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Parsons Presents WORKWEAR Exhibition and Symposium Explore Legacy of Work Wear in American Fashion and its Influence on Contemporary Constructions of New York
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| Betrayal VIII by John Stezaker. All Rights Reserved. |
Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
Parsons The New School for Design
66 Fifth Avenue, New York
February 8 - March 5, 2010
Symposium: February 13, 2010
www.newschool.edu/sjdc
NEW YORK, February 2, 2010 - In celebration of the launch of new graduate programs in fashion at Parsons The New School for Design, the school will present Workwear, an exhibition and symposium that explore the legacy of work wear as a uniform for success in New York. The exhibition will be on view February 8 through March 5 at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons, with a symposium featuring leading fashion critics, designers and scholars on February 13.
"New York fashion remains closely aligned to the idea of dressing for business, expressed as a visual form of acumen and a fitness for purpose," said Shelley Fox, Donna Karan Professor of Fashion Design at Parsons and the director of the new MFA in Fashion Design and Society. "Postwar constructions of New York as a fashion capital have traded upon representations of the workplace where professionals were successful, efficient and economical in their dress. It is only fitting that new graduate programs in fashion should begin by exploring this rich seam, since these values continue to inform contemporary fashion."
This fall, Parsons is launching two graduate fashion programs, the first in the school's history: a Master of Fine Arts in Fashion Design and Society, initiated through the support of Parsons alumna Donna Karan, and a Master of Arts in Fashion Studies. Building upon Parsons' expertise in design education, and the legacy of The New School in the social sciences, these programs are interdisciplinary in nature, placing fashion in a contemporary, global context that recognizes its significance as a cultural, social and economic force.
The exhibition will feature both iconic and cutting-edge work that engages the themes of Workwear. This includes a 1986 film installation of Donna Karan's iconic Seven Easy Pieces, a modern system of dressing for women where a handful of interchangeable items together create an entire wardrobe; and Boilersuit by Savile Row tailors Norton & Sons in collaboration with Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller, a modern utility outfit that accumulates patches as mementos of the wearer's life.
In addition, Workwear will feature a newly commissioned film by the fashion label Boudicca, which contemplates a future workforce powered by motion-capture, green-screen technology; a mascot installation by British communication designers Rebecca and Mike, which features iconic American brands such as Dunkin' Donuts, The New York Mets, and Taco Bell; Paul Fejos' silent film masterpiece Lonesome (1928); and the installations Uniform and Office Workers by Shelley Fox in collaboration with Spiewak, the manufacturer of uniforms for the NYPD, MTA and other agencies.
A symposium on February 13 will explore the themes of work wear from historical, cultural and sociological perspectives, and will include work from an unpublished photo essay by Walker Evans, as well as discussions with fashion historians, critics and designers such as art critic Vince Aletti and designer Zowie Broach of Boudicca. For more information about Workwear, please visit www.newschool.edu/workwear.
The new graduate fashion programs at Parsons utilize and analyze the languages of photography, film, literature, sound, performance and communication design within a fashion context, in order to address an industry that values means of presentation as much as the process of making. The diverse range of contributors to these events, from academia to industry and other fields, illustrates the breadth of the programs' focus, the reach of its ambition, and the fluid interrelation between learning, teaching and research in a postgraduate environment. For more information on these innovative programs, visit www.newschool.edu/thinkparsons.
Workwear is presented in collaboration with University of the Arts, London.
About Parsons The New School for Design
Parsons The New School for Design is one of the most prestigious and comprehensive schools of art and design in the world. It is an integral part of The New School, a research university with a strong legacy in the social sciences. Based in New York, but active around the world, Parsons is committed to creatively and critically addressing the complexities of life in the 21st century. With the establishment of the first fashion design program in America in 1906, Parsons is credited with giving birth to Seventh Avenue, the epicenter of American fashion. In addition to Donna Karan, notable Parsons-trained fashion designers include legends Adrian, Claire McCardell and Norman Norell; industry leaders Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Isaac Mizrahi, Narciso Rodriguez and Anna Sui; and rising talents Chris Benz, Doo-Ri Chung, Derek Lam, Proenza Schouler, Peter Som, Vena Cava, Ohne Titel, Alexander Wang and Jason Wu. For more information, please visit www.newschool.edu/parsons.
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