Category: Blog Posts (Page 1 of 6)

People all over the world use fashion and clothing to express themselves and their identity. People’s fashion sense and how they dress is a major way to reveal and showcase their lifestyle as well as their culture. Every piece of clothing that we buy represents our very own personal choice and taste. Tradition is also passed down through the way that clothing is made. Certain traditions can be expressed through patterns, colors, designs, as well as fabrics. Our communities and cultures are deeply ingrained with the materials, processes, and methods used in the making of goods.

Going to the Food and Fashion Exhibition at the museum at FIT deeply altered my way of thinking about how both food and fashion have a significant connection that are central to our daily lives. They express our unique and cultural identities while simultaneously speaking to people’s most basic needs. The exhibition greatly looks into the ways in which food-related themes and concepts are used to make statements about a range of important subjects including, body politics, social activism, sustainability, gender, luxury and consumerism. The work of a number of well known designers were displayed. Items from accessories, dresses, to undergarments were put on view in order to present and bring awareness to major concepts and ideas.

As I roamed around the exhibit, the work of a designer named Judith Leiber caught my attention. The exhibit showcased three dessert-inspired handbags. Her handbags were made and disguised as bejeweled pink donuts or ice cream treats. These luxurious handbags spoke to recurring tropes connecting sweets and femininity. Their luxury status relates to elite indulgences in both food as well as fashion. Leiber was a Hungarian-American fashion designer and businesswoman who was well known for her fanciful crystal handbags that were encrusted with beads that were formed into shapes of food and other everyday objects. Her handbags were created with demanding attention to detail and flawless hand craftsmanship. Some of Leiber’s collections can be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Today I visited the Cooper Hewitt exhibit, A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes. Dorothy Lieves was an American textile designer and weaver who became prominent in the modern design world as well as in society as a whole. She brought textile design and its importance in all different aspects of fashion and design to the general audience. Before visiting this exhibit I had recognized the importance of design and designers in fashion, but never of the fabrics or textiles used and the thought and design that goes into making them. 

Lieves’ work became well-known and was used in many different aspects of life. Of course, it was used in high fashion and in clothing design. Several pieces were on display at the museum that showcased designs using her fabrics and textiles. One outfit I really liked was a tan dress with a large, pink, patterned scarf as the statement piece. Lieves’ textiles were also used in the making of the SS United States ship, where her work can be seen throughout the interior design of the ship, especially in the first class observation lounge. She also did work on ceramics and with the American Red Cross Arts and Skills Division.

Because Lieves’ designs were so versatile, they gave her worldwide recognition and fame. She was featured in magazines and in television interviews. My favorite part of the museum was one small section which showcased magazine covers of the time and showed how some of her pieces were inspired by the fashion and beauty standards shown in the photoshoot and of the time period. The magazine was titled Photoplay and the article was titled the Newest Siren. The cover showcases a woman posing in a black and white shot which highlights her dark, silky hair. Lieves used this silky hairstyle as inspiration for a piece called Dobeckmun Dazzle, which utilized laminated aluminum yarn to represent the silkiness shown in the hair. This also shows how versatile the art of textile design can be-something I never recognized before visiting this museum. 

Lieves was certainly ahead of her time-she was beyond successful for a woman of her time and overall and I am grateful I was able to visit the exhibit on her and learn more about what goes into the creation of the textiles and fabrics used in design and its importance on our world today.

As I walked around the Food & Fashion exhibit at FIT, the pieces of clothing that stood out to me were the chocolate dress, the ramen printed pajamas, the Campbell’s Soup dress, the tomato dress, and the corn dress. A common theme that I see among these pieces of clothing is that they highlight a particularly common food you can find lying around in any household. Perhaps the designers chose these specific food items because they knew a majority of people can recognize it and grow fond sentiment over the fact that it is a food they have had numerous times. For me, if I had seen a dress that was inspired by caviar, though I would recognize what the food was, I don’t believe I would be as attached to it as I would the corn dress because I don’t have much experience or memories eating caviar. 

With that being said, I believe the use of common goods over luxurious goods is significant because it highlights prominent political issues in America. One political issue highlighted by the exhibit is America’s growing wealth gap. Due to the growing wealth gap in society, people don’t have access to luxurious foods such as caviar or high quality meat. People often have to resort to the cheapest options because, though the quality is compromised, they can buy the foods in high quantities to feed a whole family. For instance, I took interest in the ramen printed outfit because I realized the author intentionally designed a pajama set to signify how ramen is a go-to late night snack. Although the packet of ramen does not have much nutrition to it, most people eat it because it’s affordable and it feeds the stomach. With the giant wealth gap in society, the majority of people are on the lower income side of the spectrum and the exhibit highlights more common goods than luxurious goods to subconsciously highlight how most people can only afford common goods. The outfits designed with these common goods are very extravagant and luxurious themselves. This can emphasize how most families who are put at a disadvantage by the wealth gap often make the most of what they’ve got. It is crucial that we try to mend this wealth gap as soon and effectively as possible, but it is comforting to know many have not let this financial disadvantage put them down.

Tecautl Collection, 2020 – Rick Owens

Throughout human history, our sense of fashion has been a major part of our story that, throughout societies and generations, has changed and molded itself around the attitudes and cultures of its time. What we wear isn’t just about how we want to look, rather it is about what we want others to see about us. Whether or not that interpretation comes across, is left to the eyes and minds of others. Understanding this has led many to look at art and fashion as the same, as models walk down runways wearing designs that make statements about everything from global issues to subtle expressions of appreciation. Rick Owens’ 2020 Tecuatl collection is an example of this subtlety through unique fashion design and small references to both cultures and issues that he cares about.

While at the Food and Fashion exhibit at the FIT Museum, an ensemble from Rick Owens’ Tecautl Collection caught my eye. The ensemble was a dark outfit showing off a mix of formal and practical attire that blurs the line between being a statement and an outfit anyone could wear for a day. A beige United Farm Workers (USW) shirt is tucked into a black utilitarian jumpsuit zipped only up to the waist, leaving the rest to hang, while atop said shirt is a black blazer. When reading the description for the ensemble, I learned about Rick Owens’ inspiration for his aesthetic and what he values, which is the Native-Mexican heritage that led him to use the UFW shirt to articulate the significance of immigrant farm workers. Although quite abstract, the ensemble, to me, did come across as representing these things. The utilitarian jumpsuit is something that a laborer might wear every day, and the UFW shirt features an Eagle Mark logo that references Aztec design. The blazer was a confusing addition to me, but I interpret it as an antagonistic piece to the jumpsuit that emphasizes success and power. The commentary this piece offers then seems to be about not just Rick Owens’ heritage and bringing up immigrant farm workers, but truly wants to represent both their heavy labor and great success, since they have contributed greatly to our society in making sure that food is available in our markets.

Rick Owens Tecuatl Collection is just one example of how fashion can express cultural representation since many cultures tend to wear certain styles or things that fit them well. Laborers tend to wear more utilitarian clothing, and successful people almost always wear blazers as part of suits. The combination of cultures, especially through a unifying factor as used by the UFW shirt, can show a designer’s origins and who they are, stating their story.

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. 

Traditionally, fashion involves many animal products such as fur, feathers, and leather. The issue of animal cruelty and sustainability arises during the production of these products. Slowly, many designers started to incorporate more faux fur, faux feathers, and faux leather into their garments. An example of faux leather material used is Piñatex®.

In the Food and Fashion Exhibit, a pair of Piñatex® red-orange pumps by the brand Jo-Anne Vernay was featured. Dyandra Raye is the designer behind the brand, who specializes in vegan footwear made from fruit. Piñatex® is a material made from the cellulose fibers of pineapple leaves. It takes 460 leaves to make one square meter of this pineapple-based faux leather. Since pineapple leaves are usually discarded, using them to create faux leather is a great way to reduce food waste and increase sustainability.

Dyandra Raye created the brand Jo-Anne Vernay when she became vegan in 2018. She wanted to make vegan footwear from plant-based materials rather than the typical polyurethane faux leather. Raye draws inspiration from nature and the world around her. She is determined to create slow-fashion items that are both sustainable and vegan. Faux leather options like Piñatex® are great for avoiding animal cruelty and promoting sustainability. Invention of materials like Piñatex® is an important step towards limiting waste and reducing our carbon footprint.

As people recognize the threat of climate change and global warming to our environment, fashion items have been made from more recycled and sustainable materials. The shift from using non-recycled materials and animal products to using recycled materials and faux leather shows our change in cultural attitude. Consumers are moving away from fast fashion and showing their support for fashion that puts more emphasis on protecting our environment. Big brands like Nike are also using Piñatex® to create products like the “Happy Pineapple” sneakers. As a society, we are slowly shifting to a more sustainable approach to fashion.

When thinking about what’s upcoming in the world of fashion, new styles and designers may come to mind. But, in a world facing ever changing issues in environment and sustainability, the source material and creation of the newest wave of clothing may be more topical than any favorite handbag or scarf for the current season. In FIT’s “Food and Fashion” exhibit, displayed pieces from several different eras and styles are presented with information about their creation, with a specific few sharing their sustainably sourced roots.

On one 1920’s dress, the pink silk chiffon fabric is adorned with sparkling sequins, but not ones made of plastic. The sequins on this dress are made of gelatin, which comes from collagen in animal products. Although the non-plastic sequins are not built to withstand heat or humidity, the gelatin provides a biodegradable alternative that serves just as well in matching the aesthetic goals of a 1920’s designer. Similarly, the exhibit also displayed a Mi Terro t-shirt featuring the phrase “This tee is made from milk” across the chest. This “Milk Waste T-shirt” is made from fibers produced from casein, a protein taken from milk that has gone bad and would otherwise have gone to waste. Along with repurposing spoiled milk, the production of this t-shirt also requires 60% less water than the average cotton t-shirt, while also having anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.

With the current state of the climate crisis, and the fast fashion industry’s large carbon footprint and contribution to waste around the globe, steps to create clothing with sustainable methods is needed now, more than ever. In its display of sustainable methods and irregular clothing production, “Food and Fashion” encourages other designers, and even consumers, to be more mindful and creative in the production and purchase of garments, inspiring a push in the right direction for fashion everywhere.

The Food & Fashion exhibit at the FIT Museum serves as a fascinating intersection of two seemingly distinct realms in our lives – food and fashion. This captivating exhibit I was intrigued by the profound connection between these two facets and how closely they related to each other. It quickly became apparent that this unique blend of flavors and fashion is not just about aesthetics; it’s a powerful medium for expressing cultural representation and commentary on the broader society.

One particular piece that truly encapsulated the fusion of food and fashion was the “Takis fuego” creation, a purse crafted from a Takis snack bag. This unorthodox fashion statement serves as a contemporary take on Mexican-inspired snacks, raising thought-provoking questions about our consumer-driven culture. Just as fashion has been intertwined with critical social issues like child labor, the Takis purse boldly highlights concerns about consumerism, the high obesity rates in America, and the relentless pursuit of mass consumption – akin to the fast fashion industry. This fusion of food and fashion acts as a powerful mirror, reflecting the hedonistic lifestyle that we, as a society, have increasingly embraced.

Within the exhibit next to the Takis purse, another intriguing display featured Berke Gold’s Alma brand. Collaborating with artisans in Guerrero, Mexico, this brand weaves local palm leaves into exquisite taco-shaped bags. These remarkable creations embody the essence of a folded tortilla symbolizing a cherished Mexican culinary icon that has transcended borders to conquer the world. In juxtaposition, Ella Loca’s Takis purse draws inspiration from Mexican corn tortillas, particularly the rolled corn chips produced by Barcel in Mexico, which have gained immense popularity not just in Mexico but also throughout the United States. These ingenious fashion pieces underscore the global influence of certain foods and how they can significantly shape fashion trends and cultural representation.

“The best introduction to art is to stroll through a museum. The more art you see, the more you’ll learn to define your own taste,”  says Jeanne Frank. I’ve always been captivated by exploring museums, as they contain masterpieces of art, love, fashion, culture, and elegance created by outstanding minds. There are two kinds of visitors to the museum: those who devote themselves to discovering new inventions and those who are there purely for mental tranquility. Others visit the museum merely to look around and fail to comprehend why the artwork is there. I visited the FIT museum on Wednesday, and I was enthralled with the distinctive artworks and the profound messages hidden behind each exquisite piece. I believed it was fascinating how diverse women were portrayed through their clothing since it prompted me to think quite a bit about feminism. Often viewed as “sweet” or “tempting,” the resemblance of women to food has an extended history and underscores the significance of feminist conversation.

I discovered more about the history of women and how they are regarded as food as I researched the museum; it seems that society considers women as nothing more than objects to be exploited and consumed. I additionally learned about something different, such as “The Feast for the Eyes,”  another exhibition that is comparable to the one we saw at the FIT museum. In reading about the exhibition, it is mentioned that food has been employed as a tool for expressing female sexuality, and it is an object for society to play with. I observed that the women appeared in the exhibition as cakes, chocolates, and meals, as well as their accessories. After seeing this, I couldn’t help but wonder: Are women really so alluring that they are compared to food? It also came to me that artists like “Jeremy Scott for Moschino,” “Judith Leiber Couture,” and “Chris Campbell” displayed a powerful protest against the belief held by society that women are objects that can be obtained and should be allowed to do as they like.

The Food & Fashion display highlights the historical objectification of women while also showing how fashion can be an effective means for women to regain their identities and challenge social conventions. It may be used as an opportunity to display the growing issues between genders and fashion. It serves as an indicator that, similar to cuisine, fashion reflects society and can be used to both support and disrupt deeply rooted cultural standards and assumptions. I adored this exhibition because it opened my eyes to a new way of looking at fashion—especially when it comes to feminism—because I never would have imagined food and style going hand in hand. In order to learn more about history and culture, I’m excited to look into more of this kind of artwork.

In a society where time is equated with money and slowing down appears all but obsolete, our insatiable appetite for speed has infiltrated almost every facet of our lives from our diet to our style. The prevalent notions of fast-food and fast-fashion have turned our culture into that of maximalism and overconsumption, all at a very great cost to our environment. However, many consumers and designers have recently turned to more sustainable alternatives with the ever increasing awareness of the unethical practices that facilitate this rapid consumerism. The Food & Fashion exhibit at FIT, for instance, has made a clear response through its slow food and slow fashion motif (part of the bigger slow movement), urging us to reevaluate our relationship with the products we buy and the food that we consume and, in doing so, consider the implications these choices have on our environment, society, and well-being. 

One such piece that caught my attention was a simple black t-shirt with “This tee is made from milk” written on it. As the name suggests, the t-shirt is partly composed of a spoiled milk protein extracted through the use of biotechnology. Although the concept of wearing rotten milk is a bit unsettling at first, it has the potential to address the millions of food-waste we generate annually if adopted more widely by the fashion industry. Similarly, Mimi Prober’s avocado and pomegranate-dyed collection replaces toxic textile dyes with natural alternatives. These innovative approaches to repurposing food-waste into our clothes and implementing environmentally friendly materials are just a few of the ways designers have attempted to slow down the unsustainable pace of the fast-fashion industry. However, I found it quite interesting that the exhibition also included many fast-food inspired outfits in the first room, such as the Mcdonalds and White Castle uniforms, as if to provide juxtaposition and perhaps showcase fashion’s ability to convey both sides of the complex issue. 

The gallery also comments on the contrasting roles technology assumes within the fashion and food industry. On one hand, it has allowed us to mass-produce clothes and food to an unprecedented scale through the invent of industrialization. Yet on the other, it has become a catalyst for positive change towards sustainable practices.  Ultimately, the very technology that has contributed to the fast-paced culture of our world must now play a role in slowing it down.