Get your fashion fix at these museums
At the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, high-heeled Italian shoes circa 1700-1720 Credit: AP Photo/Hal Roth
Boohoo, so you didn't get a front-row seat for New York Fashion Week! Fortunately, for fashionistas who love couture but can't afford to buy it, there are many U.S. and foreign museums where you can get your fashion fix without presenting credentials at the door:
NEW YORK
Manhattan's Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (fitnyc.edu) hosts special exhibits as well as a rotating themed show selected from its permanent collection of 50,000 objects dating back to the 1700s. Through April 2, "Japan Fashion Now" looks at contemporary Japanese fashion, from Lolita fashions - sugary-pink little-girl styles for young women that also have a black Gothic Lolita iteration - to the gauzy, flowing Forest Girl look. Through May 10, "His and Hers" features 100 items exploring the relationship between gender and fashion. The exhibit includes an '80s Yves Saint Laurent power suit with the requisite blouse with pussycat bow, matching skirt and blazer.
LOS ANGELES
The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising hosts an "Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design" show each year during Oscar season. Costumes from more than 20 movies released in 2010 are on display through April 30 (fidmmuseum.org).
At the Museum of Contemporary Art, "Rodarte: States of Matter" looks at more than 20 pieces from fashion and costume designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte. The show includes original ballet costumes designed by Rodarte for the movie "Black Swan" (moca.org).
INDIANAPOLIS
The Indianapolis Museum of Art (imamuseum.org) has a dedicated fashion and textile arts exhibition space that usually highlights the museum's collection of 7,000 fabric and fashion-arts items. "Material World," opening April 22, will examine how extravagant ornamentation of textiles and personal adornment relate to wealth, status and power. The show will include a Buddhist bone apron, Dior and Chanel designs.
ITALY
The Salvatore Ferragamo Museum in Florence looks at the history of the footwear company and its founder (museoferragamo.it). In Milan, the Museum of Fashion Costumes (museodimilano.mi.it) features clothes from the second half of the 17th century through the early 19th century.
CANADA
Toronto is home to the Bata Shoe Museum (batashoemuseum.ca). The building is designed to resemble a lid resting on an open box. Exhibits range from contemporary footwear to celebrity fashions to historic artifacts, from ancient Egyptian sandals to moon boots.
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (mbam.qc.ca) hosts a Jean Paul Gaultier retrospective beginning June 17 - the designer's creations range from Madonna's cone bra top to classics like a trench coat.
