FIT Explores the Dance-Fashion Connection

September 10, 2014


The
fashion world is totally obsessed with the dance worldand vice versa. Fashion is an artform that explores fabulous ways to clothe the moving body; dance is an artform that explores fabulous ways for that body to move. Since both are all about showing bodies at their best, in a way it’s unsurprising that they have a little mutual admiration society going on.

On Monday, The Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in NYC will debut Dance & Fashion, an exhibit documenting the long and fascinating relationship between the two worlds. Naturally, the show includes a bunch of haute couture dance costumes—notably designs by Valentino, Gilles Mendel, Olivier Theyskens and Rodarte for New York City Ballet, and Halston’s iconic pieces for the Martha Graham Dance Company. But it also shows the impact dance and dancers have had on fashion. There’s a Christian Dior ballgown inspired by Black Swan, for example, and an ensemble from Yves Saint Laurent’s 1976 Ballets Russes collection.

Dance & Fashion
runs through January 3 and admission is free, so if you’re in or around the NYC area, there’s really no excuse for missing it. Not nearby? No worries: Here’s a slideshow of some of the most striking pieces from the exhibit. Enjoy!

All images © The Museum at FIT

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