BOSTON — 150 guests attended the Museum of Fine Arts Boston’s special VIP pre-event reception on Friday, March 15, 2019 to mark the opening of “Gender Bending Fashion,” an exhibition that opens on March 21 and will be on view through August 25 at the Fenway museum.
Among the special guests were Michelle Finamore, Penny Vinik Curator of Fashion Arts, who worked on this groundbreaking show, the first major museum exhibition “to examine the long-intertwined relationship between fashion and gender.” Also on hand were shoe designer to the stars Thom Solo with model Nikki Stalling; Italian fashion designer Alessandro Trincone; Vogue International’s editor-at-large Hamish Bowles; and, visual artists Christian Canfield and Hamilton Harris.
After the VIP event, the museum opened its doors to more than 2,000 guests who danced, mingled and celebrated fashion until the wee hours of morning.
Among the approximately 50 designers featured in the exhibition are Jean Paul Gaultier, Rudi Gernreich, Rad Hourani, Rei Kawakubo (for Comme des Garçons), Yves Saint Laurent, Alessandro Michele (for Gucci), Rick Owens, Walé Oyéjidé (for Ikiré Jones), Christian Siriano, Alejandro Gómez Palomo and Alessandro Trincone, according an MFA release.
Gender Bending Fashion also explores how the garments on view can speak broadly to societal shifts across the past century, including changing gender roles; ongoing efforts toward LGBTQIA+ rights and racial equality; and the rise of social media as a powerful tool for self-expression.
All photos by Bill Brett
