FIT has a new exhibit on view consisting of exactly what the world needed, the History of Pink. On show is 300 years of pink fashion which show a variety of countries around the globe and how pink is thought about and represented in different times and cultures. Pink is quite a divisive color, many people construe different ideas behind what pink represents. Whether it is a color which shows sophistication and strength, or femininity and trivial. This concept was brought to mind when Petula Dvorak made a comment towards the appearance of a women’s march in 2014. She disagreed with the leaders of the march clashing with their approach to wear pink kitten hats, believing it was far too serious an issue to wear something so weak. Just past the entrance shows the first section of the museum which focuses on the Euro-Americans view of the color, building on the “Pinkification” of girls culture. A majority of this fad was actually introduced because of to Nazi Germany, they would take pink ribbons to label the gay men who would enter the concentration camps. This consequently turned men away from the idea of associating with the color as a whole, causing a feminine contention around the color and making it “off limits” to the other gender. All throughout the 20th century until now pink has been designated the feminine color, and even back in the 1800’s-1990’s it was often considered as pretty and femininity. As you walk into the second room involved in the exhibition you’re given the opportunity to look back and see history around the world you’re introduced to how they have incorporated pink into their various cultures. This section shows pink as a very elegant color, displaying the notion that pink had always been considered fashionable back in the 18th century. As of the 1950’s – today we have been using pink as a marketing technique in order to sell more, gender specific, toys and clothing in order to create two different demographics. As of late, pink has began to transform from girly to androgynous, the concept of “real men wearing pink” as well as the rampant trend of millennial pink in 2016. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit, I find a strong attraction to the color pink, it gives me a serge of passion and love. My favorite piece was that by Rae Kawakubo ‘s “18th Century Punk”.
