200 Years of Eco-fashion at the FIT

The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York opened the Eco-Fashion: Going Green exhibit today. The collection explores the sometimes friendly, sometimes catastrophic relationship between fashion and the environment.

This six month exhibit has more than 100 garments, accessories, and textiles from the 1800s through today. All of the items will demonstrate one of the exhibit’s six themes:

• the repurposing and recycling of materials
• material origins
• textile dyeing and production
• quality of craftsmanship
• labor practices
• the treatment of animals

Some of the pieces speak directly to the harm that’s been done by the textile industry. For example, two cotton dresses from the early 1800s “emphasize that cotton growing during this time drained soil of nutrients and depleted water supplies— environmental concerns magnified by the introduction of dangerous pesticides and chemical fertilizers in the 20th century.” And then there’s the green silk faille and chenille dress, circa 1865. The beautiful green color was achieved thanks to arsenic, a health risk to both the maker and wearer. Talk about dressed to kill!

See photos and more of our thoughts from opening day at our blog: Good for Water.