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The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology presents Impact: Fifty Years of the CFDA, the first museum exhibition to celebrate the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the leading fashion trade organization in the United States. Approximately 100 garments and accessories designed by the CFDA’s most impactful creators of the last 50 years will be on view from February 10 through April 20, 2012.

Also included in the exhibition will be visual images and acknowledgement of the nearly 600 designers who have been members over the last five decades. Each living designer selected to participate in the exhibition will select a single object or ensemble that best represents his or her impact on the fashion world. Work by historical CFDA members will be selected by exhibition curators Patricia Mears, deputy director of The Museum at FIT, and Fred Dennis, the museum’s senior curator. Impact: Fifty Years of the CFDA is a collaborative partnership between The Museum at FIT and the CFDA.

Conceived by CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg, Impact will be an ode to the illustrious designs of the CFDA’s many members and will mark the organization’s 50th anniversary in 2012.

Among the designers included in the exhibition will be Halston, Norman Norell, Pauline Trigère, Geoffrey Beene, Bill Blass, Rudi Gernreich, Bob Mackie, James Galanos, Diane von Furstenberg, Oscar de la Renta, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tom Ford, Michael Kors, Isabel Toledo, Rodarte, and Proenza Schouler. The exhibition will be organized thematically to illuminate the broad spectrum of American creativity, from functional sportswear to couture-quality evening wear.

Founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert and 50 of America’s leading fashion designers, the CFDA’s primary mandate was the recognition and promotion of fashion design talent based in the United States. Over the next five decades, as CFDA membership swelled to more than 400, its professional and philanthropic activities, outreach, and influence expanded exponentially. Today, in an era dominated by the designer label, it is perhaps difficult to comprehend how seminal a role the CFDA played in creating the platform for the recognition of individual creative talents in New York City, the nexus of global fashion.

“American designers have always had impact on how people dress,” said von Furstenberg. “In honor of that creativity and in celebration of the CFDA’s 50th anniversary, we are proud to present, in partnership with The Museum at FIT, an exhibit that represents the tremendous work of our members for the last five decades. ‘Impact’ was the one word that came to mind immediately—it is so strong and defining of our individual and collective influence that we knew right away that our exhibit would be called Impact: 50 Years of the CFDA.”

“The Museum at FIT is extremely pleased to be collaborating with Diane von Furstenberg and the CFDA on the exhibition Impact,” said Valerie Steele, museum director. “Exhibition curator Patricia Mears is an authority on American fashion both past and present, and I’m sure our visitors will love to see which creations today’s designers have selected.”

A publication also entitled Impact, produced by the CFDA and published by Abrams, will be the visually rich companion book to the exhibition. With more than 500 photographs, the book will document the evolution of the CFDA, from its birth in 1962, its early promotional efforts, and its strong ties to the arts, to the growth of its educational programs, its support of worthy causes, its own awards ceremony, its stewardship of fashion week, and its support of designers. Contributors include Diane von Furstenberg; Cathy Horyn, fashion journalist for the New York Times; and Patricia Mears.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc, (CFDA) is a not-for-profit trade association founded in 1962 that leads industry-wide initiatives and whose membership consists of more than 400 of America’s foremost women’s wear, menswear, jewelry, and accessory designers.

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 the New York Times has described as “ravishing,” the museum has a collection of more than 50,000 garments and accessories dating from the 18th century to the present.

The museum is part of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), a college of art and design, business and technology that educates more than 10,000 students annually. FIT is a college of the State University of New York (SUNY) and offers more than 46 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 held every September.

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Whoever does Marc Jacobs’ research for him is a genius, with an ability to nail a mood that is pure gold. The new Marc by Marc Jacobs collection perfectly captured the moment when stylish boys and girls were picking up Iron Curtain army surplus after the Wall came down. It was all spookily close to the source, which was kind of in keeping with the theme of Jacobs’ signature show on Monday night: There’s no place like home. In that case, “home” was a serene, almost dreamlike reminder of timelessness and enduring value. Here, it was a distillation of the thrift-shop spirit that has shaped the Marc by Marc collection from day one.

It could seem a little listless, except that everything about Marc Jacobs is a package, so the soundtrack was a relentlessly upbeat modern surf sound (the Drums were featured). That shoved the energy levels skyward and underscored Marc by Marc’s fundamental charm and prettiness, both assets clearly highlighted by the fresh-faced and bed-headed cast of models. The pie-crust frilling on blouses and pants might have been a little obvious, but a blanket-striped sweater dress over leggings was girlishly cute. And the military references were artfully tweaked – all reasons to like this collection more and more each season. (by Tim Blanks – style.com)

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Fashion Week kicks off tomorrow, and although the tents are notoriously tight (even celebrities can’t guarantee seats this year), the amateur sartorialists among us can watch the runways in real time thanks to a wave of tech-equipped labels. An expanded lineup of designers are live-streaming their shows this season, including Calvin Klein, Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs, Lacoste, and more (even QVC is going live).

We’ve compiled a list of streamed shows so far — check back for updates as the week progresses…

• Ports 1961: 3 p.m. on Thursday, February 11, at Vogue.com.
• Lacoste: 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 13, at the Lacoste Facebook page.
• Alexander Wang: 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 13, at ShowStudio.com.
• Marc Bouwer: 9 a.m. on Sunday, February 14, at MarcBouwer.com.
• Calvin Klein Men’s: 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 14, at CalvinKleinInc.com or the Calvin Klein Facebook page.
• Marc Jacobs: 8 p.m. on Monday, February 15, at MarcJacobs.com.
• Rodarte: 12 p.m. on Tuesday, February 16, at ShowStudio.com.
• G-Star Raw: 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 16, at G-star.com.
• Calvin Klein Women’s: 3 p.m. on Thursday, February 18, at CalvinKleinInc.com or the Calvin Klein Facebook page.

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We saw glimpses of scarlet in New York, and by the time Prada showed in Milan, we knew for sure: A deep, bricky red is fall’s “It” color. Miuccia’s came in a heavy, country wool. Donna Karan revisited some of her best years with her eighties, Working Girl –style wool blazer.

Read more here:
Fall Trends: Get Ready for Red

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The waist is in for fall.

See the original post here:
Fall Trends: Defining the Waist

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Thigh-high boots at Chalayan. While you pull your frocks out of storage for — eventually — summer weather, retailers will soon be restocking their floors with the fall collections.

Read more:
Nine Trends You’ll Be Wearing This Fall

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Seven models were to wear outfits by Azzedine Alaïa to tonight’s Costume Institute party to celebrate the opening of the “Model as Muse” exhibit, but Alaia has asked them not to wear the dresses. And some of the models, including Naomi Campbell, have decided not to attend the party because the designer’s work is not in the exhibition.

A spokeswoman for Campbell said this afternoon: “As Naomi has been the muse of Azzedine Alaïa for 23 years, she feels she doesn’t want to attend unless she can represent his work.” Dresses were also made for Linda Evangelista and Stephanie Seymour. It’s unknown if they plan to attend the gala.

As anyone who follows fashion knows, Alaia has a long and special association with models. At the start of her career, Campbell lived with Alaia, whom she calls Papa, and Seymour and her husband Peter Brant stay with the designer when they’re in Paris. It’s hard to separate their careers—and bodies—from Alaia’s fashion. And they are not the only models associated with Alaïa. There’s Marie-Sophie Wilson, Veronica Webb, Farida Khelfa and Tatjana Patitz.

Nonetheless, apart from one photograph, by Gilles Bensimon of Elle, Alaia’s work has no place in the Met’s exhibition. At least in terms of fashion, the 80s is mainly represented by clothing from designers like Versace and Armani, and there’s no elaboration of Alaïa’s relationship with models.

Alaïa said in a telephone interview this morning that he was not fully informed by the Met about the subject of the show, nor was he invited to attend the opening. He had made dresses for the models, at their request, but last week, when it became clear to him that his work was not in the exhibition, he asked the models not wear the dresses. “It would have been silly to have seven girls wearing my dresses at the party and not have anything of mine in the exhibit,” he said.

He blamed the omission not on the Met’s chief costume curator Harold Koda, but rather on Anna Wintour, the editor in chief of Vogue, who organizes the party. “She has too much power over this museum,” he said. (Alaïa has had very little presence in Vogue in the last 15 years.) He also conveyed his displeasure to Marc Jacobs, whose company is sponsoring the event, in a telephone call on Saturday.

Reached this morning, Koda said that Wintour has no involvement in Costume Institute shows. He said Alaïa had not been asked to loan garments for this particular exhibit, despite his history with models, because the curators didn’t believe the designer would agree to participate in a group show. Koda added that he hopes to someday have a one-man exhibition of Alaïa’s fashion — provided the Met changes its policy about monographic shows of living designers.

At the press preview for the exhibit this morning, Jacobs said, referring to his call from Alaia: “He’s very upset. Azzedine is a great friend of mine. I admire him so much… He’s had a huge influence on the way women are shaped, the way women look. I do think he’s one of the greatest influences. I’m really sad that he’s not part of this exhibition.”

Original reading here:
Alaïa Pulls His Dresses From the Met Gala

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The Parsons Fashion Benefit, held last night at Cipriani on Wall Street, was a black-tie affair. I put on a long black skirt, a little white shell and a sparkly cardigan, an outfit that made my colleague Eric Wilson beam and say I looked inspired by Michelle Obama. (See next post.) Perhaps because I was one of three people being given an award (the others were Francisco Costa and his boss, Calvin Klein chief Tom Murry), I paid more attention to things than I would normally at an event where the faces are familiar (Anna Wintour, Marc Jacobs, Rachel Zoe, Ron Frasch and Terry Lundgren) and indeed will be in their war paint and party shoes again for the Met gala on Monday.

First of all, this was the graduating seniors’ evening, the celebratory end to assignments and demanding teachers. There was a runway show, and at the end of the evening the outstanding seniors were announced in three categories: Anika Gupta and Azumi Nishizawa for children’s wear, Edward Lorenz Tan for men’s design, and Julia Blum and Robert Fitzsimmons for women’s. I thought Fitzsimmons’ designs indicated someone with a pretty good eye and also a sense of restraint. The clothes were edgy by virtue being colorful, unextravagant and comfortable.

Students have been part of this blog since it began, so I was flattered to receive the Parsons award, which was presented by seniors Bessie Afnaim and Jonathan Cohen. Of course this is a difficult time to be starting a career in fashion and retail, but there’s nothing these kids can do about the problems so they might as well not worry about them too much. Just think about it as a different time, that’s all. Another thing I said to them was to perfect their craft. After months of hearing this kind of stuff from their teachers they probably don’t want to hear it anymore.

But if there’s one thing right now I’d want to be tough-minded and disciplined about it is the craft of making clothes. I’d want to know everything I could—even if the application of the knowledge wasn’t immediately apparent. Or the job you get doesn’t ask for much. My guess is the cost of clothing and the world-wide recession are going to put quality under increasing pressure. We’re going to see manufacturers cutting all kinds of corners to maintain their margins or just stay in business. But, if you’re vaguely serious about design, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t equip yourself with as much knowledge about technique as you can. Because at some point it WILL be useful, not only to you but to someone else. Aside from the fact that the mastery of one technique inevitably leads to the mastery and use of another, I think this approach to the high calling of being a fashion designer will liberate you from having to do a lot of stupid stuff.

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The Graduation Season

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