Living Our Lives in Our Own Terms

Archive for the ‘black’ Category

Gothic in Fashion – A Fascinating Exhibit at the FIT

In black, darkness, death, design, fashion, FIT, gothic, Manhattan, museums, SUNY on December 8, 2008 at 7:12 pm

Found myself Saturday afternoon killing time after a friend failed to show up on time for a late lunch out. We had to move the meet-up later at 4:30, and I took the opportunity to go to a nearby church and pray. Minutes after, I still had far more time to spare, and I ventured out to walk further south from 34th St on 7th Avenue, close to where I used to work doing sales, plants and floral arrangements in the Flower Market District. It was way more than chilly, and soon I was struggling to convince myself “I wasn’t really freezing” but it was turning hopeless. I saw the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), and recalled seeing the museum in it every time I walked past by the campus on my way to buy some lunch somewhere in the vicinity. I thought it’s not a bad idea at all to get myself warm; I hastily got myself inside, and heard the staff inside directing me downstairs to view the current exhibit. And what an exhibit! Take a view on it online as well!

I saw the “no photo taking allowed” notice at the entrance. I saw a number of visitors, with one very knowledgeable lady doing a guided tour. I didn’t join the group at once, preferring to view the fashion creations just by myself, as other visitors mill around the small space for a museum. Think “Vampire, Decay, Fabulous, Eternal Youth, Death, NYC, Funeral, Black, Bad Dreams, Intriguing, Secrets, Dungeons, Mysterious, Captivating, Blood, Outrageous, Vanities” and you’d have a better mind approach to one of the best curated shows I’ve seen todate, unpretentious yet enthralling, given the limited space and resources, with FIT being part of the State University of New York, so I’m amazed at the level of creativity and resourcefulness displayed in the exhibit. I remember one of my massage woman clients, a South Korean, who highly recommended the FIT to me to do advance studies in the creative fields while we’re having a conversation during a session; she herself came from Parsons, but thought FIT is better (I didn’t ask more about the details why).

Took some pictures using the limited lenses of my SonyEricsson celfone surreptitiously. I knew I’d be caught anytime soon, as the security were on the lookout; I think they must have seen me through the CCTV system in the area. Here are the photos I managed to shoot:

[Picture #1 = Alexander McQueen’s “Corset and pants”]

[Picture #2 = Comme de Garcon’s Rei Kawakubo – “Dress””]

[Picture #3 = Hussein Chalayan’s “Blog Top and Skirt”]


[Picture #4 = Kei Kagami’s “Anatomy 2 Ensemble”]

[Picture #5 = “Assembled mannequins wearing various unidentified designs”]


[Picture #6 =Alexander McQueen’s “Prosthetic Corset”]


[Picture #7 = Kei Kagami’s “Anatomy 1 Ensemble”]

Gothic in Fashion – A Fascinating Exhibit at the FIT

In art, black, darkness, FIT, gothic, Manhattan, museums, part time jobs, SUNY on December 8, 2008 at 7:12 pm

Found myself Saturday afternoon killing time after a friend failed to show up on time for a late lunch out. We had to move the meet-up later at 4:30, and I took the opportunity to go to a nearby church and pray. Minutes after, I still had far more time to spare, and I ventured out to walk further south from 34th St on 7th Avenue, close to where I used to work doing sales, plants and floral arrangements in the Flower Market District. It was way more than chilly, and soon I was struggling to convince myself “I wasn’t really freezing” but it was turning hopeless. I saw the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), and recalled seeing the museum in it every time I walked past by the campus on my way to buy some lunch somewhere in the vicinity. I thought it’s not a bad idea at all to get myself warm; I hastily got myself inside, and heard the staff inside directing me downstairs to view the current exhibit. And what an exhibit! Take a view on it online as well!

I saw the “no photo taking allowed” notice at the entrance. I saw a number of visitors, with one very knowledgeable lady doing a guided tour. I didn’t join the group at once, preferring to view the fashion creations just by myself, as other visitors mill around the small space for a museum. Think “Vampire, Decay, Fabulous, Eternal Youth, Death, NYC, Funeral, Black, Bad Dreams, Intriguing, Secrets, Dungeons, Mysterious, Captivating, Blood, Outrageous, Vanities” and you’d have a better mind approach to one of the best curated shows I’ve seen todate, unpretentious yet enthralling, given the limited space and resources, with FIT being part of the State University of New York, so I’m amazed at the level of creativity and resourcefulness displayed in the exhibit. I remember one of my massage woman clients, a South Korean, who highly recommended the FIT to me to do advance studies in the creative fields while we’re having a conversation during a session; she herself came from Parsons, but thought FIT is better (I didn’t ask more about the details why).

Took some pictures using the limited lenses of my SonyEricsson celfone surreptitiously. I knew I’d be caught anytime soon, as the security were on the lookout; I think they must have seen me through the CCTV system in the area. Here are the photos I managed to shoot [with descriptions following the order of their appearance in this posting]:

[Picture #1 = Alexander McQueen’s “Corset and pants”]

[Picture #2 = Comme de Garcon’s Rei Kawakubo – “Dress””]

[Picture #3 = Hussein Chalayan’s “Blog Top and Skirt”]


[Picture #4 = Kei Kagami’s “Anatomy 2 Ensemble”]

[Picture #5 = “Assembled mannequins wearing various unidentified designs”]

[Picture #6 =Alexander McQueen’s “Prosthetic Corset”]

[Picture #7 = Kei Kagami’s “Anatomy 1 Ensemble”]