{"id":261163,"date":"2017-11-22T13:50:40","date_gmt":"2017-11-22T18:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/?p=261163"},"modified":"2021-12-15T07:45:59","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T12:45:59","slug":"expedition-fashion-from-the-extreme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/expedition-fashion-from-the-extreme\/","title":{"rendered":"High Fashion for the Most Extreme Places on Earth (and Beyond)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photograph by John Cowan, 1964. \u00a9 The John Cowan Archive<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cExpedition: Fashion from the Extreme<\/a>,\u201d an exhibition at The Museum at FIT in New York City, explores how protective clothing constructed for harsh environments has inspired fashion designers. The items showcased are not simply functional. \u201cNearly all the designers represented in ‘Expedition’ infused their versions of expedition clothing with a sense of fantasy and romanticism,\u201d says Patricia Mears, deputy director of the museum and the show\u2019s curator. The featured garments, which keep the wearer comfortable while looking stylish, perhaps embody the perfect fusion of function and fantasy.<\/p>\n

A visitor to the show\u2019s dramatically lit subterranean gallery, the atmosphere of which is enhanced by an evocative soundtrack, encounters four different environments: the plains of Africa, mountains and the geographic poles, the ocean and outer space. Let\u2019s take a peek.<\/p>\n

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Safari Clothing<\/h2>\n
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All installation photos courtesy of the Museum at FIT<\/p><\/div>\n

At the entrance to the show, a diorama of the Serengeti plains displays a range of safari looks, including an Abercrombie & Fitch<\/a> ensemble circa 1913. Abercrombie, which was founded in 1892, is credited with bringing the safari suit, a hunting outfit based on British colonial military uniforms, to the urban consumer. \u201cThe allure of the safari jacket \u2014 like the best of menswear \u2014 is a blend of function and design that has been honed over decades,\u201d says Mears. \u201cDesigners such as Yves Saint Laurent<\/a>, one of the 20th century\u2019s greatest couturiers, was able to adroitly blend menswear with unabashed female sexuality.\u201d<\/p>\n

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