Join V.Mora on our recent field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the two part exhibit: In America: An Anthology of Fashion & In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.

Field trip time! It is that time of year again. The Met Gala took place on the first Monday in May to open this year's Fashion exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. This year’s fashion exhibit contains two parts. Part 1 is: “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion''. It highlights a two-part exploration of fashion in the United States in the Anna Wintour Costume Center. Part 2 is: “In America: An Anthology of Fashion''. It focuses on different cinematic vignettes styled by film directors and set in the museum’s America Wing Period Rooms.  So we decided it was perfect for our V.Mora team to make a field trip. 

New York City art and culture is truly endless and while I can give you a sneak peak of the exhibit before attending, I highly encourage you to attend. This exhibit was beautiful, and extremely creative. 

This year's theme “In America” truly paid homage to American designers. Many praise European designers, especially the French, for their work but this year it was time to give American designers the spotlight. When you think of American fashion, there are some very quintessential American designs that come to mind, specifically classic sportswear. If you’re a designer and creator we hope that you take some inspiration from this exhibit to incorporate for your next collection or maybe your first. So let’s take a look at the two part exhibit of “In America”. 

In America: A Lexicon of Fashion:

As you step into the “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” exhibit you are graced with quintessential Americana sweaters. Then you descend a long staircase that leads you to a crisp and laid out room. The exhbit’s layout was inspired by a patchwork quilt which connected signatures of established business people, presidents and so on in a beautiful repeating cube formation. 

To showcase each designer's work, each outfit is set in its own cubicle. The exhibit featured 100 different mens and womens styles from the 1940s to present day. It’s a celebration of the creativity and ingenuity of American fashion. This journey contains 12 sections. They represent the human emotions of nostalgia, belonging, delight, joy, wonder, affinity, confidence, strength, desire, assurance, comfort, and consciousness. The fashions and styles featured express these emotions with no words necessary. The displays are almost poetic and the entire collection carries you through a myriad of emotions you would not expect strolling through an exhibit celebrating fashion. 

What I truly love the most about this exhibit was how the curators decided to pair the garments with the chosen words. They truly matched the design aesthetic. Check out some of our team’s favorite pieces below.

In America: An Anthology of Fashion:

“In America: An Anthology of Fashion” is located in the Met’s American wing period rooms which feature different vignettes of an estate. This was truly a beautiful setting to have the exhibit because it allowed different film directors to create their own vignettes. Each room has its own feel, and energy. My personal favorite was Tom Ford’s vignette which was housed in the room with panoramic murals of Versailles. I love this room because each mannequin is set as if it were paused in a motion. That led the fashion and fabrics to drape beautifully on the mannequins in ways that you would not normally see. 

The exhibit also featured “found” garments that lacked a true designer. While labels seem obvious in today's world, fashion evolved from having no labels to incorporating them in order to promote a designer’s work. If you love the details and technicalities of fashion history you will enjoy some of the case studies in this exhibit. 

Get inspired:

It is important for every designer to find ways to stay inspired. Attending a museum is a great way to get ideas for your next collection. So take a day, bring some friends and admire the world around you. 

Part 1 & 2 of “In America” will be open to the public until Labor Day, September 5th, 2022. 

Click HERE to plan your trip & purchase tickets to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Got inspiration but stuck on product Production? At V.Mora we can help you through the entire production process from designing, to sourcing and so on through our Production Development services. If you are in need of the following Development and Production services: 

• Sourcing 

• Technical sketches 

• Pattern Making

• Prototype making 

• Sample Making

• Fittings 

• Digitizing and Grading

• Marker Making

• Manufacturing

Please contact us at: vmorainquiry@vmora.com