Exoticism – world of fashion at FIT Museum from Nov 27

16 Nov '07

3 min read

Exoticism, the latest exhibition in the popular Fashion and Textile History Gallery of The Museum at FIT, presents fashion inspired by Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.

From November 27, 2007, through May 7, 2008, visitors will have an opportunity to experience how exoticism in fashion has changed over the past 250 years – from the era of colonialism to the rise of globalization and multiculturalism.

More than 70 looks are featured, many by Parisian couturiers such as Paul Poiret and Yves Saint Laurent. Additional exhibition highlights include fashions by designers from Brazil, China, Malaysia, Mali, and South Africa.

The exhibition opens with a display of magnificent Indian saris from the 1940s, worn by Princess Niloufer of Hyderabad. Also on display in the introductory gallery are a Chinese dragon robe, African kuba cloth, a wedding kimono from the 1920s, and other beautiful garments and textiles from around the world.

The next three galleries are organized chronologically from the 18th century to the present. As foreign luxury goods entered the Western market, European fashion increasingly featured "exotic" techniques and iconography. Batik, calico, and madras, Chinese dragons, Kashmir shawls, and kimono sleeves came into the Western fashion vocabulary.

A Parisian mantle from the 1880s, for example, shows the strong influence of the vogue for japonisme, while another dress from the same period is actually made from kimono fabric. Not only surface decoration, but also methods of construction changed under the influence of non-Western styles. A 1920s frock by the Callot Sisters, an extraordinary Mainbocher evening gown from the 1940s, and a hot pink Bonnie Cashin dress from the 1960s all show the influence of the sari on garment construction.

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