The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (MFIT) (Seventh Avenue at 27 Street, New York City 10001-5992) presents Fairy Tale Fashion (January 15 – April 16, 2016, Special Exhibitions Gallery) a unique and imaginative exhibition that examines fairy tales through the lens of high fashion. In versions of numerous fairy tales by authors such as Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Andersen, it is evident that dress is often used to symbolize a character’s transformation, vanity, power, or privilege. The importance of Cinderella’s glass slippers is widely known, for example, yet these shoes represent only a fraction of the many references to clothing in fairy tales.
Kirsty Mitchell, The Storyteller, from the Wonderland series. Photograph © Kirsty Mitchell, www.kirstymitchellphotography.com
Organized by associate curator Colleen Hill, Fairy Tale Fashion features more than 80 objects placed within dramatic, fantasy-like settings designed by architect Kim Ackert. Since fairy tales are not often set in a specific time period, Fairy Tale Fashion includes garments and accessories dating from the 18th century to the present. There is a particular emphasis on extraordinary 21st-century fashions by designers such as Thom Browne, Dolce and Gabbana, Tom Ford, Giles, Mary Katrantzou, Marchesa, Alexander McQueen, Rick Owens, Prada, Rodarte, and Walter Van Beirendonck, among others.
The exhibition’s introductory space features artwork that has played a role in shaping perceptions of a “fairy tale” aesthetic. These include illustrations by renowned early 20th-century artists such as Edmund Dulac, Arthur Rackham, and A.H. Watson. Several recent, large-scale photographs from Kirsty Mitchell’s award-winning Wonderland series are also on display. This is the first time that Mitchell’s marvelous work—for which she designs and makes all of the elaborate costumes and sets—has been shown in the United States. Connections between fashion and storytelling are further emphasized by a small selection of clothing and accessories, including a clutch bag by Charlotte Olympia that resembles a leather-bound storybook.
Cape, late 18th century, England or USA. The Museum at FIT, 2002.36.1, photograph © The Museum at FIT (illustrating “Little Red Riding Hood”)
Comme des Garçons, ensemble, spring 2015, Japan. The Museum at FIT, 2015.8.1, photograph © The Museum at FIT (illustrating “Little Red Riding Hood”)
The main gallery space uses fashion to illustrate 15 classic fairy tales, arranged within four archetypal settings. Visitors first walk into the Forest, which includes the tales “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Snow White,” “The Fairies,” “Rapunzel,” and “Snow White and Rose Red.” Several variations of Little Red Riding Hood’s red cloak are shown, beginning with a fashionable woolen cloak from the late 18th century—the style that is used to illustrate innumerable versions of the story—and concluding with a fall 2014 Comme des Garçons ensemble with an enormous, peaked hood in scarlet patent leather. Inspired by the fairy tale–themed fall 2014 presentation by Alice + Olivia designer Stacey Bendet, Snow White is portrayed wearing a black organza gown encrusted with rhinestones while lying in her glass coffin. The subsection on “Rapunzel” includes a stunning dress from Alexander McQueen’s fall 2007 collection, made from deep emerald velvet embellished with copper-colored beads that create a motif of cascading hair.
Adrian, dress, circa 1942, USA. The Museum at FIT, 71.248, photograph © The Museum at FIT (illustrating The Wizard of Oz)
Mary Liotta, evening dress, circa 1930, USA. The Museum at FIT, 78.237.10, photograph © The Museum at FIT (illustrating “Furrypelts”)
The center of the gallery is dominated by a large Castle, in and around which the tales “Cinderella,” “Furrypelts,” “The Snow Queen,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Sleeping Beauty” are displayed. Cinderella is first shown in her rags, exemplified by a Giorgio di Sant’Angelo ensemble with a skirt made from shredded chiffon, and dating from his 1971 The Summer of Jane and Cinderella collection.
Alexander McQueen, dress, fall 2007, England. The Museum at FIT, 2013.2.1, photograph © The Museum at FIT (illustrating “Rapunzel”)
Cinderella’s spectacular glass slippers are exemplified by a pair of 2014 heel-less shoes by Noritaka Tatehana, 3D-printed in clear acrylic and faceted to reflect light. Clothing is central to a lesser-known Brothers Grimm tale titled “Furrypelts,” which calls for a cloak of many furs, in addition to magnificent dresses that look like the sun, the moon, and the stars. The latter is represented by a dazzling, early 1930s evening gown by Mary Liotta, covered in silver stars crafted from beads and sequins. In “The Snow Queen,” the beautiful villainess wears a coat and cap of pristine white fur, exemplified in Fairy Tale Fashion by an opulent hooded fur cape by J. Mendel from 2011.
J. Mendel, ensemble, 2011 (cape) and spring 2008 (dress). Lent by J. Mendel, photograph © The Museum at FIT (illustrating “The Snow Queen”)
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