Special Exhibitions Gallery
February 8, 2019 – April 20, 2019
Share using #50YearsofMFIT on Twitter and Instagram.
Listen to the Exhibitionism podcast series with original commentary from MFIT curators.
Exhibitionism: 50 Years of The Museum at FIT celebrated the 50th anniversary of what Michael Kors calls “the fashion insider’s
fashion museum” by bringing back 33 of the most influential exhibitions produced since
the first one was staged in 1971. Taken entirely from the museum’s permanent holdings,
more than 80 looks were on display. From Fashion and Surrealism to The Corset to A Queer History of Fashion, the exhibitions are known for being “intelligent, innovative, and independent,”
says MFIT Director Valerie Steele. “The museum has been in the forefront of fashion
curation, with more than 200 fashion exhibitions over the past half century, many
accompanied by scholarly books and symposia.”
Founded in 1969 as The Design Laboratory and Galleries at FIT, it became The Museum
at FIT in 1994, and was accredited by the American Alliance of Museums in 2012. From
the beginning, MFIT served multiple audiences, including students, designers, and
the public. In 1971, its first director, Robert Riley, organized a show featuring
the work of designer Gilbert Adrian; when MGM heard about it, the company donated
costumes that Adrian had created for stars like Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo. For
his 1976 exhibition on the French couturier Paul Poiret, Riley also acquired important
ensembles for the museum’s collection, such as a fantastical “Persian” ensemble worn
for a 1919 fancy dress ball.

Adrian, dress worn by Greta Garbo in Camille, 1936, USA, gift of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. Featured in Adrian (1971). 70.8.22

Paul Poiret, fancy dress ensemble, 1919, France, gift of Mrs. Katheryn Colton. Featured
in Paul Poiret, King of Fashion (1976). 74.36.29
Fashion and Surrealism, organized in 1987, was another of FIT’s most influential exhibitions. It was organized
by Richard Martin, Harold Koda, and Laura Sinderbrand, who also collaborated on exhibitions
such as Three Women (1987), featuring Madeleine Vionnet, Clare McCardell, and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des
Garçons. When Martin and Koda moved uptown to the Costume Institute, Dorothy Twining
Globus took over at MFIT, hiring Steele as chief curator.

Harry Gordon, paper dress, 1968, England, gift of Stephen Pietri. Featured in Fashion and Surrealism (1987).
86.10.1
86.10.1

Madeleine Vionnet, dress, 1930, France, museum purchase. Featured in Three Women (1987). P83.39.7

Corset, circa 1889, USA. 2009. Featured in The Corset (2001). 2009.15.2
Since 1997, Dr. Valerie Steele has curated a number of thematic exhibitions exploring
topics of sexuality, gender, and identity, including The Corset: Fashioning the Body (2001) and Gothic: Dark Glamour (2008). Together with senior curator Fred Dennis, she organized the pioneering exhibition
A Queer History of Fashion: From the Closet to the Catwalk (2013).

Rick Owens, ensemble, fall 2008, France, gift of Rick Owens. Featured in Gothic: Dark Glamour (2008). 2010.94.1

Versace, suit, 1991, Italy. Featured in A Queer History of Fashion (2013). 2010.56.1
MFIT Deputy Director Patricia Mears has gravitated more toward connoisseurship with
exhibitions such as Madame Grès,Sphinx of Fashion (2008), and American Beauty: Aesthetics and Innovation in Fashion (2009). In 2016, curator Colleen Hill organized the imaginative exhibition Fairy Tale Fashion, which illustrated 15 classic fairy tales using fashions such as an 18th-century
red hooded cape.

Madame Grès, evening gown, 1971, France, gift of Ms. Mica Ertegun. Featured in Madame Grès: Sphinx of Fashion (2008). 88.74.1

Norman Norell, evening set, circa 1958, USA, gift of Lauren Bacall. Featured in American Beauty (2009). 68.143.6

Chado Ralph Rucci, Tabernacle Infanta evening gown, fall 2003, USA, gift of Chado Ralph Rucci. Featured in American Beauty (2009). 2005.2.1

Cape, late 18th century, England. Featured in Fairy Tale Fashion (2016). 2002.36.1

Comme des Garçons, ensemble, spring 2015, Japan. Featured in Fairy Tale Fashion (2016). 2015.8.1
Exhibitionism also featured exhibitions originally displayed in the museum’s Fashion and Textile
History Gallery. These included Black Fashion Designers (2016), curated by Ariele Elia and Elizabeth Way; Denim: Fashion’s Frontier (2016) and The Body: Fashion and Physique (2017), curated by Emma McClendon; and Force of Nature (2017), curated by Melissa Marra.

Duro Olowu, ensemble, fall 2012, England, gift of Duro Olowu. Featured in Black Fashion Designers (2016). 2016.65.1

Roberto Cavalli, ensemble, 2002–2003, Italy, gift of Roberto Cavalli. Featured in
Denim: Fashion’s Frontier (2016). 2003.45.2

Chromat, ensemble, spring 2015, USA. Featured in The Body: Fashion and Physique (2017). 2017.53.1

Alexander McQueen, dress, fall 2009, England. Featured in Force of Nature (2017). 2016.63.1
50 Years of The Museum at FIT: Part One with Valerie Steele, Patricia Mears, and Colleen
Hill (View Transcript)
50 Years of The Museum at FIT: Part Two with Emma McClendon, Elizabeth Way, and Melissa
Marra-Alvarez (View Transcript)
Publication
The exhibition was accompanied by a book of the same name, edited by Dr. Valerie Steele
and Colleen Hill and published by Skira. Lavishly illustrated with looks from the show and photos of past installations,
the book featured essays by MFIT curators that provide greater context for each of
the exhibitions featured. The publication was released in February 2019.
Exhibitionism: 50 Years of The Museum at FIT has been made possible thanks to the generosity of the Couture Council of The Museum
at FIT.
