Past Exhibitions 2022-2023

Dior + Balenciaga: The Kings of Couture and Their Legacies
Fashion and Textile History Gallery
June 1 - November 6, 2022

This exhibition featured fashions by Christian Dior (1905-1957) and Cristobal Balenciaga (1895-1972), the two most important couturiers of the mid-twentieth century. Featuring objects drawn solely from The Museum at FIT’s permanent collection, this exhibition was the first to juxtapose the work of these legendary designers, side-by-side. 

This curatorial exploration and re-evaluation of these kings of couture—Dior and Balenciaga—also included designs by subsequent creative directors of the houses they founded, including Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Demna Gvesalia, and Maria Grazia Chiuri.

Learn more about the exhibition.

LEFT: Christian Dior, brown silk taffeta cocktail dress, autumn 1955, gift of Leslie Cortesi, 69.153.3
RIGHT: Cristóbal Balenciaga, blue silk taffeta cocktail dress, 1954, gift of Mrs. Rodman A. Heeren, 70.57.54

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Crafting Change
Gallery FIT
September 17 - October 16, 2022

The work of FIT alumni took center stage in the FIT exhibition Crafting Change. Organized by the Textile/Surface Design Department in conjunction with New York Textile Month, the works featured in the exhibition used long-established techniques in a modern context to highlight the potential for promoting connection, community, and wellbeing through creating textiles. These works explored the potential for art to promote the connection with ourselves and others and how the tactility of textiles can provide balance to time spent in the digital realm. 

Image: KÙR x BLG

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