Rhonda P. Hill EDGExposition

Fashion Beyond The Art Form | Part I

Fashion & Textile Museum, Bermondsey Street, U.K., Wikimedia Commons

The power of fashion lies in its power to transform identity and culture.

There is a global phenomenon of fashion exhibitions at elite institutions the likes of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

VictoriaAlbertFashionExhibitions.jpg
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, Fashion Exhibitions – collage image by Rhonda Hill

As crowds, who appreciate and are fascinated with fashion, pour into museums and art galleries they not only experience the historical perspective, but a re-discovery of forgotten designers both living and deceased.   Earlier this year, the Pratt Manhattan Gallery exhibited the groundbreaking Black Dress: Ten Contemporary Fashion Designers exhibition which celebrated the innovative work of ten up-and-coming and established New York-based black fashion designers.

Black Dress Exhibition at Pratt Manhattan Gallery, Image Credit: © Claudia Castro/Citrico, Inc.
Black Dress Exhibition at Pratt Manhattan Gallery, Image Credit: © Claudia Castro/Citrico, Inc.

EDGE sees the gallery and museum venue as a new era of exposition for emerging designers.  Fashion designers are artists.  Shows can be curated with a collective vision of both a historical context and a relevance to contemporary culture.   The Met and V&A are landmark institutions but the opportunity is to bring this concept into the mainstream for both the public and the fashion industry.

The pair of heels designed by Westwood in which Naomi Campbell famously stumbled while modelling at Westwood's fashion show in 1993.
The pair of heels designed by Westwood in which Naomi Campbell famously stumbled while modelling at Westwood’s fashion show in 1993, Wikipedia.

This is Part I of a three part series.

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Feature Image:  Fashion & Textile Museum, Bermondsey Street, U.K., Wikimedia Commons