Ravishing: The Rose in Fashion Symposium

Ravishing the Rose poster
Noir Kei Ninomiya, ensemble, red wool, resin-treated faux fur, nylon, spring 2020. Photograph © Noir Kei Ninomiya, photograph courtesy Comme des Garçons.
Friday, April 30, 2021
10am - noon EDT
Online - YouTube Premieres

This virtual event was The Museum at FIT’s 24th academic symposium. Ravishing: The Rose in Fashion explored how the beauty, mythology, and symbolism of the rose have long influenced fashionable dress. Rose: it's a flower, a color, and a scent. It's in fairy tales and design. This flower has become integral to art and culture.

Speakers included Amy de la Haye, professor at London College of Fashion and co-curator of the exhibition; Jonathan Faiers, professor of Fashion Thinking at Winchester School of Art; Colleen Hill, curator at MFIT and co-curator of the exhibition; Nick Knight, founder of SHOWStudio; Mairi MacKenzie, research fellow at Glasgow School of Art; and Elizabeth Way, assistant curator at MFIT. 

Watch the talks on YouTube

The symposium was organized in conjunction with the book and exhibition Ravishing: The Rose in Fashion, which opened in 2021.

Symposium Schedule

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES | READING LIST | YOUTUBE PLAYLIST

Friday, April 30, 2021

10 am - 10:30 am EDT
Amy de la Haye, "Ravishing: The Rose in Fashion: Objects, Narratives, and the Making of an Exhibition"
YouTube video

10:30 am - 11 am EDT
Jonathan Faiers, "Ordeal by Roses"  YouTube video

11 am - 11:30 am EDT
Colleen Hill and Elizabeth Way, "Rose Motifs in the Collection of The Museum at FIT" 
YouTube video

11:30 am - 12:00 pm EDT
Nick Knight in conversation with Amy de la Haye YouTube video

12:00 pm - 12:30 pm EDT
Mairi MacKenzie, "Capturing and Contextualizing Roses in Perfume" YouTube video