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gallery
September 25, 2017

Fashion for Survival, on Earth and Beyond

By Emilia Petrarca@emiliapetrarca

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Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
Extremes

A series examining the outer edges of style.

It started with a puffer coat. Patricia Mears, the deputy director of The Museum at FIT, noticed an elegant puffer on the fall 2011 Altuzarra runway at New York Fashion Week. In 2014, when the look appeared again in collections and on a handful of bloggers, she began asking herself: “How did this happen?” Why were so many people adopting a garment used in places like the Arctic to survive?

A new exhibit at The Museum at FIT titled, “Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme,” seeks to answer this question. Beginning in the 1960s with the Space-Age trend and ending with our current fascination with space travel, (see Chanel’s fall 2017 rocket ship), the show includes high-fashion pieces inspired by expeditions on earth and beyond, as well as the hip-hop culture of the late ’90s/early-2000s. Space boots by André Courrèges, Helmut Lang jumpers, sculptural Comme des Garçons puffers, and oversize Tommy Hilfiger coats display the theme’s wide range of interpretations.

Why does explorer fashion have such staying power? Mears offers a few reasons: We’re living in a time when the environment really is getting more extreme. Meanwhile, outerwear technology is evolving, and clothes are becoming more functional (i.e. athleisure). But the exhibit also raises a lot of questions about the moment we’re in, as well as where we’re headed in the future.

“Is it a protection not only from the elements, but from our culture as well?” asks Mears. “Are we sheltering ourselves from ourselves?”

See a sneak peek inside the exhibit below, and visit before it closes on January 6. The show is accompanied by the book Expedition: Fashion From the Extreme, published by Thames & Hudson.

Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme
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1 / 15 Photos
Joseph Altuzarra, parka and suit, fall/winter 2011, USA.  Lent by Altuzarra.  Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
Tommy Hilfiger, man’s ensemble, 1999, USA. Gift of Tommy Hilfiger USA. Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
Junya Watanabe, Comme des Garçons, ensemble, fall/winter 2004, Japan.   Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
Norma Kamali, coat, circa 1977, USA.  Gift of Linda Tain. Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
Jean Paul Gaultier, coat, fall/winter 1994, France.  Lent by Dorothea Mink. Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
Junya Watanabe, coat, fall/winter 2014, Japan.  Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
Sacai, ensemble, fall/winter 2009, Japan.  Gift of Sacai, courtesy of The News Inc. Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
Yohji Yamamoto, ensemble, fall/winter 2000, Japan.  Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
Patagonia, Inc., men's Core Temp diving set, 1995, USA. Gift of Patagonia, Inc. Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
Yves Saint Laurent, safari tunic, 1968, France.  Gift of Mary Russell. Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
André Courrèges, dress, circa 1968, France. Pierre Cardin, hat, circa 1965, France.  Gifts of Bernie Zamkoff, and Janet A. Slo... André Courrèges, dress, circa 1968, France. Pierre Cardin, hat, circa 1965, France.  Gifts of Bernie Zamkoff, and Janet A. Sloane, respectively.  Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
Andre Courrèges, sunglasses, 1964, France.  Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
André Courrèges, boots, 1965, France.  Gift of Sally Cary Iselin. Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
Donald Brooks, evening coat, circa 1971, USA.  Gift of Doris Blaine. Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
Waste Basket Boutique by Mars of Asheville Dresses, circa 1966, USA. Gift of Ruth Ford and Mrs. D. J. White. Coat, 1966, USA. Gift of Montgomery ... Waste Basket Boutique by Mars of Asheville Dresses, circa 1966, USA. Gift of Ruth Ford and Mrs. D. J. White. Coat, 1966, USA. Gift of Montgomery Ward.   Photo: Courtesy of The Museum at FIT
1 / 15

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