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Black Tie
International: Youthquake! |
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Youthquake! The 1960s Fashion Revolution On
View at The Museum at FIT in New York City March 6 through
April 7, 2012 The Museum at FIT and the Fashion Institute of
Technology’s Master of Arts program in Fashion and Textile
Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice present
Youthquake! The 1960s Fashion Revolution.
Featuring over 30 garments, accessories, videos, and other
related media, the exhibition will explore the dramatic
impact of youth culture on fashion during the 1960s, a
decade defined by the ascendance of young people – who were
warning each other not to trust anyone over 30 – as a
political, social, and aesthetic force.
At the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), candidates for
the Master of Arts in Fashion and Textile Studies present an
annual exhibition at The Museum at FIT as part of their
curriculum. They serve as conservators, curators, educators,
exhibition designers, publicists, registrars, and
researchers, drawing primarily from the museum’s collection
to create the exhibition.
Youthquake! The 1960s Fashion Revolution will feature
clothing and accessories from cutting-edge boutique and
mass-market labels, as well as high fashion ready-to-wear
and couture. Exhibition highlights from groundbreaking
boutiques will include a metallic copper mini-dress s
designed for New York’s trendsetting Paraphernalia boutique
and a Day-Glo man’s shirt by pioneering British designer and
boutique-owner John Stephen.
The term “youthquake” was most famously used by American
Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. However, the epicenter of
youth-generated style during the 1960s was London, where
young shoppers began flocking to the new fashion boutiques
that energetic, equally young designers seemed to be opening
almost daily.
A powerful consumer class was starting to take shape, and
similar boutiques began opening internationally. Some of the
designers whose garments were sold in these shops began
developing lower-priced specialty lines in order to reach a
broader audience. Regardless of which youth group was
redefining fashion at the moment – the early 1960s Mods or
the Hippies later in the decade – their styles were quickly
appropriated by mass marketers and couturiers alike. Mass
producers made affordable versions of the new designs and
hired young celebrities to sell them. To illustrate this, a
pair of Trimfit tights “inspired by” fashion icon Twiggy
will be displayed.
The influence of music on 1960s fashion will be represented
by a pair of Wing Dings shoes featuring a Beatles motif and
a paper dress stamped with Bob Dylan’s image, which also
exemplifies the literal disposability of the era’s fashions.
The exuberance of youthquake fashions also found expression
in the work of forward-thinking couturiers.
Designers such as Yves Saint Laurent began producing
ready-to-wear lines that helped to ensure their fiscal
survival. An example of Saint Laurent’s iconic 1968 Safari
tunic from his Rive Gauche boutique will be shown. A man’s
bespoke suit by Ruben Torres, which features a Nehru collar
and a bold animal print, will attest to youthquake’s
infiltration of made-to-order clothing. As the decade drew
to its conclusion, the Mod style ceded to that of the
Hippies, who, in accordance with their anti-consumerist
beliefs, championed shopping at thrift stores. Nonetheless,
as evidenced by a 1968 suede vest and printed cotton
maxi-skirt ensemble by New York-based designer Giorgio di
Sant’Angelo,
Hippie style was quickly commodified, marketed, and sold at
various price points. Youthquake! The 1960s Fashion
Revolution will be on view from March 6 through April
7, 2012. Co-curators Tracy Jenkins and Cassidy Zachary will
give public tours of the exhibition on March 14 and March
19, as part of the museum’s Fashion Culture series. A
website created in conjunction with the exhibition will
include educational resources and further information about
fashion in the 1960s.
A Fashion Museum The Museum at FIT is the only museum in New
York City dedicated solely to the art of fashion. Best known
for its innovative and award-winning exhibitions, which have
been described by Roberta Smith in The New York Times as
“ravishing,” the museum has a collection of more than 50,000
garments and accessories dating from the 18th century to the
present. Like other fashion museums, such as the Musée de la
Mode, the Mode Museum, and the Museo de la Moda, The Museum
at FIT collects, conserves, documents, exhibits, and
interprets fashion.
The museum’s mission is to advance knowledge of fashion
through exhibitions, publications, and public programs.
Visit
www.fitnyc.edu/museum. The museum is part of the Fashion
Institute of Technology (FIT), a college of art and design,
business and technology educating more than 10,000 students
annually. FIT, a college of the State University of New York
(SUNY), offers more than 45 majors leading to the AAS, BFA,
BS, MA, MFA, and MPS degrees. Visit
www.fitnyc.edu .
The Couture Council is a membership group of fashion
enthusiasts that helps support the exhibitions and programs
of The Museum at FIT. The Couture Council Award for Artistry
of Fashion is given to a selected designer at a benefit
luncheon every September. For information on the Couture
Council, call 212 217.4532 or email
couturecouncil@fitnyc.edu . Fashion and Textile Studies
at FIT FIT’s Master of Arts program in Fashion and Textile
Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice prepares students
for careers as curators, conservators, collections managers,
and historians in the field of dress studies.
For more information, visit
www.fitnyc.edu/fashiontextilehistory. Museum Hours
Tuesday-Friday–noon-8 pm Saturday–10 am-5 pm Closed Sunday,
Monday, and legal holidays. Admission is free and open to
the public
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