On View
The Museum at FIT
Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style
February 8–April 23, 2023
New York
Rhythmic cadences and lyrical strategy; social analysis and celebration; fiery deliveries and melodious beats, handstands, backflips, the boom and the bap—whether it be through music or movement, hip hop has always encapsulated the art of the balancing act. Attempting once again to achieve equilibrium, this time between the past and present of hip hop’s iconic, internationally influential fashion history is The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology’s (FIT) Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style. The exhibition, which was co-curated by Elena Romero and Elizabeth Way and is accompanied by a book of the same name, is part of an ongoing, year-long celebration of hip hop’s 50th birthday, and, with over 100 featured pieces, is the largest-ever exhibition of its kind.
Upon entering, it’s immediately clear that this is a multisensory, multimedia experience. Accompanying a video compilation of interview clips with legendary hip hop designers (including Misa Hylton, Karl Kani, April Walker, and more), blown-up photographs of Jamal Shabazz’s street photography cover the doors heading down into the galleries. His photography, a key element of the exhibition, infuses the experience with the electric energy and anticipation that permeated the Bronx of the 1970s. This is where hip hop was born—influenced by both his native Jamaica’s sound system culture and the Black American genres of blues, jazz, and funk, DJ Kool Herc’s August 11, 1973 back-to-school party marked the creation of hip hop, immortalizing the Bronx as a cultural landmark in the genre’s history.
This setting’s depiction is one of the exhibition’s greatest triumphs: the opening space centers on the genre’s earliest sartorial markers, shedding light on often-overlooked design pioneers, whilst weaving in the…
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