POWER MODE: THE FORCE OF FASHION

What makes a particular garment powerful? How does fashion both establish and challenge prevailing dynamics of power? Is political power different from sexual power, for instance? A New York exhibition is now asking these questions through the display of articles of clothing as varied as 1930s ‘kinky’ boots and a contemporary ‘pussyhat’. Drawing on fashion’s many symbolisms, individual sections are devoted to the ladder-climbing ‘power suit’; the subversive power of jeans, printed T-shirts, and black leather jackets; and to the domination of fetish wear. Designers on display include Gianni Versace, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Kerby Jean-Raymond for Pyer Moss, Patrick Kelly, Thom Browne and Marc Jacobs.

December 10, 2019 – May 9, 2020 Museum at FIT,

New York, US www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/ upcoming/index.php