THE GREAT DESIGNERS, PART ONE

The Museum at FIT has long been recognized for its innovative and award-winning exhibitions, but less well-known is the fact that our permanent collection encompasses more than 50,000 garments and accessories, dating from the eighteenth century to the present. Virtually every important designer from the modern era is represented in the MFIT collection—from Adrian, Balenciaga, Chanel, and Dior . . .all the way through the alphabet to Westwood, Yamamoto, and Zoran.

To celebrate our collecting achievements (as documented in a forthcoming book from TASCHEN, The Great Designers), the Museum is organizing two consecutive exhibitions in The Fashion and Textile History Gallery: The Great Designers, Part One and The Great Designers, Part Two (May-November 2012) Each exhibition will highlight 50 masterpieces of fashion by a range of great designers—from A to Z.

The Great Designers, Part One introduces viewers to some of the most extraordinary creators of the modern era. Chanel and Dior pieces are represented, as are a number of exceptional, historically and artistically significant objects that are seldom on view, such as Mariano Fortuny’s exquisite, embossed velvet dress. Also presented are newer acquisitions by designers such as Miuccia Prada, whose peek-a-boo lace dress evokes her decidedly quirky style and Thierry Mugler, whose metallic bustier and fishtail skirt epitomizes the sexuality and theatricality for which the designer became famous in the 1980s.

The Museum is focusing on the acquisition of clothing by the most influential designers of today, such as Rick Owens and Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte. The clothing of the late Alexander McQueen is also a priority—while The Great Designers, Part One features a lavishly embroidered coat dress from his time as creative director at Givenchy in the 1990s, Part Two will include a digitally printed dress from the spring 2010 collection Plato’s Atlantis, the last collection presented by McQueen before his death.

The Museum also collects work by younger, cutting-edge designers. A complexly layered ensemble by the avant-garde English label Boudicca, for example, features the architectural forms and immaculate construction for which its designers, Zowie Broach and Brian Kirkby, are known. Gareth Pugh’s provocative, futuristic aesthetic is exemplified by a basic coatdress, densely embellished in a grid of patent leather to create a type of contemporary armor. These unique, fashion-forward ensembles place their creators in the next generation of great designers.

Exhibition curators Colleen Hill, Jennifer Farley, Fred Dennis, and Valerie Steele.