Reflections
Gallery FIT
September 14 – October 26, 2019
Reflections is an exhibition featuring work by ten student artists from the Photography and Fine
Arts departments of FIT’s School of Art and Design. Under the guidance of Professor
Curtis Willocks, the students put together an exhibition of photography, drawing,
and mixed media collage. Reflections offers the visitor a look at artistic explorations and interpretations of summertime
thoughts and experiences.
Image: Courtesy of Daniella Liguori.
Fashion is a world of extremes, where sartorial expression ranges from minimalist
to maximalist aesthetics. Some designers may identify almost exclusively with one
over the other; Calvin Klein, for instance, was known for fashion minimalism. However,
the cyclical nature of fashion moves us through design periods alternately dominated
by a minimalist or maximalist aesthetic, re-affirming Isaac Newton’s third law of
motion: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
In fashion, minimalism and maximalism define two extremes along the design spectrum.
Minimalism, the aesthetic of less-is-more, is based on a reductive approach to design, and celebrates purity and restraint.
Maximalism, on the other hand, accentuates the beauty of excess and redundancy. While
these may be considered aesthetic opposites, both seek to challenge perception, and
as forms of expression, they serve as indicators of the sociocultural and economic
zeitgeist of the given time period. Minimalism/Maximalism explores the interplay between minimalist and maximalist aesthetics as they have
been and continue to be expressed through fashion. Beginning in the eighteenth century,
the exhibition examines how these aesthetic viewpoints are expressed over time and
move fashion forward.
Read more about Minimalism/Maximalism.
Image: Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, dress, spring/summer 2014, Madrid, gift of Agatha Ruiz de
la Prada. 2014.44.1
Paris, Capital of Fashion explores how and why Paris became the international capital of fashion. It will feature
approximately 75 fashion ensembles, dating from the 18th century to the present, as
well as accessories. Curated by Dr. Valerie Steele, director of The Museum at FIT,
this major exhibition is accompanied by a book and symposium.
The introductory gallery places Paris within the global fashion system. After the
Second World War, Paris was repeatedly challenged by new fashion centers, such as
London, Milan, and New York. The first section of the main gallery focuses on the
rise of the Paris fashion system in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The court at Versailles was the official epicenter of fashion, but fashion professionals
were based in the city of Paris and foreign visitors were amazed by the Parisian “mania”
for fashion. The second section explores the growth of the Paris fashion system with
its many métiers de la mode and its increased focus on feminine fashion. Particular
attention is paid to the development of the haute couture, which transformed dressmaking
from a small-scale artisanal craft into big business and high art. Today, globalization
and technology have transformed the world of fashion. Yet Paris remains a unique fashion
city.
Image: John Galliano, ensemble, spring/summer 1992, England, museum purchase. 2017.80.2
