This past week I was in NYC for a brief visit (less than 24 hours), staying in the Flatiron District. Or was it NoMad? I'm not sure. In any case, since I didn't want to waste my precious time in the city riding in a cab or on the subway, I looked for museums nearby, and discovered that I was not far from the Fashion Institute of Technology-- and The Museum at FIT. Jackpot!
Today I'm posting photos from just one of the three current exhibitions: Fairy Tale Fashion, because I have lots of them! In my next post I'll add photos from the other two exhibitions, The Women of Harper's Bazaar, 1936-1958 and Denim: Fashion's Frontier.
Fairy Tale Fashion was a real gold mine in terms of fanciful ideas that might be morphed into wearable knitted garments. Some of the designs actually included gold in the form of beading or sequins: the top photo shows a cape from the Blumarine Fall 2014 collection, while the second photo is a dress and hood ensemble from Dolce and Gabbana, also Fall 2014. I was thinking that the embellishments on the cape could be reinterpreted in a large scale knitted lace, while the stunning beadwork on the dress and hood made me wonder about a complex allover Fair Isle design--say, something like the Henry VIII pattern pictured above, by Alice Starmore. I love the idea of adding beads to accent the gold colored swirls and scrolls!
The dress above, by Alexander McQueen from fall 2007, is embellished with sequined tresses that I could see worked instead as sinuous knitted cables, while the graphic motifs on the dress below, also Alexander McQueen (fall 2008), could inspire knitted color work OR lace.
And finally, two dresses from the early 1900s: the first is by Mary Liotta, circa 1930, with a charming star pattern. What caught my eye was the variations in density of the stars, which creates a flattering (and flirty) effect, and which reminded me of the changing density of the eyelets in the Hanami knitted stole pattern I admired almost 10 years ago, from fellow independent designer, Melanie Gibbons.
The last photo shows a dress by the Boué sisters, circa 1919. I was intrigued by the bodice, with its asymmetrical mix of fabrics, and the beautiful waistband.
Comments