Exhibitions
2022 Graduating Student Exhibition
This 2022 Graduating Student Exhibition (GSE) presents the work of more than 600 student
graduates in 16 areas of study from the School of Art and Design. The work is 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.
Special museum hours for this exhibition:
M-F noon-8pm and S-S 10am -5pm
Dior + Balenciaga: The Kings of Couture and their Legacies
Learn moreTheir backgrounds and working methodologies were markedly different, yet Dior and Balenciaga concurrently produced fashions that captured the era’s hunger for luxury and elegance. They also led the restoration of France’s profitable fashion industry after the devastation of two world wars and a crippling economic depression.
Fashion enthusiasts will recognize Dior’s Belle Époque inspired dresses built upon corsets and crinolines and Balenciaga’s brilliantly crafted and voluminous coats and dresses. Viewers may, however, be surprised to see remarkable similarities in some of the pairings, making immediate attributions less obvious. The couturiers’ shared vocabulary can be seen in the juxtaposition of wool day dresses, boxy suits, and voluminous evening dresses. We ask the viewer: without looking at the labels, can you correctly guess the designer of each garment, Balenciaga or Dior?
This curatorial exploration and re-evaluation of these kings of couture—Dior and Balenciaga—also includes designs by subsequent creative directors of the houses they founded, including Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Demna Gvesalia, and Maria Grazia Chiuri.
Image:
Left: Cristóbal Balenciaga evening dress, silk faille, spring 1961, France, gift of Mrs. Walter Eytan, 80.261.13
Right: Christian Dior ball gown, embroidered silk and rhinestones, fall 1957, France, permanent loan of Mrs. Michael Blankfort, PL74.1.24
Shoes: Anatomy, Identity, Magic
Image: Jimmy Choo for Anya Hindmarch, evening mules, circa 1998, England, gift of Virginia Barbato, 2017.72.2
The exhibition, curated by Dr. Valerie Steele and Colleen Hill, will be accompanied by a lavishly-illustrated companion book, published by Taschen, similar to Fashion Designers, A-Z: The Collection of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (now in its third edition).
Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop
Learn moreThis exhibition is curated by Elena Romero, Assistant Professor of Advertising and Marketing Communications at FIT and author of Free Stylin’: How Hip Hop Changed the Fashion Industry together with Elizabeth Way, Assistant Curator at The Museum at FIT.
Image: Nike, "Air Jordan" sneakers, 1985, USA, gift of Nike, 85.196.1
Looking for a longer read? Find something on our list of publications!
MFIT on the Road

There’s no shame in living in the past