The Museum at FIT Fashion Culture Podcast

Fashion Design in Colombia | Africa's Fashion Diaspora Symposium

Colombian designer Lia Samantha Lozano, a pioneer of Afro-Colombian fashion and speaks with Professor Dr. Tamara J. Walker about Lozano's eponymous brand, Lia Samantha, which translates the power of Black and Indigenous peoples’ cosmovisions, traditions, wisdom, spirituality, and beauty into contemporary design.

Walker, an associate professor of Africana studies at Barnard College, Columbia University, centers her research on slavery, gender, and racial formation in Latin America. Walker’s first book, Exquisite Slaves: Race, Clothing, and Status in Colonial Lima (2017), won the 2018 Harriet Tubman Prize.

This talk occurred on October 25, 2024 at The Museum at the FIT's Africa’s Fashion Diaspora Symposium at the Fashion Institute of Technology. The symposium explored key histories, networks, and industries led by Black designers who are actively shaping fashion culture. Scholars and designers illustrated the breadth and depth of diasporic fashion networks, from the African continent to South America and the United States. #FashionCulture

Transcript (pdf)

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

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.

Read Transcript (pdf)

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

Olivier Rousteing in Conversation with Valerie Steele

Olivier Rousteing, creative director of the house of Balmain, joins Dr. Valerie Steele for an intimate conversation with FIT students. He recalls his personal struggles and hardships, offering a candid look into his journey and the lessons he’s carried along the way. Speaking on diversity and inclusivity in fashion, Rousteing shares: “We always win when there is love… We can build a community of people that believe in the same world, and we’re all here to shape this world.” He takes a number of audience questions and gives thoughtful and personal answers to the students' questions.

This talk was recorded September 3, 2025.

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

 

Television's Most Stylish Shows with Hal Rubenstein | Fashion Culture

Costume design can make or break a character or TV show. Author, consultant, fashion director, and media personality Hal Rubenstein shares amusing insights about the most influential fashion on television from the 1950s to today. Based on research from his book Dressing the Part: Television's Most Stylish Shows, Mr. Rubenstein reveals the surprising ways our favorite shows have reflected and often shaped the way we dress. He is joined by costume designer Eric Daman, whose work includes looks for the TV show Gossip Girl.

This talk was recorded February 15, 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

Sustainable Solutions: Circularity in Fashion Businesses | Fashion Culture

What is circular design and how does it fit in the fashion industry? A circular economy is a production and consumption model that emphasizes sharing, reusing, repairing, and recycling materials and products to extend their lifecycle. Lauren B. Fay and Cynthia Power discuss the work of brands and retailers working in this way and answer some great audience questions. 

This talk was recorded September 26, 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

Hip Hop History with Ralph McDaniels of Video Music Box | Fashion Culture

“We wanna be fabulous. We wanna be fly. We wanna be fresh!” declares Ralph McDaniels.

For #BlackHistoryMonth we’re excited to share this conversation between Video Music Box co-creator Ralph McDaniels and FIT professor and author Elena Romero about the styles, sounds, and scene of early hip hop in NYC. 

Ralph McDaniels is the founder and curator of the Video Music Box, which airs on NYC-TV, (channel 25 or 22). McDaniels, also known as "Uncle Ralph," has directed and produced over 400 music videos, and co-produced the films Juice (1992) and You’re Watching Video Music Box (Showtime, 2021). McDaniels's microphone is held in the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Elena Romero is assistant chair and assistant professor of Marketing Communications at FIT and was a co-curator of Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: 50 Years of Hip Hop Style. Romero is the author of Free Stylin': How Hip Hop Changed the Fashion Industry (2012) and is a featured expert in the style documentaries The Remix: Hip Hop x Fashion (2019) and Fresh Dressed (2015).

This talk was recorded in Feb 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

Africa's Fashion Diaspora | Fashion Culture

The Museum at FIT's Associate Curator of Costume Elizabeth Way sits down with Digital Media Manager Tamsen Young to discuss Africa’s Fashion Diaspora. From past exhibitions to featured designers and objects, Way shares her inspiration and process for curating the exhibition. Together, they delve into the central themes of Africa’s Fashion Diaspora and introduce listeners to the exhibition’s world of diasporic crossings. 

Africa’s Fashion Diaspora is on view from September 18 - December 29, 2024. 

Transcript (pdf)

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

Image: Mme. Willie Posey, two-piece rayon set in zebra and leopard print, c. 1970, USA, museum purchase

 

Stylist Misa Hylton in Conversation with FIT's Elena Romero | Fashion Culture

Leading celebrity stylist Misa Hylton joined FIT professor Elena Romero in conversation on November 17, 2022. Hylton is acclaimed for creating iconic looks such as the purple pastie-and-pantsuit ensemble worn by Lil’ Kim at MTV’s 1999 Video Music Awards and Beyoncé’s leather MCM bustier and trench coat worn in the 2018 “Apesh*t” music video. Hylton’s past clients include Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, Missy Elliott, Faith Evans,  and Kimora Lee Simmons. She is the founder of the Misa Hylton Fashion Academy, which offers education for creatives looking to build a successful career in the fashion world.

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

Image courtesy of Misa Hylton.

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

Radio Cherry Bombe: A conversation about Food & Fashion with Kerry Diamond

In a special collaboration with Radio Cherry Bombe, host Kerry Diamond interviews Melissa Marra-Alvarez and Elizabeth Way, curators of The Museum at FIT exhibition Food & Fashion. Together, they discuss Elsa Schiaparelli’s lobster dress, Rachel Antonoff’s pasta puffer, this summer’s grocery girl trend, and more. This episode first launched on Radio Cherry Bombe’s podcast on September 18, 2023.

View transcript (PDF) | Learn more about Radio Cherry Bombe
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

 

Intro music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):  https://uppbeat.io/t/corinne/ecstatic

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