Charles James

A brilliant green gown in sculptured silk satin by Charles James, the late American master couturier, gleams like a just-polished emerald as you enter the archives of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology – a huge, climate-controlled space that houses more than 50,000 garments and accessories.

Care for a little Chanel? How about hundreds of delectable vintage suits, hanging closely together in the fantasy closet of a fashionista’s dreams, with tweed jackets in plaids, pastels, or florals?

Nearby are the historical garments, which range from the 18th century onward, including dresses from the Civil War era, “just like ones you’d see in an Impressionist painting,” says Valerie Steele, the museum’s director and chief curator.

It was Steele who had to cull through this huge permanent collection, and a halfcentury worth of FIT exhibits, to come up with “Exhibitionism,” a new show that opens Friday and celebrates the museum’s 50th anniversary – just in time for New York Fashion Week.

There wasn’t room enough in the museum to spotlight all of the favorite exhibits from 50 years – there have been more than 200 – so Steele whittled it down to 33, each of which are represented with a vignette.

They include “Fairy Tale Fashion”, a 2016 show that illustrated 15 well-known fairy tales using both clothes – like the iconic red riding hood – or accessories, like the glass slipper. A real red hooded cape from 18th-century England stands

Ralph Lauren