Below is the PDF file for the History of Fashion Museum Response.
hist fashion museum response-1qlh8gy
Here is the text version of my paper.
Alice Kim
History of Fashion
February 26, 2018
Museum Response
There were two exhibitions viewed at the Museum of FIT – one being Norell: Dean of American Fashion, and The Body: Fashion and Physique. Both represented a new way of thinking in fashion, resulting in trends, new ideals, and a new perception of dress, and body. These two exhibitions represent the influence of designers in fashion, and the appreciation and changes occurring within the industry, and society in regards to fashion and dress.
In Norell: Dean of American Fashion, there were around 100 garments/products presented. Norman Norell was known for his gowns, suites, and tailored silhouettes. He was able to successfully execute ready-to-wear fashion in a new version of haute couture. The quality of his garments were professionally presented, making his designs fit the level of European designers, specifically “to the equal of Paris”. Most of the garments had many similarities in terms of silhouette, which were either straight silhouettes or hourglass shaped silhouettes. They were made with luxury fabrics and trimmings, and finished, and adapted elements of different already-made clothings, through looking at menswear and womenswear. Along with creating and making different versions of similar clothing and silhouettes, he was an innovator in fashion in which he began crafting “flapper” silhouettes earlier than other designers, in the 1940s, which in the future, gained popularity.
The exhibition presented the garments usually in groups, which usually had similar fabrics or silhouettes. Jackets with similar designs would be paired up as a group of mannequins, and the same went for the level of ready-to-wear and flashiness of the designs of the clothing. The exhibition originally started with a few subtle garments, which incorporated more present and different ideas towards the “end” of the exhibition.
In the exhibition, The Body: Fashion and Physique, there are many different designers presented with their vision of fashion, and how body and fashion interact to make meaning in a social and cultural context. The ideal fashionable body has changed throughout history, affect consumers in fashion, through the altering of the body in shapes and proportions. This creates physical and mental change and perception over time and into the worldly society, to these consumers in fashion, for individuals and their peers. Even to this day, the woman’s body is objectified and seen as something easily interchangeable through the design of the garment, diet, exercise, garments that are functional to changing the body, and plastic surgery.
Other than garments, this exhibition included film and media, which relates to the ideal body and expectations in society, as well as fashion and how it should fit according to what the body is. For example, there was a film showing, relating to exercise, gym and the body. The film has shown the different views of body in physical activity, and the emotions that go along being associated with the certain body type. This was done presenting different body types, and the stamina that each person had, which was filmed, according to their physique. Many films and advertisements similar to this became a major impact towards body image and The fashion industry has become a major contribution to both creating and destroying the perception of the body, as well as both the inclusivity and exclusivity of different kinds of people and body types.
Likewise Norell: Dean of American Fashion, The Body: Fashion and Physique presents garments based on designer/time period, making it a flowing transition from beginning to the end of the exhibition. The physical change of the mannequins/garments on the body can be visibly seen, pointing out major trends and ideal silhouettes that people wanted to achieve during that time. This was seen as something major for designers, as they fitted the silhouette in order to match the public’s needs, or disregarded the silhouette in order to become innovative and create fashion out of the silhouette, to make it so fashion is not only limited to the silhouette, but as a way to create fashion through the generic body, and through art and expression.
When first entering the exhibition, there were four mannequins that had very different proportions to the typical mannequin that companies use today. There was more exaggeration on the hourglass figure, as it was a smaller waist and bigger hips. Today’s current mannequins typically include a slimmer body, and a slight s-curve figure. However, it is seen that some current designers have successfully input and present the marginalization of different bodies and types of people. A few examples would be Chromat, an athletic wear line, in which there is a diverse range of models across size, race, age, and gender identity. There was also Christian Siriano dress, who was for the actress Leslie Jones. It was difficult to be dressed as a plus size actress as many designers were not willing to dress her because of her size. These two examples show the efforts and struggles that certain types of bodies face, because of the idealization of the current societal preferences and needs. Other than the body in terms of size, designers have also made attempts to design clothes for those who were physically incapable of doing things, like walking, or for patients who had undergone surgery. Lucy Jones and Grace Jun has made designs of garments to be both functional and fashionable for those who weren’t able to live a typical everyday life in someone who invests their time in fashion. However, it is evident that the availability of these garments were not present in current times, making it difficult or expensive for those who want to dress or become fashionable, but are excluded from the exclusivity of certain many ready-to-wear garments because of their physical status.
Norell: Dean of American Fashion, and The Body: Fashion and Physique both present the growing change of trends and fashion. This included the types of fabrics used, the cuts of the garments, the ideal body type, and slowly, the open-mindedness towards extending fashion in a more global and inclusive level by including marginalized communities that aren’t typically represented in fashion, which has people of different sub-cultures and rising issues in the current times that made each invention of fashion to be something everyone can embrace.
