic proficiency. The Graduating Student
Exhibition advances the college’s philosophy that integrates practice in industry
with theory and teaching inside the studio.
Empire State of Mind: New York
The FIT Fashion Design AAS Spring Exhibition
April 19 – April 24, 2022
This exhibition, featured degree-culminating work by students in the Fashion Design AAS program, it celebrated the influential, diverse, and dynamic city of New York through the lenses of individuals and their unique experiences with it. The lobby of the Art and Design Gallery featured finished student garments, and the back gallery showcased examples of students’ portfolio work and model drawings.
Under the Umbrella
March 21 - April 11, 2022
The exhibition, Under the Umbrella, was a curriculum-based project. Students worked
with the umbrella concept to highlight a sustainable solution that eliminates tons
of umbrellas from reaching landfills each year. The exhibition called for action and
focused on reuse, recycling, and lifestyles that support sustainability. The exhibit
included sensory elements that made it "rain" in the lobby via sound components.
The Black View
February 9 - March 8, 2022 (ongoing online: Visit The Black View )
The Black View, sourced from an open call organized by FIT's Black Student Union, discusses the work of BIPOC members in the FIT community. The artists include Dane Tewari, Christien Lamoth, Yamilet Almonte, Racquel k. Jones, Keanu Williams, Kailee Finn, Alexis CrokerBenn, Thermal Taveras, Tigidankay Saccoh, Genique Smith, Lauryn Reeves, Kyle Reynolds, Genia Charles, and Nia Jackson.
The Soul of Frank T. Fraley: Health and Wellness Through the Power of Gems, Jewels, and Stones
February 9 - March 8, 2022
The Soul of Frank T. Fraley: Health and Wellness Through the Power of Gems, Jewels,
and Stones is an installation of Frank Fraley's work handcrafted jewelry and waist
beads. Special thanks to Dr. Ronald A. Milon, FIT's chief diversity officer, for
his curatorial assistance.
Journal and Pattern
December 13, 2021–February 27, 2022
The work on display included crocheted installations, fibrous stitchery, handmade books, collages, theatrical garments, costumes for dogs, sketches from the COVID-19 lockdown, illustrations of an extraordinary shoe collection, a gigantic moss-like sculpture, and a quilt from students, faculty, alumni and invited guest artists.
Participating artists: Chloe Apostle, Fine Arts student; Anabella Bergero, Fashion Design MFA '20 and inaugural SUNY Performing Arts Creation and Curation Prize winner; Jacyln Burke Fine Arts '22; Slavko Djuric, book artist and technologist, Fine Arts and Photography; Bil Donovan, adjunct associate professor, Illustration; Thomas Leach, exhibition installer; Esther Li, Fashion Design ’21; Melanie Reim, artist and educator and former associate dean, School of Art and Design; Tom Scott, assistant professor, Fashion Design; Lauren Zodel, assistant professor, Fashion Design; and invited guest artists Woolpunk and herbalist and artist Donna Cleary.
Virtual Artist Talk with a group of artists who participated in the "Journal and Pattern" exhibit
Thursday, February 17, 1 pm
A virtual presentation and discussion with Jaclyn Burke, Fine Arts '22; Slavko Djuric, book artist and staff technologist, Fine Arts and Photography; Bil Donovan, adjunct associate professor, Illustration; Thomas Leach, exhibition installer; Lauren Zodel, assistant professor, Fashion Design; and invited guest artists Woolpunk and herbalist and artist Donna Cleary.
The Journal and Pattern exhibition in the Art and Design Gallery was on view until February 27. All the work on display is by students, faculty, staff, alumni, and invited guest artists.
Image shown here: Bil Donovan, Travel Journal, Pen and Watercolor
Virtual Artist Talk with Anabella Bergero on Constructing Identities
Thursday, February 3, 1 pm
A virtual presentation and discussion with Anabella Bergero, Fashion Design MFA '20, and Tanya Melendez-Escalante, senior curator of Education and Public Programs from The Museum at FIT. Bergero won the inaugural SUNY Performing Arts Creation and Curation Prize for her exhibition proposal, which is on view as part of the Journal and Pattern exhibition in the Art and Design Gallery December 17–February 27.
Image shown here:
Anabella Bergero, Fashion Design MFA ’20.
Style Journey
October 18 - November 21, 2021
An exhibition of contemporary kurtas, hand-embroidered and collaboratively designed by FIT Textile/Surface Design students and Fashion Design students from Pearl Academy, India, with an installation by N'Ketiah Brakohiapa, a textile artist and FIT alum, taking inspiration from his native Ghana. Using traditional hand-printed techniques and a range of colors and patterns, Brakohiapa's cloths and garments speak to a very long tradition of textile design that is more than just fashion. Brakohiapa's designs are rich in symbolism and expert in their execution.
Also on view in the Art and Design Gallery was an installation by Emily Omesi, recent alumna (FD' 21) and award-winner (winner of the Real Leather International Design Competition ) and current Fashion Design student Anthony Cruz. Special guest artist Sharmistha Ray exhibited conceptual works on paper that involve modes of automatic writing and intuitive geometries.
Journey, Journal, Joy
August 30 - October 10, 2021
The works in this exhibition opened the mind and told stories. They represented discoveries made through photographs, garments, journals, poetry, and sculpture. This joyful and reflective yet nuanced show was personal and thought-provoking—jumpstarting the collaborative learning process for fall semester 2021 at FIT.
Juneteenth, Love and Resilience
August 30 - October 10, 2021
A selection of paintings from Juneteenth 2021, “Love and Resilience,” were displayed in the gallery lobby. Organized and curated by Joi Berry, Natasha Bwalya, Khyla D. Walters, and Rukaiah El.
Virtual Artist Talk Series
Journey, Journal, Joy
Thursday, September 23, 2021
A Virtual Artist Talk for Journey, Journal, Joy, with designer Nicole Benefield, student curator Joi Berry, artist Jon Cowan, artist Tamera Dorcinville, and FIT's staff photographer Smiljana Peros.
Virtual Artist Talk Series
Mimi Prober: History, Process, and Handcraft in Fashion in conversation with Colleen Hill, Curator of Costume and Accessories, The Museum at FIT
Mimi Prober graduated from FIT with honors and received the Critics Choice Award in 2012. Prober creates sustainable modern heirlooms through textile narratives, preservation, and process. She dedicated herself to the sustainable practices of natural dyeing and design with a focus on handmade details and textile narratives of the 1700s-1920s.
Virtual Artist Talk Series
Roberta Smith, the co-chief art critic of The New York Times --Looking, loving, and writing about art, a global conversation.
Globally Connected @ FIT and the Virtual Artist Talk Series presents, Roberta Smith, the co-chief art critic of The New York Times: looking, loving, and writing about art, a global conversation. Cohosts: Dr. Helen Gaudette, Assistant Dean for International Education at FIT and Professor Alexander Nagel, PhD, Assistant Chair, Art History and Museum Professions. This program is a collaboration between the Virtual Artists' Talk Series and Globally Connected @ FIT.
Virtual Artist Talk Series
New York City: Pandemic, Resilience & Hope
Professor of Political Science, Praveen K. Chaudhry, in collaboration with Assistant Professor Souzeina Mushtaq, discussed his experience as a photographer during the COVID pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and last year's election. He shared his images of the past year's salient events, their unfolding, and the intense overlapping of issues during the talk. Link to view the Virtual Exhibition: https://www.artsteps.com/view/604a7f54ffdaae24fd1f5231
Virtual Artist Talk Series
Take Me to the River
Take Me to the River is a digital series of photographs taken by VPED Professor Anne
Finkelstein on her Hudson River walks early in the pandemic. She talked about how
she uses photographs in her work and creates digital composites from many photographs
of the same subject – a contemporary form of Cubism.Link to view the Virtual Exhibition:
https://www.artsteps.com/view/60467f21ba690923392106a8
Back To The Present
"Back to the Present,” sourced from an open call organized by FIT’s Black Student Union, discusses Black pop culture, poetry, and fashion precisely from 2020's #BlackLivesMatter movement, within a historical context, particularly looking back to the civil rights movement, its influences, and outcomes.
Who is Hippy Potter?
Thursday, January 28, 2021
Virtual Artist Talk with our guest FIT Alumnus Thaddeus Coates, Founder of the design company Hippy Potter, model, illustrator, dancer, roller skater, and puzzle maker. The discussion was about his journey after graduating from FIT and being a multifaceted artist and social change agent.
Chalk That Talk
Juneteenth – December 31, 2020
A public art exhibition of murals on the exterior walls of FIT organized by our Black Student Union. The project included over 40 artists and students. The goal of this exhibition was to express issues and highlight injustices going on within the Black community and promote the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Students and artists worked to promote healing within the community through art, responding to the existing climate of racial violence and social injustice, emphasizing the importance of Black and Brown lives, with messages of empowerment.
Conversations: Artworks in Dialogue
March 17 – April 7, 2020
Curated by FIT alumnus Lobsang Tsewang, Fine Arts ’17, this exhibition brings together a group of 23 artists whose works are both visually and conceptually diverse, but when the works are intentionally placed in relation to each other and in conjunction with the architectural space, it created a new relationship that demands engagement and conversation.
Black in Time
January 31 – March 8, 2020
In honor of Black History Month, FIT’s Black Student Union presented an exhibition that celebrated the evolution of Black culture by going beyond the narrative of slavery and back to the rich heritage of culture and tradition in Africa and its expansion worldwide. Black in Time cast a light on creativity, resistance, celebration, self-expression, and Black pride.
Picturing Space:
Artists & Designers Imagine Architecture
November 26, 2019 - January 5, 2020 
An exhibition which brought together artists, exhibition designers and interior designers who responded to the constructed city.
Cross-POLLINATION
November 7 - 18, 2019
Student and faculty work inspired by the Museum at FIT's exhibition minimalism/MAXIMALISM. Participants included the Fashion Design Program at FIT, the Dance Wellness Minor at FIT, and LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore.
Michael Katz, Art as Fashion
October 10 - November 15, 2019
A presentation of the late fashion designer and artist's one-of-a-kind, hand-painted silk and silk-screened fabrics collection, featuring original patterns and documentation. Organized by Anne Kong, Visual Presentation and Exhibition Design faculty.
75 Years of Fashion on 27th Street
October 14 - 27, 2019 
Curated by Danielle Paterson, BFA Photography, 2020, images and objects sourced from
the Gladys Marcus Library's Special Collections and College Archives.
Re: Rooted, Cultivating Creatives of Color
October 17 - 31, 2019
Working across many different disciplines, artists came together to celebrate the
theme of identity as inspiration. Curated by Guillermo Marrero, Visual Presentation
and Exhibition Design, 2020, and Taj White, Fashion Business Management, 2020.
Disney on Broadway
September 19 - October 6, 2019 
Disney on Broadway celebrated its 25th anniversary in partnership with the Fashion
Institute of Technology by creating a unique design challenge for students to reimagine
contemporary designs for some of Disney on Broadway’s iconic female characters.
Jahnkoy - Crafting Evolution
August 15 - September 11, 2019
10 Years of Fashion Study.
Modeling the Future
June 13 - July 21, 2019
An exhibition featuring the work of Professor Chris Spollen alongside students, alumni, and other faculty members.
The Future is Immersive
March 15 - May 2, 2019
Highlighting a unique partnership between FIT and Montefiore Medical Center.