Daphne Guinness @ the Fashion Institute of Technology

I was a pretty busy lady in the city this past Saturday!! Headed to the Fashion Institute of Technology or FIT to see the Daphne Guinness exhibit. If you did not get to see McQueen @ the Met, this has many of his designs on view and is pretty amazing. The exhibit is free, so anyone can enjoy the wonders of Ms. Guinness's fabulous collection.  

There is no photography allowed so here are some items from the FIT website:  

*Dress by Chanel. From the collection of Daphne Guinness. 

*Dress by Alexander McQueen. From the collection of Daphne Guinness. 

*Shoes by Nina Ricci. From the collection of Daphne Guinness. 

*Boots by Alexander McQueen. From the collection of Daphne Guinness.

*Jacket by Chanel. From the collection of Daphne Guinness.

*All photography © Copyright 2011 The Museum at FIT.

*The Honorable Daphne Suzanne Diana Joan Guinness was born in 1967, the daughter of brewery heir, Jonathan Guinness, Lord Moyne, and French beauty, Suzanne Lisney.  Her paternal grandmother was Diana Mitford, one of the legendary Mitford sisters. In 1987, at the age of nineteen, Daphne married Spyros Niarchos. After her divorce in 1999, Daphne resumed her maiden name, and over the past decade has emerged on the world’s stage an extraordinary fashion creature.

*We tend to think of fashion as being created by fashion designers. Yet designers do not create in isolation.  Amanda Harlech, Karl Lagerfeld’s aide-de-camp and muse, has said that “Karl is continually inspired by [Daphne].” Moreover, although designers propose new looks, in order for something to become fashionable, to move off the runway and into real life, it has to be taken up by various fashion insiders, including editors, photographers, retailers, and fashion trendsetters.

*text from FIT website 

I will probably see this again in November when I am in the city for a few days to cover the 2011 Chocolate Show New York. It is too good to not view a second time and I am sure I will see things I missed the first time just because I was so in awe. Be sure to have this on your New York City Museum To Do List !!! 

Today's Words of Wisdom: “Part of being a conscious human being, is having an intention. And if you put an intention into whatever you do, it’s definitely going to be more satisfying in the end.” -Daphne Guinness

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Vivienne Westwood Exhibit at FIT March 8 thru April 2, 2011

Vivienne Westwood, 1980-89 is the first exhibition to examine Vivienne Westwood’s transformation from “street” provocateur to high-end fashion designer during the 1980s. Westwood began the decade outside the mainstream, as a designer of subcultural style, but as her work evolved so did her level of press coverage and the breadth of her clientele. By 1989, she was a celebrated vanguard in the fashion world. The magnitude of her remarkable rise was confirmed when she was named British Designer of the Year in both 1990 and 1991.

The exhibition features garments drawn exclusively from the Museum at FIT’s permanent collection, as well as complementary photographs, magazines, and videos. Several looks from Westwood’s early years are being shown, including an ensemble from the influential Pirate collection of 1981. The slouchy, 18th-century inspired Pirate clothes could be worn by both men and women, and were a perfect fit for the post-punk aesthetic of the New Romantics. Westwood’s witty clothes in the early 1980s were produced in collaboration with her partner at the time, artist and music manager Malcolm McLaren. Their work was closely tied to the music scene, and the designs were worn by club kids and bands on MTV.

In 1984, Westwood and McLaren ended their partnership, and Westwood unveiled her first solo collection in 1985. Her designs for the latter half of the decade revealed a clear aesthetic shift to a more structured and feminine approach. As seen in the exhibition, a tartan and tweed ensemble from the Time Machine collection (Fall/Winter 1988-89) modernizes the aesthetic of traditional British dress—the fabrics are conventional, but the cuts are innovative and contemporary.  Westwood again puts a spin on historical style with her corset and pannier skirt (also from Time Machine) which showcase her ability to update historical shapes for a fashion-conscious audience. According to Museum at FIT director Dr. Valerie Steele, the revival of the corset was “perhaps the most important of Westwood’s innovations.”

The exhibition concludes with a never-before-exhibited menswear ensemble from the Civilizade collection (Spring/Summer 1989).  This bi-colored knit ensemble, with articulated elbow- and kneepads, combined Westwood’s interest in medieval heraldry with padding that is usually associated with skateboarding.  The outfit underscores Westwood’s ability to unite historical costume, street culture, and mainstream fashion—elements that continue to be relevant to her work today. 

Vivienne Westwood, “Statue of Liberty” corset and skirt, silver leather, silver metallic lamé and white silk tulle, Time Machinecollection, fall 1988, England, museum purchase

Vivienne Westwood, man’s two-piece ensemble, red and gold cotton jersey,Civilizade collection, spring 1989, England, museum purchase.  

Vivienne Westwood, woman’s jacket and skirt ensemble, purple tweed, red tartan wool, white cotton, Time Machinecollection, Fall 1988, England, museum purchase. 

World’s End (Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood), unisex ensemble, multicolor striped cotton, Pirates collection, Fall 1981, England, gift of Barbara Hodes.

ALL INFORMATION LISTED ABOVE TAKEN FROM FIT WEBSITE 

EXHIBIT IS FREE TO THE PUBLIC AND A "MUST SEE" 

MORE INFORMATION AND FIT WEBSITE CAN BE FOUND HERE