New Acquisitions
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This coat is an original sample that helped launch Calvin Klein’s business in fall 1968. Impressed by Klein’s skill for cutting coats without a pattern, fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert took him on as a client. She later called him "one of the most sensational successes of American fashion's recent history."
This coat was on view in the 2020 exhibition Eleanor Lambert: Empress of Seventh Avenue
Statement-making men's shoes have become an important part of contemporary fashion. Christian Louboutin expanded his business to include men's styles in 2011. This design is a take on the women's "Love" flat from 1991, one of his earliest creations.
These shoes are currently on view in the 2022 exhibition Shoes: Anatomy, Identity, Magic.
The sitcom The Nanny (1993—1999) starred Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, whose bold wardrobe complemented her extroverted personality. Fine wore clothing by numerous high fashion designers, but Moschino appeared to be her preferred label. She paired this jacket style with matching trousers. Today, Drescher's character is frequently cited as an icon of nineties fashion.
This jacket was on view in the 2022 exhibition Reinvention and Restlessness: Fashion in the Nineties
Chloé is a French fashion house founded in 1952 by the Jewish Egyptian immigrant Gaby Aghion, who had the vision to offer luxury prêt-à-porter (ready- to-wear). Karl Lagerfeld began designing for Chloé in 1966, and his creations from the 1970s were extremely influential. He returned as creative director of Chloé in 1992 and was followed in due course by Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo, and Natacha Ramsay-Levi.
This ensemble was on view in the 2019 exhibition Paris, Capital of Fashion
Below are the types of objects in the collections of The Museum at FIT.
The accessories collection consists of approximately 15,000 objects that date from
the mid-17th century to the present day. The collection has a particularly strong
emphasis on designer accessories from the second half of the 20th century.
The accessories collection is supported by the Solomon-Sloan Endowment Fund, which
was established in 2005 to facilitate the acquisition, conservation, documentation
and exhibition of accessories.
- The footwear collection contains more than 4,000 pairs of shoes, boots and sandals. It includes examples by designers such as Manolo Blahnik, Roger Vivier, Herbert Levine, and Salavatore Ferragamo.
- The millinery collection contains more than 3,000 hats by famous milliners such as Caroline Reboux, Lilly Daché, Halston and Philip Treacy. There are also many examples from designers such as Christian Dior, Balenciaga and Jacques Fath.
- The handbag collection includes fine examples by luxury houses such as Hermés and Gucci as well as examples by Roberta di Camerino, Judith Leiber and Bonnie Cashin for Coach.
- Other accessories include fans, gloves, belts, hosiery and costume jewelry.
The Costume Collection consists of more than 50,000 objects dating from the mid-18th
century to the present. The strength of the collection lies in its 20th-century holdings
and, particularly, in couture and ready-to-wear women's clothing. The collections
are currently being computerized to facilitate research.
- The costume collection includes fashion by designers such as Azzedine Alaïa, Balenciaga, Chanel, Comme des Garçons, Dior, Galanos, Halston, Charles James, Norell, Paul Poiret, Yves Saint Laurent, and Vivienne Westwood.
- The Halston Archives and Study Room hold designs, patterns, and related records documenting this important designer's life work.
- The menswear collection features some 2,000 garments ranging from formal to activewear, including suits, coats, vests, and uniforms.
- Also included are swimwear, lingerie, outerwear, and knitwear.
The Textile Collection consists of more than 30,000 textiles dating from the fifth
century to the present, and includes the work of artists and designers such as Junichi
Arai, Salvador Dali, Raoul Dufy, and William Morris.
- The textile collection includes apparel and home furnishing fabrics, embroideries, and shawls.
- The collection also includes a number of ribbon sample books.
- The J.B. Martin Velvet Room archives handwoven and production velvets spanning a 125-year period.
The Photography Archive features the work of fashion photographers Louise-Dahl Wolfe (1895-1989), who produced 86 cover images and thousands of interior shots for Harper's Bazaar magazine, and John Rawlings (1912-1970), who had over 200 Vogue and Glamour magazine covers.
Image: Louise Dahl-Wolfe photograph of model Sandra Payson. Featured in Harper’s Bazaar, March 1947, page 205, gift of Louise Dahl-Wolfe, 74.84.54
For those looking for the Herman Landshoff collection, the archive has been transferred to:
Munchner Stadtmuseum
Sammlungsleiter Fotomuseum
St.-Jakobs-Pl. 1
80331 Munchen
The contact for the collection is:
Dr. Ulrich Pohlmann
Tel.: 089/233-22948
Fax.: 089/233-27969
email.: [email protected]