The Museums at FIT

The Fashion Institute of Technology's Museum houses the largest collection of costumes, textiles and apparel dating from the 18th century in the world. The museum also hosts fantastic exhibits ranging from jewelry design to fashion photography and including the Fashion Design Student Show.

At the Museum

by Jason Wiggins

The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is on a stretch of Seventh Avenue that has been appropriately renamed Fashion Avenue. The museum is housed in the enormous FIT building, which spans two full city blocks. There's even a large pedestrian overpass linking the two parts of the building; a very distinctive design, it's quite hard to miss.

The museum is about average size and, unfortunately, rather dim. The gallery is arranged in a horseshoe and even though it is not that big there is an impressive amount of material on display. Some of the walls seem to be almost completely covered with photographs; a fashion buffs dream.

The gallery space is all devoted to temporary exhibits so check to see what's going to be on display when you're here. A visit to the museum should take about an hour and, if your timing is right, you just might even get to see a photo shoot.