Goth and All its Glory

Saying you go to Parsons is like saying you go to Harvard. It is the ivy league of fashion and design school. Too bad there is a missing component that could top us off. This weekend I visited the Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.) museum. Currently, there are two exhibitions, Gothic Glamour and Seduction. If you’re not familiar with the F.I.T. museum and you love fashion, it is worth getting to know. There are a couple of exhibitions throughout the year displaying a collection of past and present silhouettes from renowned designers from around world. Design isn’t even the word for it; these clothes are pure art and make other designers strive for this amount of beauty in their pieces.

I started with the Seduction Exhibition. It displayed seductive designs dated from the 18th century through today. It showed me how much it has changed since the Victorian era. Seduction can be perceived differently by anyone and I think this exhibition captured that. There was one dress that specifically caught my eye. It was a light pink silk chiffon evening dress designed by Sárka Sisková from the Czech Republic. Some would argue that this is not the definition of seduction, but I disagree. The dress was beautifully draped showing most of the back. It was breathtaking and what every goddess dreams of wearing. We see seduction in the form of a voluptuous gown to playboy bunny corsets and silk underwear to taffeta ruching and silk jersey. Regardless of what makes you crave seduction, whether tasteful or trashy, the choice is yours. (I’d suggest keeping it tasteful).

 

Sárka Sisková, Spring 2008

I came to the exhibition primarily to see Gothic Glamour. Being that my cousin is Daang Goodman designer of Tripp NYC, there is a little darkness in me from watching her grow into an extremely successful designer. The color black has for a long time suggested a dark mysterious elegance and eroticism. Fashion reveals itself as trends die and resurrect. Without the afterlife we would never have a present. It’s the inspiration for the new and old and holds the strong statement by philosopher Walter Benjamin, “Fashion mocks death.” The exhibition was like nothing I had seen before. It’s this type of beauty you will never see walking down the street and therefore, it is something that must be seen. Many of the gowns almost brought me to tears. A Givenchy dress by Ricardo Tisci made me weak in the knees. It was the first dress as I walked into the room. Made of champagne silk gauze, leather, metal and rubber, it was draped to fit the body of a woman and it gave off a mysterious vibe, which made you picture who might wear it. I pictured myself... but I always do when it comes too beautiful clothing. 

 

Givenchy by Ricardo Tisci, Spring 2008

In his spring 2002 collection, Hussein Chalayan created a masterpiece of blue silk gauze netting and cotton. It was ripped revealing other fabrics to suggest it was torn apart by a voodoo curse revealing elements from the past. Our first perception of Goth is black, but surprisingly most of the dresses I loved had some color. It showed the relationship that can be created with color and darkness. Gothic Glamour gave me a reason to rethink Goth and the different aspects of the beauty it holds. 

Hussein Chalayan, Spring 2002

I will say Gothic Glamour was top notch compared to seduction. The way it was displayed and put together puts you in a Tim Burton state of mind and traps you in the hell of fashion...and all of its darkness.

Gothic beauty: play on words? Or truth be told?

~Truth be told.

Cykic Fashion

I highly recommend you see both exhibitions. Gothic Glamour ends February 21, 2009 and Seduction is over June 16, 2009. Admission is free. For more information visit http://www.fitnyc.edu/museum. It’s a museum filled with gorgeous clothes. What could be better?