What's on the December Fashion Exhibition Calendar

With the holiday season in full swing, stepping into a museum can bring a dose of beauty and grace into an otherwise busy schedule. Here are my top three picks of museum exhibitions for December 2013.

A Queer History of Fashion at FIT Museum in New York

A Queer History of Fashion, FIT Museum

This exhibition celebrates the influence of gay and lesbian designers on fashion and traces the origins of cross-dressing to its historical roots. This exhibit, co-curated by Valerie Steele and Fred Dennis, literally blew me away by its originality and the depth of research that underpinned its creation. Since I had expected a show that was contemporary in focus, I was surprised to learn that there is a 300 year history to consider, going back to the 18th century when cross-dressing “mollies,” foppish “macaronis,” and “men milliners” challenged gender roles. "This is about honoring the gay and lesbian designers of the past and present. By acknowledging their contributions to fashion, we want to encourage people to embrace diversity," said Dennis on the FIT Museum site. With an innovative presentation format that I had not seen in the FIT gallery before which moved the focus to the centre of the gallery away from the walls, the exhibit is also visually stunning. The show closes on January 4, 2013, but is also accessible through an exhibition website. 

What's on the Fashion Calendar for March

Monday, March 1, 2010:  Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto 7-8 pm
International Women’s Day Lecture:  Heights of Fashion: A History of the Elevated Shoe
Illustrated Talk by Elizabeth Semmelhack, Curator, Bata Shoe Museum

Common sense suggests that shoes should protect our feet and aid our mobility but the high heel challenges this----it is not a sensible shoe. So why, then, do millions of women, but very few men, wear them? How did such an impractical shoe come to be a potent signifier of status and more importantly, gender? This talk will address these questions by going beyond a simple charting of shifting modes of dress and engage with a wide range of subjects: East-West trade and the lure of the exotic; the expression of socio-economic status through impractical dress; and gender politics and the construction of eroticized femininity.

Saturday, March 6th: Toronto Vintage Clothing and Textile Show and Sale
The 19th Annual Vintage Clothing and Textile Sale will be held on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at the CNIB Centre. Available for sale are vintage clothing and accessories, early textiles including quilts, linens, laces, samplers and related sewing items, and heritage estate jewelery.

Sunday, March 7th:  Jean-Paul Gaultier Collection for Target hits stores today! If you see me, watch out as I'll be sharpening my elbows!!!

It's also the night of the Oscars and what better time to point out that the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angelos has an exhibition called Hollywood 2010: The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design which runs from February 9, 2010 – April 17, 2010. On display are over 100 costumes from over two dozen of last year's movies, such as The Young Victoria, Star Trek, Julie & Julia, An Education, Nine, Broken Embraces, and The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Also on display are the fashions from The Duchess, the Academy Award® winner for Best Costume Design in 2008. The free exhibition is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

And that is just for the first week of March! Whew!!