3 Must-See Fashion Shows in New York City – Sourcing Journal

New York is fulfilling its title as the fashion capital of the world with three new exhibitions opening this fall. From Instagram-worthy exhibitions that test Christian Dior’s magical mind to immersive experiences that bring street style photographer Bill Cunningham’s life and legacy back into the spotlight, here are three must-see exhibits that underscore fashion’s place in art and culture.

Experience Bill Cunningham’s Time

The life and work of Bill Cunningham, OG in street style photography, is recognized at an immersive new exhibition open through October 30 at The Seaport.

Inspired by The Times of Bill Cunningham, the 2020 documentary by filmmaker Mark Bozek, “Experience the Times of Bill Cunningham” takes visitors into the eclectic world of photographers. Part of the cultural fabric of New York City, Cunningham has photographed ordinary people and famous personalities including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Andy Warhol on the streets of Manhattan and at social events for more than six decades. He died at the age of 87 in 2016.

Bozek said the installation aims to capture “the endless curiosity, energy and discovery that has made Cunningham one of the most influential documentaries, historians and cultural makers in the world.”

Spanning over two floors, 18,000 square feet, and six distinct spaces, the multi-sensory installation designed by ESI Design features large-scale reproductions of Cunningham’s most iconic photographs, video and audio interviews, artifacts such as the shutterbug’s iconic Biria bicycle and brand name. blue trade French worker jackets, and sounds that capture the energy of the streets of New York City.

Along the way, guests can pose at a simulated city crossing where Cunningham takes many of his photos or sit on a bench made of milk crates and foam mattresses—nod to bed in his Carnegie Hall studio apartment. The exhibition concludes with a digital look at today’s street-style photography.

Christian Dior: The Designer of the Dream

Following its success at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” has landed at the Brooklyn Museum.

Covering more than 200 haute couture outfits as well as photos, archive videos, sketches, vintage perfume elements and accessories, the exhibition brings to life Dior’s legacy and the vision of the creative director who succeeded him.

The toilet room, tribute to Atelier and the adjacent couture clothing gallery showcase the main advantages of Dior petites. The Beaux-Arts Court Museum’s central atrium has been redesigned as a dazzling garden—referring to the floral inspiration found throughout the fashion house’s work. The cover gallery features dresses worn by celebrities from Grace Kelly to Jennifer Lawrence.

The exhibition closes on February 20, 2022.

In America: A Fashion Lexicon

After the star-studded gala, the first half of The Costume Institute’s two-part exhibition on American fashion is now open. “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” located at the Anna Wintour Costume Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, celebrates the Institute’s 75th anniversary and establishes a modern fashion vocabulary.

About 100 male and female ensembles from various designers were featured. Enclosed in small boxes representing three-dimensional “patches” of the quilt, the garments are organized into 12 sections that explore “defining emotional qualities of American fashion,” including nostalgia, belonging, joy, excitement, wonder, affinity, confidence, power, desire, certainty, comfort and awareness.

This exhibition is very contemporary compared to previous Costume Institute exhibitions. Sterling Ruby’s “Veil Flag”, a denim wrap created during the Black Lives Matter movement in Summer 2020, hosted the first exhibition. The flag, which explores the concept of this symbolic item “as a marker in the flow and how our relationship to it can change when activated as a veil,” is presented alongside a 1984 Democratic National Committee quote from Jesse Jackson comparing the US to a blanket rather than a blanket made of a whole piece of cloth.

The space is also home to recycled goods, patchwork and quilted fabrics from Heron Preston, Greg Lauren, Bode and No Sesso, as well as 1976 robes made from recycled used denim clothing from Serendipity 3, a NYC general store born in 1950. -an which is now a tourist hotspot for Instagram-worthy desserts.

The three denim looks represent qualities of awareness, awareness, and care—a relevant theme in the global denim industry in recent years. The Threeasfour look combines new denim with recycled paint splattered jeans. Details like couture on denim jackets and Who Break the War jeans—which designer Ev Bravado worked on for more than 40 hours—represent the rise of streetwear, while Denim Tears’ collaboration with Levi’s sheds light on the slave-based past of the cotton industry. .

Part Two, “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” will open on May 5, 2022. Parts One and Two will close on September 5, 2022.