ABSTRACT
The Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology was selected for its breadth of audiences: international tourists, Fashion Institute of Technology students over the age of 18, faculty, and content experts. The museum’s permanent collection encompasses some 50,000 garments and accessories from the eighteenth century to the present. The collecting policy of the museum focuses on aesthetically and historically significant clothing, accessories, textiles, and visual materials, with emphasis on contemporary avant-garde fashion. During the interviews, subjects presented concepts of self-identity, self-awareness, objects as storytellers, objects bearing witness, and objects as life companions. The resonant theme among all subjects when describing their attraction to the exhibition objects was human connection. Most subjects described memories of childhood and/or relationship-focused experiences when reflecting on the exhibition objects, as well as when sharing their own personal objects. Participants were moved–and in some cases surprised–by the emotional quality of the personal object stories within the exhibition.
