July 12, 2018
Pink: The History of a Punk, Pretty, Powerful Color
The newest exhibition from the Museum at FIT reflects on the colour pink and its connotations
Once the epitome of femininity, cheesy and childish; in the last few years the colour pink has been reclaimed as a way of subverting stereotypes, fighting against gender norms and clichés. Now, the FIT museum devotes their new exhibition to the controversial colour with “Pink: The History of a Punk, Pretty, Powerful Color”, which opens next September the 7th, until January the 5th.
Delving into its symbolism and significance through time, the exhibition includes around 80 ensembles from the 18th century until present day. With garments from the likes of Christian Dior, Elsa Schiaparelli, Yves Saint Laurent, Alessandro Michele for Gucci, and Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons, the exhibition aims to demonstrates that “It is society that ‘makes’ color, defines it, gives it meaning”. The display is divided in two sections, the first one “Pretty in Pink” includes 35 examples from mid-19th century through the 20th century, examining the changes in fashion and the connotations the color had, from delicate to exotic, from the uber-femininity of the 50s to the “power-suit” of the 80s.
The second section challenges audience expectations showing how contemporary designers use pink to shatter traditional ideas about pink feminity, with collections such as Comme des Garçons “Biker/Ballerina” and “18th-Century Punk”, or Valentino “Pink is Punk” t-shirts.