New York: Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)

Situated on yet another wonderful Avenue- 7th, The Fashion Institute of Technology was everything I thought it would be and more, imagine being able to go to a university that was smack bang in the centre of New York, surrounded by endless shops and just the general atmosphere of New York. We went to see two exhibitions that were taking place, we were incredibly lucky that we had the entire exhibition to ourselves as they had opened it early for us.

The first exhibition we saw was named ‘His and Hers’ which looked into the concept of comparisons between men and women’s clothing. The 20th Century saw the introduction of Paul Poirot- an exquisite designer, who freed women from corsets and introduced the ‘hobble’ skirt. He influenced my favourite designer Chanel, who took to the extremes of virtually diminishing any trace of corseted styles to let women breathe. She was inspired by men’s clothing, and completely revolutionised women’s fashion. From an Alexander McQueen dress from his 2008 fall collection, too suits by Versace, I felt incredibly intoxicated with the fact that I was stood in a room, centimetres away from such beautiful designs that completely adapt the fashion industry.

The second exhibition we saw was ‘Japan Now’, the designs were impeccable and completely different to European and American fashion. In the 1980’s, Japanese fashion was revolutionised, Introducing the ‘new appreciation of avant guarde fashion’ and the ‘beauty of imperfection’. The 2010 collection of Japanese men’s ensembles were like costumes, using materials such as green nylon, metallic’s and leather, it was clear to me that this particular designer was incredibly original. The craftsmanship from each Japanese designer was outstanding, such as the outfits for ‘Lolita’s’ and ‘gothic Lolita’s’ which really reminded me of odd dolls outfits. Televisions surrounded the mannequins showing videos of models wearing the outfits, sending a clear message that the outfits reflected each models witty personality. As fantastic as the previous exhibition was, it was so incredible to see this particular exhibition as it broadened my view on different takes on what ‘fashion’ is to each individual person and culture.