Building on this trend for ostentatious displays of wealth, heavily branded apparel became an important trend of the 1990s. From logo T-shirts to suits bedazzled with Versace’s medusa emblem, branding was rampant at all levels of the fashion industry.

A bold Chanel necklace from Karl Lagerfeld’s iconic 1991 hip-hop collection, with the company’s name prominently festooned at the bottom of a thick gold chain, is a prime example of this trend.

In reaction to such conspicuous consumption, designers such as Calvin Klein, Prada, and Helmut Lang adopted a minimalist aesthetic incorporating black, gray, and nude tones.

After its invention by the military in the early 20th century, camouflage was quickly appropriated by fashion and has repeatedly reemerged, always carrying with it an immediate military association.

Acknowledging that camouflage’s resurgence on high fashion runways and fast-fashion racks has been building, Trend-ology will close with a selection of garments that utilize camouflage prints.

These pieces will range from a Vera Maxwell sportswear dress from 1974 to an evening gown by John Galliano for Dior from 2001, as well as looks from the most recent runway collections.

By concluding Trend-ology with “camo” looks from the 1970s to today, the exhibition will demonstrate that while many trends emerge and fade, certain trends continually resurface–for example, leopard and tartan in addition to camouflage–each time imbued with a new cultural resonance befitting the moment.

Trend-ology is being organized by Emma McClendon and Ariele Elia. The exhibition will be on view from December 5, 2013, through May 9, 2014, in the Fashion and Textile History Gallery at The Museum at FIT.

The Fashion and Textile History Gallery presents biannual exhibitions examining aspects of the past 250 years of fashion. Exhibitions are curated exclusively from The Museum at FIT’s extensive collection.

Fashion Institute of Technology