About the Collection
This digital collection explores the evolution of fashion throughout the twentieth century through a combination of magazine illustration, museum objects, and digital collections. The project focuses on fashion from the 1920s to the 1990s, examining how clothing styles changed alongside major social, cultural, and political transformations across the century. By combining fashion illustrations from The New Yorker covers with garments and accessories from museum collections, the collection highlights the relationship between popular visual culture and historical fashion trends.
The idea for this project was inspired by visiting the The New Yorker Centennial Exhibition held at the New York Public Library in celebration of The New Yorker’s 100th anniversary in 2025. The exhibition emphasized the cultural importance of The New Yorker within New York City’s artistic and visual identity. During its centennial celebration, the magazine digitized its archive of covers and made them publicly accessible online, creating an opportunity to explore changing visual representations of fashion, gender, and everyday life across decades.
Using these digitized covers as a starting point, this project investigates how fashion evolved over time through the work of different illustrators and artists. The covers were paired with historical garments sourced from the collections of the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, particularly the Costume Institute, and the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum at FIT. Garments were selected based on their historical relevance and visual similarities to the clothing represented in the covers. This approach creates a dialogue between illustration and material culture, connecting artistic representation with real historical fashion objects.
The project also reflects the importance of digitization and online accessibility within museums and cultural institutions. By bringing together openly accessible digital collections from multiple New York institutions, the collection demonstrates how digital archives can support research, storytelling, and public engagement with fashion history. Overall, this project offered an opportunity to further explore twentieth-century fashion history while examining how visual culture and museum collections can work together to preserve and communicate cultural heritage online.
References
Objects
1920s
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (n.d.). Object no. 156017. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/156017
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (n.d.). Object no. 157414. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/157414
The Museum at FIT. (n.d.). Man’s coat. Museum at FIT Collection Database. https://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/objects/133548/mans-coat?ctx=75d4fe0cd0e211d0d98ca6d637f477ac491f9b58&idx=22
1930s
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (n.d.). Object no. 112903. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/112903
The Museum at FIT. (n.d.). Evening dress. Museum at FIT Collection Database. https://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/objects/39245/evening-dress?ctx=2efb64817bc6422c8548e8dfb72583fb5ddd4caf&idx=152
1940s
The Museum at FIT. (n.d.). Navy uniform suit ensemble: Jacket, skirt, blouse, tie. Museum at FIT Collection Database. https://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/objects/38142/navy-uniform-suit--ensemble--jacket--skirt--blouse--tie?ctx=5457e759100b56f74c7855303f8b2f766bf8581e&idx=17
1950s
The Museum at FIT. (n.d.). Evening two-piece dress: Bodice, coordinating skirt, petticoat. Museum at FIT Collection Database. https://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/objects/14984/evening-twopiece-dress--bodice--coordinating-skirt--pett?ctx=69e7f89032ab29234ad0d4001f010d33e3905470&idx=21
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (n.d.). Object no. 156277. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/156277
1960s
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (n.d.). Object no. 81141. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection. https://www.metmuseum.org/it/art/collection/search/81141
The Museum at FIT. (n.d.). Dress. Museum at FIT Collection Database. https://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/objects/134530/dress?ctx=054e25e285818de98ab0b75aa91a0baf8e3b6af5&idx=73
1970s
The Museum at FIT. (n.d.). Dress. Museum at FIT Collection Database. https://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/objects/110058/dress?ctx=a3a8b78f9404e7edc141a73fb6a2ca4a9e598099&idx=34
The Museum at FIT. (n.d.). Shoes. Museum at FIT Collection Database. https://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/objects/135009/shoes?ctx=a3a8b78f9404e7edc141a73fb6a2ca4a9e598099&idx=30
The Museum at FIT. (n.d.). Man’s pants. Museum at FIT Collection Database. https://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/objects/67235/mans-pants?ctx=a3a8b78f9404e7edc141a73fb6a2ca4a9e598099&idx=35
1980s
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (n.d.). Object no. 80739. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/80739
The Museum at FIT. (n.d.). Set: Jumpsuit and matching pants. Museum at FIT Collection Database. https://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/objects/34266/set--jumpsuit--matching-pants?ctx=c0f6a8f59914ab62dcde9172f517b47290e4530d&idx=58
1990s
The Museum at FIT. (n.d.). Evening dress. Museum at FIT Collection Database. https://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/objects/19445/evening-dress?ctx=d8d1d1d83009b8821a9c9b0065261ddeed608bb0&idx=84
Fashion Hisotry
Fashion Institute of Technology. (n.d.). 1920–1929. FIT Fashion History Timeline. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1920-1929/
Fashion Institute of Technology. (n.d.). 1930–1939. FIT Fashion History Timeline. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1930-1939/
Fashion Institute of Technology. (n.d.). 1940–1949. FIT Fashion History Timeline. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1940-1949/
Fashion Institute of Technology. (n.d.). 1950–1959. FIT Fashion History Timeline. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1950-1959/
Fashion Institute of Technology. (n.d.). 1960–1969. FIT Fashion History Timeline. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1960-1969/
Fashion Institute of Technology. (n.d.). 1970–1979. FIT Fashion History Timeline. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1970-1979/
Fashion Institute of Technology. (n.d.). 1980–1989. FIT Fashion History Timeline. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1980-1989/
Fashion Institute of Technology. (n.d.). 1990–1999. FIT Fashion History Timeline. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1990-1999/
Vogue. (n.d.). 1920s fashion history lesson. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/1920s-fashion-history-lesson
Vogue. (n.d.). 1930s fashion history lesson. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/1930s-fashion-history-lesson
Vogue. (n.d.). 1940s fashion history lesson. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/1940s-fashion-history-lesson
Vogue. (n.d.). 1950s fashion history lesson. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/1950s-fashion-history-lesson
Vogue. (n.d.). 1960s fashion history lesson. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/1960s-fashion-history-lesson
Vogue. (n.d.). 1970s fashion history lesson. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/1970s-fashion-history-lesson
Vogue. (n.d.). 1980s fashion history lesson. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/1980s-fashion-history-lesson
Vogue. (2026). 90s fashion staples. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/90s-fashion-staples-2026