ingerie is the final barrier Exposed: A History of Lingerie has been made possible by the . to the fully nude body, L and is thus inherently SUPPORT THE MUSEUM AT FIT erotic. Yet the design of lingerie enhances its allure: it COUTURE COUNCIL strategically reveals, conceals, An elite membership group, the Couture Council helps to support the exhibitions and and highlights the wearer’s form. programs of The Museum at FIT. Members receive invitations to exclusive events and As French lingerie designer private viewings. Annual membership is $1,000 for an individual or couple, and $350 for Chantal Thomass observed, “The Exposed a young associate (under the age of 35). essence and attitude of lingerie For more information, write to [email protected] or call 212 217.4532. is all in suggestion.” TOURS AND DONATIONS A History of Lingerie Exposed: A History of Lingerie Every six months, a changing selection of garments, accessories, and textiles from the traces developments in intimate museum’s permanent collection is put on display in the Fashion and Textile History apparel from the eighteenth Gallery, located on the museum’s ground floor. Tours of the Fashion and Textile History century to the present. There Gallery and of the Special Exhibitions Gallery may be arranged for a sliding fee of are two types of lingerie, hard approximately $350. Donations of museum-quality fashions, accessories, and textiles and soft. Hard lingerie includes are welcomed. corsets, bustles, and structured For more information about tours, call 212 217.4550; about donations, call 212 217.4570. bras, while soft lingerie consists of unstructured garments, such as slips, nightgowns, and panties. Exposed begins with a sky blue corset and ends with a sapphire blue bra and panty set from Seventh Avenue at 27th Street Exposed: A History of Lingerie luxury label La Perla. New York City 10001–5992 June 3–November 15, 2014 fitnyc.edu/museum As the relationship between Exposed was organized by Colleen Hill. dress and the body has been Hours: Tuesday–Friday, noon–8 pm Museum information line: redefined over time, so too have 212 217.4558 the function and appearance of Saturday, 10 am–5 pm Closed Sunday, Monday, lingerie. During the eighteenth and legal holidays century, some decorative corsets and petticoats were worn as part of a woman’s dress. Many More than fifty of the objects featured modestly designed nineteenth- in Exposed: A History of Lingerie are century undergarments were gorgeously reproduced in full color in viewed strictly within intimate the exhibition’s companion book. settings. Yet in 1898, a “mania” Written by MFIT curator Colleen Hill, for elaborate, colorful, and and featuring an introduction by director seductive lingerie led French Dr. Valerie Steele, Exposed is published journalist Octave Uzanne to by Yale University press and will be lament that “the last remains available in summer 2014. of feminine modesty sunk out of sight.” From the modern, Book cover: Barbara Vaughn, early 1950s. streamlined “camiknickers” of Photograph by Lillian Bassman. the 1920s, to Dior’s voluminous petticoats of the 1950s, to June 3–November 15, 2014 today’s overtly erotic styles by Agent Provocateur, lingerie remains a topic of enduring Cover: Maggy Rouff, nightgown, silk, silk satin, 1940, France. The Fashion and Textile History Gallery fascination. All photographs MFIT unless indicated otherwise. Colleen Hill, curator 1976 Valerie Porr, lounging pajamas, silk, USA. Circa 1770 Circa 1840 Circa 1880 Circa 1900 Circa 1924 Circa 1930
Corset (stays), silk, whalebone, Dressing gown, Corset, silk and Fernande Burel, tea Saks Fifth Avenue, Paquin, slip, silk Europe. cotton, lace, USA. wool, France. gown, chiffon, silk, and camiknickers, crepe chiffon, Alençon Bustle, polka-dot lace, France. chiffon, silk satin, lace, France. cotton, USA. France.
1949 and 1951 Circa 1954 1967 1982 Circa 1988 2014
Circa 1889 Warner Bros., corset, silk satin, USA.
Poirette, bra, nylon lace, Marie-Rose Lebigot Rudi Gernreich for Fernando Sanchez, Patricia Fieldwalker, La Perla, bra and panty, USA. for Lily of France, Exquisite Form, bra dressing gown, teddy, silk charmeuse, embroidered tulle, silk, and panty, polyester lace, USA. Christian Dior, corselet, lace, nylon, chiffon with stretch silk satin, Italy. petticoat, nylon net, elastic, USA. tricot, USA. multicolor metallic taffeta, and horsehair pinstripes, USA. net, France.