Calendar of Events
Fashion Culture | Symposium | Talk + Tours | Past Events
Fashion Culture
Fashion Culture programs are organized by
The Museum at FIT to provide new perspectives on the culture of fashion.
Admission
All programs are free unless otherwise indicated. However, reservations are strongly encouraged, as space is limited. The Museum at FIT and the college reserve the right to cancel a program at any time.
Program Venues
The Katie Murphy Amphitheatre is in the Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center on
the northwest corner of Seventh Avenue and 27th Street.
Other venues can be found on FIT's Campus Map.
Fashion Culture Programs
Empresses of Seventh Avenue
Nancy MacDonell and Patricia Mears
Tuesday, March 25, 5:30 pm
Author and fashion historian Nancy MacDonell will be discussing her new book, Empresses of Seventh Avenue: World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion, with MFIT Deputy Director Patricia Mears. Please join us for an illuminating conversation about the extraordinary women who put American fashion on the international stage and created the template for modern style. A book signing will follow the event.
Image: Cover of Empresses of Seventh Avenue. Courtesy of St. Martin's Press.
Fashion at the 1925 Art Deco Exhibition
Gordon Kendall, Nicholas Lowry, Virginia Salem, and Patricia Mears
Wednesday, April 2, 5:30 pm
Join MFIT Deputy Director Patricia Mears, Swann Galleries owner Nicholas Lowry, and jewelry specialist Virginia Salem, in a panel moderated by MFIT Couture Council member Gordon Kendall in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Paris' 1925 Art Deco Exhibition. Speakers will discuss the exhibition's continuing influences on fashion and design at this important event.
This event is organized in collaboration with The Art Deco Society of New York.
Image: Pochoir of a laquered smoking room by Jean Dunand featured at the 1925 L'Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, Paris, 1925.
Symposium
Wondrous Objects Symposium
Friday, March 28, 10 am – 5 pm
MFIT's spring symposium, Wondrous Objects is planned in conjunction with the exhibition Fashioning Wonder: A Cabinet of Curiosities. Scholars, artists, and designers will examine how the study and collection of historically
and personally meaningful objects have inspired their thinking, creativity, and curiosity.
Wondrous Objects is The Museum at FIT's 33rd symposium.
Symposium Schedule, Speaker Bios, and more
Image: Mary Katrantzou, printed, embroidered, and beaded dress with net overlay, spring 2019, England. Museum purchase, 2023.52.1
Talks & Tours
Fashioning Wonder: A Cabinet of Curiosities
Monday, April 7, 5:30 pm
Fashioning Wonder: A Cabinet of Curiosities explores the fascinating connections between fashion and cabinets of curiosities. Nearly 200 garments and accessories from The Museum at FIT collection—many of which have never before been on view—are selected to pique curiosity through their rarity, beauty, or originality.
Image: "Specimen jars" featuring earrings from labels including Ted Meuhling, Kali-Yin Lo, and Tiffany's.
The public is always welcome at The Museum at FIT and our programming is always free.
If you are able, please consider supporting the Museum's collection and programming by making a donation in any amount.
Your support helps the Museum continue to educate and inspire diverse audiences with world-class exhibitions and public programs that focus on diverse and inclusive themes and are free to the public.
Fashion Culture Spring 2025 is made possible with the support of the Couture Council of The Museum at FIT. The Museum at FIT's programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
