Fashion Designers inspire themselves from Fairy Tales

The world of fairy tales is filled with creativity and fantasy, a realm in which fashion designers find their muse. It is the concept, also, of a new fashion exhibition curated by Colleen Hill for the Museum at FIT. The exhibition is inspired by Dolce Gabbana's 2014 fall collection. It was a journey through fairy tale with 80 pieces depicted as from fantasy stories. 

Hill based her ideas on the texts and notes from the fairy tales and outlining the creativity of designers within these stories. We can see  Alexander McQueen evoking Sleeping Beauty in a silk dress with prints of a castle and skeletons flying around it. Also, we can see the dress from the Swan story made by Charles James with its full skirt made with layers.

Of course, mermaids have a special place of their own. And for this, Rodarte created the magic with The Little Mermaid dress embellished with Swarovski crystals. 

"There are so many dress styles that have been inspired by mermaids. What's funny is that in the original Hans Christian Anderson tale, the Little Mermaid's grandmother discourages her from her interest in the human world by reminding her that her most beautiful asset in the water -her tail-is something that humans consider to be hideous. But of course, in reality, we're all obsessed by that shape! We're all wearing dresses to make us look like mermaids." said Hill. 

The "Fairy Tale Fashion" exhibition opens this Friday. 

The Swan Maidens, Japan

Manish Arora, dress, 2010 (remade 2015), France. Photograph copyright The Museum at FIT (illustrating Alice in Wonderland) 

Charles James, Swan evening dress, 1954-1955, USA. Photograph copyright The Museum at FIT (illustrating "The Swan Maidens") 

Judith Leiber, minaudière, fall 2013. Photograph copyright Judith Leiber. (illustrating "Snow White")