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Styling & Profiling. Lower Eastside of Manhattan, 2002. Photo: Jamel Shabazz

Fresh, Fly and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style celebrated at NY’s MFIT with a dedicated exhibition

Opening in New York on February 8th, 2023 at The Museum at FIT (MFIT) Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style is the largest and most comprehensive exhibition to explore Hip Hop’s revolutionary and influential fashion style. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop, the exhibition examines its relationship to fashion through over 100 garments and accessories capturing pivotal moments in Hip Hop fashion’s evolution.

Rolling Partners. On the Lower Eastside of Manhattan, 1984. Photo: Jamel Shabazz

Over the past fifty years, Hip Hop has become one of the most influential music genres of our time, having in addition a large impact on the world of fashion. Coming to light in 1973, with its beginning marked by Cindy and Clive Campbell’s (aka DJ Kool Herc) legendary back-to-school party held in their apartment building in the Bronx on August 11, Hip Hop became the invention of Black and Brown youth who created an innovative style of music, dance, and visual art that spoke to their lifestyles.

Today, MFIT pays homage to its 50 years history with the comprehensive exhibition Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style, which marks the first time that the museum examines fashion exclusively through one musical genre.

Kool K & Lee Rock. NYC, 2019. Photo: Jamel Shabazz.

Co-curated by Elena Romero, assistant professor, Marketing Communications, and MFIT Associate Curator Elizabeth Way, Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style will be on display at The Museum at FIT from February 8 – April 23, 2023. As a New York institution, The Museum at FIT exhibition will focus primarily — but not exclusively —on the evolution of Hip Hop style in New York City and on its relationship with the mainstream fashion industry.

“It was important for The Museum at FIT to organize this exhibition, because Hip Hop – the most influential music genre of our era – has had such a profound impact on the world of fashion,” notes Dr. Valerie Steele, director and chief curator, MFIT. “Furthermore, Hip Hop fashion and music are cultural expressions of the African and Hispanic cultural diasporas, which MFIT seeks to amplify as part of our goal to expand the understanding of fashion.”

Dr. Valerie Steele, director and chief curator, MFIT
  1. Fresh, Fly and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style

    Michael Hoban eight-ball jacket, Fall 1989. The Museum at FIT, gift of Michael Hoban, North Beach Leather. © The Museum at FIT

  2. Fresh, Fly and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style

    Cotton copy of an eight-ball jacket, 1991. The Museum at FIT, gift of Richard Martin. © The Museum at FIT

  3. Fresh, Fly and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style

    Nameplate belt buckle, circa 1986. The Museum at FIT, gift of Elena Romero. © The Museum at FIT

  4. Fresh, Fly and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style

    Nike, Air Jordan 10, 1985. The Museum at FIT, gift of Nike, Inc. © The Museum at FIT

  5. Fresh, Fly and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style

    Beau McCall Black Lives Matter Triple T-shirt, 2021. © The Museum at FIT

  6. Fresh, Fly and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style

    Dapper Dan for the 2006 VH1 Hip Hop Honors. The Museum at FIT, on loan from Rebecca Pietri. © The Museum at FIT

  7. Fresh, Fly and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style

    Dapper Dan for the 2006 VH1 Hip Hop Honors. The Museum at FIT, on loan from Rebecca Pietri. © The Museum at FIT

  1. WilliWear, Spring 1985. The Museum at FIT, gift of WilliWear, Ltd. © The Museum at FIT

  2. Kangol cap, Claw Money Archive Collection ©Claudia Gold

  3. Dapper Dan of Harlem jacket, 1987. The Museum at FIT, gift of Dapper Dan of Harlem. © The Museum at FIT

  4. Dapper Dan of Harlem jacket, 1987. The Museum at FIT, gift of Dapper Dan of Harlem. © The Museum at FIT

  5. Doorknocker earrings, Claw Money Archive Collection ©Claudia Gold

  6. Fenty x Puma, Spring 2017. The Museum at FIT, gift of Puma. © The Museum at FIT

  7. Jeff Hamilton x Reebok NFL, 1990s. The Museum at FIT, gift of Antonio Gray. © The Museum at FIT

  8. Sean John, Fall 2008. The Museum at FIT, gift of Sean John. © The Museum at FIT