Runway

A New Exhibition at FIT Considers How Garments Created for Survival Became Oh So Chic

By Laird Borrelli-Persson
  • Expedition Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT
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    Photo: © The John Cowan Archive
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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    Vogue, November 1, 1964

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    Photo: Monica Feudi / GoRunway.com
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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    Arctic Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Fall 2010

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    Photo: © The Museum at FIT
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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    Arctic Yohji Yamamoto, ensemble, fall/winter 2000, Japan.

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    Photo: © The Museum at FIT
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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    Mountaineering Joseph Altuzarra, parka and dress, fall/winter 2012, USA. Lent by Altuzarra.

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    Photo: © The Museum at FIT
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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    Mountaineering Joseph Altuzarra, parka and suit, fall/winter 2011, USA. Lent by Altuzarra.

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    Photo: © The Museum at FIT
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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    Mountaineering Norma Kamali, coat, circa 1977, USA. Gift of Linda Tain.

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    Photo: © The Museum at FIT
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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    Mountaineering Junya Watanabe, Comme des Garçons, ensemble, fall/winter 2004, Japan.

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    Photo: © The Museum at FIT
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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    Mountaineering Tommy Hilfiger, man’s ensemble, 1999, USA. Gift of Tommy Hilfiger USA.

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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    Deep Sea DKNY, dress, neoprene, nylon, fall/winter 1994, New York, Gift of DKNY.

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    Photo: © The Museum at FIT
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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    Deep Sea Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, jacket, spring/summer 1991, France.

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    Photo: © The Museum at FIT
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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    Safari Yves Saint Laurent, safari tunic, 1968, France. Gift of Mary Russell.

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    Photo: © The Museum at FIT
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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    Safari Abercrombie & Fitch, safari suit, 1913-1915, USA.

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    Photo: Photographer unknown / Grumman Aerospace Corporation / Collection of the family of Leonard Matero
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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    The Apollo Lunar Module, 1969

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    Photo: © The Museum at FIT
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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    Space Harry Gordon for Poster Dress, paper dress, 1968, England. Gift of Estelle Ellis.

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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    Space Paco Rabanne, wedding dress, plastic and metal, circa 1968, Paris. Gift of Montgomery Ward.

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    Expedition: Fashion from the Extreme at MFIT

    Space Helmut Lang, jumpsuit, fall/winter 1999, USA. Gift of HL – art.

Christian Lacroix is Laird Borrelli-Persson’s fashion raison d’etre; the way he combined romance and historicism set her on the path she is following today. Borrelli-Persson studied literature at Boston College, spending her junior year abroad at Oxford, where she added some art history. After graduation she moved to New York to intern ... Read More
TopicsExhibitions