The Food & Fashion exhibit at the Museum of FIT features a multitude of art pieces that use food as an inspiration to create clothing that provides commentary on social issues, self-identity, consumerism, and even culture. 

The fashion design that resonated with me the most was Han Feng’s spring 1998 silk jersey that displays printed labels of Chinese tea boxes. Featured in the middle stage of the exhibit, walking in from the entrance, this was the design that stood out to me the most. Standing out among the rest, Feng’s design featured a mannequin with a bright green top, complimented with a denim blue skirt. I found the choice of using tea as a graphic and silk as the material was a historical commentary on the Silk Road, a trading route that was predicated on the commodities of silk and tea.  

Further researching into Han Jeng, I found to my surprise she grew up in Nanjing and graduated from the Chinese Academy of Arts. Her first ready-to-wear designs came out in 1993, with this design gifted to the museum being designed shortly after in 1998. I find that creating a fashion idea that is rooted from a personal cultural value early in her career in New York is worthy to acknowledge. Her MO seen throughout her website is to use nature to “bridge the gap between East and West.” Her aesthetics brings a light upon an everyday household item which has a label printed all over her design. But, this everyday household item of tea, and the top being made from silk, can also provide an allusion to luxury seen in the east during the time of silk road as discussed previously. 

Feng notes that “Art and design are everywhere in our everyday life.” She focuses heavily on the value of accessibility, and to denote those who say the conception of art is solely in the hands of the wealthy. Any fashion design can be deemed as art, whether it’s one of Feng’s contemporary art designs or simply a tea box label on a top, fashion art is a medium to express where you come from and who you are.