Episodes

Tuesday Jul 01, 2025
Television's Most Stylish Shows with Hal Rubenstein | Fashion Culture
Tuesday Jul 01, 2025
Tuesday Jul 01, 2025
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

Thursday May 01, 2025
Sustainable Solutions: Circularity in Fashion Businesses | Fashion Culture
Thursday May 01, 2025
Thursday May 01, 2025
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

Saturday Feb 01, 2025
Hip Hop History with Ralph McDaniels of Video Music Box | Fashion Culture
Saturday Feb 01, 2025
Saturday Feb 01, 2025
“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

Tuesday Sep 03, 2024
Africa's Fashion Diaspora | Fashion Culture
Tuesday Sep 03, 2024
Tuesday Sep 03, 2024
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.
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

Friday Mar 01, 2024
Friday Mar 01, 2024
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.

Thursday Feb 01, 2024
Stella Jean in Conversation with Dr. Valerie Steele | Fashion Culture
Thursday Feb 01, 2024
Thursday Feb 01, 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

Wednesday Nov 01, 2023
Radio Cherry Bombe: A conversation about Food & Fashion with Kerry Diamond
Wednesday Nov 01, 2023
Wednesday Nov 01, 2023
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
License code: 5UKIMK33CBRHVVEZ

Friday Sep 01, 2023
Gabriela Hearst in conversation with Valerie Steele | Fashion Culture
Friday Sep 01, 2023
Friday Sep 01, 2023
Recorded in 2021, Uruguayan-born fashion designer Gabriela Hearst takes a stroll down memory lane with Dr. Valerie Steele as they discuss how growing up on the family ranch influenced Hearst’s designs as well as how she rolled out not one but three collections during the pandemic.
She is the winner of the 2016/2017 International Woolmark Prize for Womenswear, the 2020 CFDA American Womenswear Designer of the Year Award, and the recipient of the 2023 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion.
(Recorded October 4, 2021)
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

Monday Jul 31, 2023
Fashion is Spinach: The Life and Work of Elizabeth Hawes | Fashion Culture
Monday Jul 31, 2023
Monday Jul 31, 2023
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

Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Zandra Rhodes: 50 Fabulous Years in Fashion | Fashion Culture
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
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