The Museum at FIT Fashion Culture Podcast

Transforming Fashion Education | New Directions in Fashion Research Symposium

How can fashion schools institutionally cultivate support and accelerate the many changes already happening in the classroom around inclusion and equity? Ben Barry, Dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design, explores the decolonization work at Parsons and the successes, challenges, and discussions that arose from that process.

Ben Barry was named to the Vogue Business inaugural “100 Innovators” list in 2022. Barry is leading the Parsons fashion community to embed equity, inclusion, and justice in its curriculum and culture. His current research, funded by the Ford Foundation, explores how to redesign fashion education and the fashion industry to enable disabled designers to thrive.

This talk, "Transforming Fashion Education: Possibilities and Limits of Equity, Inclusion, and Decolonization," was originally given in 2024 at MFIT’s New Direction in Fashion Research Symposium. 

The Museum at FIT’s 31st symposium, New Directions in Fashion Research, focused on new avenues of study in the interdisciplinary field of fashion. Scholars, curators, and collectors explored topics such as practice-based research, collecting practices, theories and methodologies, and the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion in fashion education.

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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

Stella Jean in Conversation with Dr. Valerie Steele | Fashion Culture

In February of 2021, Stella Jean, the Italian-Haitian fashion designer, joined Dr. Valerie Steele, director of MFIT, for a discussion on expanding diversity in the Italian fashion system. Stella Jean, whose clients include Rihanna and Beyoncé, collaborates with artisans in Africa and Haiti, and has been an advocate for Black designers in Italy.

 

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

Fashion is Spinach: The Life and Work of Elizabeth Hawes | Fashion Culture

Elizabeth Hawes is known for her timeless fashion designs and her written critique of the fashion system, such as in her 1940 book Fashion is Spinach. In this conversation moderated by author and podcaster April Calahan, professors and fashion historians Lourdes Font (FIT) and Francesca Granata (The New School) discuss the importance of Hawes in American fashion. She was an American designer, author, labor organizer, and social critic whose ideas many praise to be decades before her time. Over the course of her career, Hawes questioned the division between menswear and womenswear, advocated for what we call today “slow fashion", designed elegant yet practical pieces, and sought to reform working conditions in the fashion industry. 

(Recorded March 7, 2023)

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

Technology and the Future of Fashion | Fashion Culture

On October 16, 2019, model Veronica Webb and Rory Tahari, the CEO and founder of State of Mind Partners, discussed the future of fashion and the impact of digital technology. Drawing on their decades of fashion experience, Webb and Tahari addressed blogging, online/mobile shopping, and innovative manufacturing methods, such as 3D printing and robotic sewing.

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

Mexican Rose | Fashion Culture

For The Museum at FIT's Pink Symposium, Tanya Melendez-Escalante, MFIT senior curator of education and public program, explored the history of the color “Mexican pink” and how it has been used by fashion designers and architects from Mexico.

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

From Sylph to Swan: The Tutu and Fashion | Fashion Culture

Patricia Mears, deputy director of The Museum at FIT, explores the history of the tutu in ballet and fashion at The Museum at FIT's 14th annual fashion symposium, Dance & Fashion, held on October 23 & 24, 2014. This symposium explored how dance costume has inspired fashion, and how fashion designers have increasingly been creating dance costumes.

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

Ballet Shoes: Function, Fashion, and Fetish | Fashion Culture

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

A Conversation with Liya Kebede | Fashion Culture

Accomplished supermodel and designer Liya Kebede joins MFIT Assistant Curator of Costume Elizabeth Way to talk about lemlem, Kebede’s collection of women’s, men’s, children’s clothing, and home goods made entirely in Africa. The core collection is handwoven from natural cotton sourced in Kebede’s native Ethiopia. Women artisans are at the heart of lemlem, and the brand is committed to helping them find health care, education, and jobs through the lemlem Foundation.

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

Careers in Fashion Media | Fashion Culture

Elizabeth Way, in conversation with Teri Agins, Dario Calmese, and Constance White discusses the evolving field of fashion journalism at The Museum at FIT's Black Fashion Designers symposium held on Monday, February 6, 2017. The one-day symposium featured talks by designers, models, journalists, and scholars on African diasporic culture and fashion.

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

50 Years of The Museum at FIT | Fashion Culture

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