Titled, Exhibitionism: 50 Years of The Museum at FIT, the exhibit includes 80 pieces from 33 of the most influential FIT exhibits to date. Over the years the FIT museum has presented a variety of shows many of which are considered to be both innovative and groundbreaking. No different, the current display is composed of items that have been included for various reasons hence, making the word exhibitionism in the title inaccurate. Exhibitionism is defined as extravagant behavior that is intended to attract attention to oneself; this concept is only applicable to some of the items within the collection. The garment that stood out the most to me was Augustabernard’s off-white tulle evening gown because of its subdued beauty. A part of the collection because of its elegance; it represents a groundbreaking time for fashion, a rare existence during World War II. War time rations resulted in a cookie cutter approach to fashion garments were made for utilitarian purposes with little style and individuality. This lifestyle made it difficult and in some cases illegal to work with certain materials and how much material a person was aloud to use. The 1930s emerged from the Jazz age and is often thought of as the time of Hollywood glamour which was a key influence in the design and construction of Augustabernard’s gown. Innovative because of its balance and proportion the gown was able to accentuate the figure without restricting it a great shift from Edwardian corsetry and the straight shapeless styles ideal in the 1920s. A combination of traditional garment construction and innovation Augustabernard’s gown was a part of the movement towards a more modern form of elegant dress.
