In last Sunday’s article, I shared with you THE BEST FASHION MUSEUMS IN EUROPE. Next up are the world’s best fashion museums outside the old continent. In fact, even though large institutions such as the Victoria & Albert have exhibition halls for fashion, I wanted to write about the museums dedicated solely to fashion, both in my previous post and in this one.
1- F.I.T. / New York
America is first on my list of the world’s most important fashion museums. The Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.) in New York, where I lived and studied for many years, is one of the few museums you can visit for free. Since opening its doors in 1969, New York University’s Fashion Institute of Technology has hosted some of the most explosive, innovative fashion exhibitions in the world.
With periodic events showcasing the creations of world brands such as Chanel, Halston, Alaia and Balenciaga, as well as masterpieces such as Elsa Shiaparelli’s surrealist dresses and Alexander McQueen’s sculptural designs, the show traces more than a century of fashion and reflects how it has evolved with our society. Open every day of the week, the museum’s 2023 program includes ‘Women Designers: Fashion Creators and Their Interiors’.
2-FIDM / Los Angeles
Another address in America, this time from the west coast. The FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, California, was founded in 1969.
Operating entirely with the support of donors, the FIDM holds more than 15,000 fashion objects and 200,000 Special Collections objects, mainly dating from the eighteenth century to the present day. FIDM, which collects all kinds of fashion-related items from all over the world, is open only when there are seasonal exhibitions (except Sundays and Mondays).
3-SCAD FASH / Atlanta
SCAD FASH, the fashion museum inside the Savannah College of Art and Design, opened in Atlanta in October 2015 with a gala show dedicated to the work of Oscar de la Renta. SCAD Fash showcases clothing, textiles, jewelry and photography exhibitions.
SCAD FASH focuses on the future of fashion design, both showing the history of fashion and hosting interesting exhibitions with dynamic events and films. In addition to the collections of designers such as Pierre Cardin, Tom Ford, Karl Lagerfeld and Diane von Furstenberg, in its permanent exhibitions, it deals with topics related to fashion and the film industry in its periodical exhibitions.
4- YSL / Marrakech
In addition to Yves Saint Laurent’s museum in Paris, which ranks first in my article on the most important fashion museums in Europe, another must-see museum is in Morocco. The Majorelle villa in Marrakech, where the designer fell in love and spent the last years of his life, became a museum after his death. In a modern building built next to the villa in a magnificent botanical garden, the most important creations of the artist are exhibited in chronological order. In my opinion, among the best fashion museums in the world, the most beautiful place that blends fashion with architecture
MAJORELLE GARDENS is one of the most touristic spots in Marrakech. Therefore, I recommend you buy your tickets online before you go and visit early in the morning.
5- Kobe Fashion Museum / Kobe
The Japanese people are very interested in history and love to keep a record of the past. The Kobe Fashion Museum also has a well-deserved place among the most important fashion museums in the world. Because it’s not just Japanese fashion. It has a collection that includes clothes from more than seventy countries, especially French fashion from the 19th century to the present day. For example, one can see unique costumes such as the long kurtas worn by Maharaja class men in India and the embroidered semi-formal court robes worn by QING dynasty royalty in China.
Kobe Fashion Museum which you can visit online via the platform GOOGLE ARTS & CULTURE and/or with virtual reality glasses is open from 10:00 to 18:00 every day except Mondays.
6-Bata Shoe Museum / Toronto
Among the most important fashion museums in the world, TORONTO BATA SHOE MUSEUM is dedicated exclusively to shoes.
There are more than 15,000 pieces in the museum Sonja Bata opened in Toronto to immortalize the history of the shoe and the Bata empire that Sonja, originally from Switzerland, and her Czech-born husband Thomas Bata founded in Canada. Over a thousand shoes selected from the shoes in this collection are exhibited on a rotating basis. It is possible to see hundreds of different models from ancient Egyptian sandals to clogs, from clogs to platform shoes that are works of art. While the museum exhibits the 4500-year journey of shoes in the permanent exhibition titled ‘All About Shoes’, periodical exhibitions are organized under different themes.
Don’t you think Turkey, one of the most important centers of textiles, should have a fashion museum among the best fashion museums in the world? For more than 20 years, as a designer who has been involved in the international fashion world, I hope that Turkish fashion history will be exhibited in a museum worthy of our country.