Exhibition: Unconventional Then, Now, and Always: A Helix of FIT Influence from Max Meyer to Daria Dorosh — Opens

August 3–September 10, 2023
Art and Design Gallery

In the early decades of the 20th century, FIT founder and president Max Meyer (1876–1953), then a buyer for a major New York City cloak and suit manufacturer, commissioned thousands of drawings of French couture designs to be licensed for production in the U.S. This exhibition juxtaposes a selection of these sublime watercolor and ink images from houses such as Chanel, Poiret, Molyneux, Lanvin, and Paquin with comparable examples of actual garments from the study collection of FIT’s graduate program in Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice. Each garment showcases student and alumni skills in costume conservation and mounting.

An adjoining gallery features the work of alum and former professor Daria Dorosh, PhD. Her contemporary art and fashion pieces respond to Meyer in many ways, and also stand on their own.

Unconventional Then, Now, and Always will feature innovative augmented reality displays that invite engagement. The show highlights the unique resource that is Gladys Marcus Library’s Special Collections and College Archives where the original sketches reside along with an astounding wealth of original materials related to the industry.

The show is a collaboration between the Spatial Experience Design Department, Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice, and the Special Collections and College Archives.

About the Art and Design Gallery

The Art and Design Gallery brings together FIT students, faculty, alumni, and guest artists in each exhibition. The gallery, located in the glass-walled lobby of FIT’s Pomerantz Center, is a window into the college and a window out, serving as a space to foster learning and innovation.

The gallery is open from 9 am to 6 pm daily.

This event is free and open to the public.