FIT opens new exhibition, Expedition: Fashion From the Extreme

By

Emily Jensen

Published
Sep 15, 2017

The Fashion Institute of Technology’s new exhibition will trace the use of fashion and clothing in extreme environments, from Inuit apparel to Chanel faux-fur suits.

 
Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at the Museum at FIT will include historical pieces on loan from the Museum of Natural History alongside recent items such as Demna Gvasalia’s off-the-shoulder parka for the Fall 2016 Balenciaga collection.
 
The exhibition will intend to show the relationship between high-end fashion pieces like Chanel’s Fall 2010 faux-fur yeti and the practical pieces designed for survival that inspired them. It will include a section displaying Yves Saint Laurent’s iconic safari collection alongside the real safari items designed purely for functionality. The show will also touch on the use of innovative fabrics, such as scuba.

Deputy director Patricia Mears was inspired by Joseph Altuzarra’s anoraks to create the exhibition. She says the show’s theme is particularly relevant in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and hopes the fashion world will see the connection to and the importance of the environment and science.
 
Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme opens at the Special Exhibitions Gallery at the Museum at FIT on Friday, September 15 and will remain open until January 6, 2018.