BILL BLASS, red cashmere cardigan and red silk satin long skirt, 1984, USA, gift of Bill Blass, Ltd.Fashion Institute of Technology / SUNY, FIT Library Dept. of Special Collections and FIT Archives.
This season the Boca Raton Museum of Art honors the illustrious designs created by members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). IMPACT: 50 Years of the CFDA is the first museum exhibition to celebrate the quintessentially American artistry of the leading fashion trade organization in the United States. On view from January 29 through April 21, 2013, the exhibition includes garments and accessories by the most impactful creators of the last fifty years.
OSCAR DE LA RENTA, silk taffeta gown with black Guipure lace bodice, spring 2012, USA, lent by Oscar de la Renta. Photograph MFIT / CFDA.
Featured in the exhibition are interactive touchscreen displays that illustrate a timeline of American fashion and recognize the nearly 600 designers who have been members of the CFDA over the last five decades. Each living designer selected to participate in the exhibition has chosen a single object or ensemble that best represents his or her impact on the fashion world. Work by historical CFDA members have been selected by exhibition curators, Patricia Mears, deputy director of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, and Fred Dennis, the FIT museum’s senior curator.
MICHAEL KORS, cashmere sweatshirt, hemp crystal-beaded pajama pant, walnut leather belt and platform sandal, Spring 2011, USA, lent by Michael Kors. Photograph MFIT / CFDA.
“American designers have always had impact on how people dress,” said CFDA president, Diane von Furstenberg. “In honor of that creativity and in celebration of the CFDA’s 50th anniversary, we are proud to present, in partnership with the Boca Raton Museum of Art, an exhibit that represents the tremendous work of our members for the last five decades. ‘Impact’ was the one word that came to mind immediately – it is so strong and defining of our individual and collective influence that we knew right away that our exhibit would be called Impact: 50 Years of the CFDA.”
HALSTON, evening wrap blouse in red silk organza, tulip skirt in satin black crepe, and satin sash belt, Fashion Institute of Technology / SUNY, FIT Library Dept. of Special Collections and FIT Archives. Photograph MFIT / CFDA.
Among the designers included in the exhibition are Michael Kors, Donna Karan, Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, Zac Posen, Alexander Wang, Norma Kamali, Diane von Furstenberg, and Vera Wang.
