The Museum at FIT Fashion Culture Podcast

Piet Mondrian's abstract paintings were appropriated by various aspects of popular culture throughout the 1960s, notably by Yves Saint Laurent in his 1965 dress series. Co-authors Nancy J. Troy and Ann Marguerite Tartsinis join MFIT's senior curator of costume Dr. Colleen Hill to discuss the wildly popular dress series and how art, commerce, and fashion became intertwined in the postwar period. 

This talk was recorded March 6, 2024.

Watch the full video with captions on YouTube.

The Museum at FIT (MFIT) is the only museum dedicated exclusively to the art of fashion in New York City. https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum

 

The Museum at FIT's current exhibition Fashioning Wonder: A Cabinet of Curiosities is all about sparking awe. In conversation with Randy Cohen of the podcast “Person Place Thing,” Dr. Colleen Hill, MFIT’s curator of costume, discusses how three objects from the exhibition piqued her own curiosity. Cohen's interview approach is to delve into what people are most passionate about, showing that the most captivating conversations happen when we talk about something we care deeply about – not just ourselves. 

This conversation was recorded as part of MFIT's Fashion Culture program series on March 4, 2025. 

Fashioning Wonder: A Cabinet of Curiosities is on view in NYC through April 20, 2025.

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The Museum at FIT (MFIT) is the only museum dedicated exclusively to the art of fashion in New York City. https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum

Stephen Jones is a milliner whose exquisitely crafted, quixotic hats attract a celebrity clientele that includes Rihanna, Mick Jagger, and Dita Von Teese. In this conversation with MFIT curator, Colleen Hill, Jones shares stories on how he came into millinery and why people wear hats.

 

Watch the full video with captions on YouTube.

 

The Museum at FIT (MFIT) is the only museum dedicated exclusively to the art of fashion in New York City. https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum

Colleen Hill, curator of costume and accessories at The Museum at FIT, discusses the romance and femininity but also discipline and pain of ballet shoes.

Watch the full video with captions on YouTube.

The Museum at FIT (MFIT) is the only museum dedicated exclusively to the art of fashion in New York City. https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum

Dr. Valerie Steele and Colleen Hill reflect on past exhibitions at The Museum at FIT in celebration of its 50th anniversary. This talk was originally presented at the Exhibiting Fashion symposium on Friday, March 8, 2019. This symposium explored the history of fashion curating, the different ways fashion is displayed in museum settings, and how national and regional identities influence fashion exhibitions.

 

Watch the full video with captions on YouTube.

The Museum at FIT (MFIT) is the only museum dedicated exclusively to the art of fashion in New York City. https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum

Dr. Bethan Bide presents “One Dress, Multiple Stories: Exploring Everyday Fashion Objects as Sites for Narrating Speculative Biographies” at The Museum at FIT's Fashion Unraveled Colloquium, held on Saturday, September 29, 2018. Inspired by the MFIT exhibition Fashion Unraveled and organized by MFIT and the Fashion Research Network, this one-day colloquium explored the concepts of memory, wear, and imperfection in fashion. Speakers focused on imperfect garments and the significance of dressing as a habitual, intimate, and ephemeral act.

Watch the full video with captions on YouTube.

The Museum at FIT (MFIT) is the only museum dedicated exclusively to the art of fashion in New York City. https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum

Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of The Museum at FIT chats with Patricia Mears, deputy director, and Colleen Hill, curator of costume and accessories, about the history of the museum and the exhibitions highlighted in Exhibitionism: 50 Years of The Museum at FIT.

View Transcript.

The Museum at FIT (MFIT) is the only museum dedicated exclusively to the art of fashion in New York City. https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum