You don't have to travel to the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology to see pieces by Manhattan's finest fashion designers. Behind the sliding metal gates that lead to the intimate Rosenberg Gallery in NYU's very own Barney Building is a collection of pieces created by some of New York's most iconic designers.
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An interesting ensemble by Thom Browne was featured.
A stunning suit by Anna Sui was on display.
Imprint (NYC): The Evolution of Motifs in Fashion is an exhibition created and curated by several second-year Costume Studies graduate students in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. The exhibition explores the uses of various textile motifs throughout fashion's history. Imprint (NYC) features eight pieces, each from a famous designer, and the garments represent a different textile motif.
The student curators spent last fall semester researching each motif and selecting garments for display.
Shannon Bell Price, who served as consulting curator for the exhibition, currently works as an associate research curator at The Costume Institute at the Met.
"Working with Shannon Bell Price taught us a great deal about the exhibition process," graduate student and curator Mellissa Huber said. "[She] provided us with invaluable support and guidance throughout the whole process."
Each garment, on loan from its designer, was selected by the curators to represent the significance of the motifs throughout history, as well as their use in contemporary fashion worldwide.
"When selecting fashion designers, we sought to choose work that demonstrated innovative interpretations of traditional motifs by designers that represented the strength of New York fashion culture," Huber said.
Huber chose a sleeping-bag coat designed by Norma Kamali to represent the functionality and widespread use of camouflage.
"The motif demonstrates the symbolic strength that dress represents to us as social beings," Huber said. "The concept of camouflage is one that comes from nature, and it is something that surrounds us all regardless of geographical, political or aesthetic considerations."
Tanya D. Wilson, another graduate student in the program, explored nature motifs using the concept of animal patterns.
"Since prehistoric times animal skin, fur and leather have been a form of protection as well as a sartorial statement of social status," Wilson said. "The essence of animal is the freedom to explore the wild side, and the message comes across as witty, playful and bold."
Wilson represented her work with a striking Diane Von Furstenberg leopard-print wrap dress. Other pieces displayed in the exhibition include a bright pink houndstooth-check dress by Marc Jacobs, a black-and-white striped women's suit by Anna Sui and a wool and mohair tartan ensemble by Thom Browne.
Imprint (NYC), which has been well-received by visitors according to the exhibition's curators, opened to the public on Jan. 12 and will be on view through Feb. 4.
