Happy Easter Weekend my lovelies. I thought I would start it off with Manish Arora's Alice in Wonderland inspired costume at the Museum at FIT's Fairy Tale Fashion exhibit. This fantasy fashion tribute is one you don't want to miss if you are in town. It is a gorgeous mix of looks both from contemporary designers and historic costume. Some are inspired by ancient tales literally while some are more in spirit.
Alice in Wonderland's loopy dreamscape has Mad Hatters, a character driven insane from his own profession in fashion. Playing card motifs, tea parties, rabbits and a host of other characters tht inspire designers. Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland film inspired a bunch of designers like Haider Ackerman and Alexander McQueen to create tribute ensembles for the movie.
Cinderella is a romantic story with an epic makeover. Both her "rags" stage and ballgown stage has
served as muse to many designers. In the 1970s, designer Giorgio di Sant'Angelo created a bohemian collection of layered prints and stitch details to celebrate Cinderella's rags. Many a designer created stunning ballgowns. Christian Louboutin designed the drool-worthy Cinderella shoes to coincide with Disney's Cinderella movie.
Little Red Riding Hood is a story about a girl defined by her outerwear. There were historic red hooded cloaks along with contemporary designer counterparts. The Beauty and the Beast tale also displayed historic costumes to illustrate the story of the era of the 1700s.
The Little Mermaid and many under the sea creatures were the inspiration for some of the whimsical exhibits. Seaweed and coral motif appliques embellished a Rodarte fishnet gown. Hideki Seo created an elaborate Sea Witch ensemble for the exhibition. Nature also plays into the lore of fairies and Sleeping Beauty. Woodland creatures are a part of the Snow White and Rose Red fairy tale. The exhibit pays tribute to furry pelted looks from J. Mendel, Prada's 2008 collection with James Jean fairy illustrations and Alexander McQueen's collection of dresses with insect motifs.
The Wizard of Oz is a great story to inspire fashion designers. The hero of the day are those ruby slippers. Many shoe designers have created their own version of the famous footwear. Gingham and prairie looks, sinister black and green fashion illustrate the fashion tropes of this story. The Museum at FIT hosted their own exhibit of Tonner Doll's tribute to The Wizard of Oz movie. A huge collection of designers re-imagined high fashion updates to either the Wicked Witch or Dorothy.
While some of the fairy tale fashion is pure costume fantasy. Some of the gorgeous looks were perfect for bringing magic into real life. If you want to give your sartorial day a happy ending, get yourself to thehttp://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/ Museum at FIT's exhibit before it ends at April 16, 2016.
Photos by Mariana Leung
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