RUNWAY READY, FASHION IN NEW YORK (c) By Polly Guerin

Fashion culture highlights Fashion Week in New York where the gallery in The Museum at The Fashion Institute of Technology is a rich depository of three exhibitions that present fashion and style and an ongoing display of accessories. Only in New York my friends, the best of New York, here is the scoop!!!

BOOTS; THE HEIGHT OF FASHION is the first exhibition to focus exclusively on women’s boots. The show by graduate students in FIT’s Fashion and Textile Studies program highlights holdings from the Museum at FIT’s extensive collection of footwear and features 20 pairs of women’s boots by the most innovative modern designers. The exhibition explores what makes boots the perfect accessory for the fashionable modern woman. With a flair for display boots by Paul Poiret, Martin Margiela, Christian Louboutin and Prada get the Picasso treatment in stylish displays spearheaded by the director and chief curator, Valerie Steele. The exhibition begins with a walking boot by Jack Jacobus, circa 1900. Considered progressive yet sensible, the walking boot became a wardrobe staple for the on-the-go woman at the turn of the century. In a section titled “Sex” a highlight is Christian Louboutin’s high-heeled scarlet satin boot, from his fall 1994-95 collection, which conveys sex appeal and powerful femininity with its signature red sole, gold hardware and passementerie details. A special section provides visitors with a behind-the-scenes look at the conservation of boots. Seventh Avenue at 27th Street, through April 6. Open to the public Tuesday-Friday: noon-8 pm, Saturday: 10am-5pm. Admission FREE and open to the public. Lectures begin March 18 at 6pm, call 212.217. 4285 to register.

TOURS at THE MUSEUM at FIT: Current exhibitions at the Museum at FIT include “Fashion and Technology,” a survey devoted to materials and manufacturing from the past 250 years. The History Gallery exhibition explores fashion’s long engagement with technology, Aniline dyes, the sewing machine, synthetic fibers and the zipper---all technological advances that sent fashion in new directions. Lectures begin Feb. 25, 6pm. The “Shoe Obsession,” exhibition is an in-depth look at more than 150 examples of the extreme, lavish and imaginative styles that have made contemporary footwear central to fashion. Lectures begin Monday, March 11, 6pm. All programs are FREE but registration is required call, 212.217.4585 Scheduled for selected Monday evenings and weekday morning tours of the exhibitions begin in the museum lobby. Reservations are required. 212.217.4550. Mark your calendar: FASHION SYMPOSIUM, Cross0PLollination: Fashion and Technology will feature both scientist and designers, who will discuss new directions in fashion and technology, Tuesday, April 25, 9am-12noon.

THE PLEASURE OF PLEATS Fortuny y Madrazo: An Artistic Legacy continues at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute on Park Avenue between 68 and 69th Streets. Fortuny is not just the name of a company it is also the name of a man. Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo (1871-1949) was Spanish and is forever remembered for the Pelphos gown and his secret formula for pleats. This pleating was born of Fortuny’s admiration for classical Greece. In 1907, inspired by an ancient statue, Fortuny fashioned this gown of fluted folds after this iconic dress. Columnar in shape, falling from shoulders to the ground, sometimes accented with a silk cord at the waist or under the bust, it is made of China silks that has been hand-worked into thousands of vertical pleats. Because those pleated garments skimmed over an uncorseted figure, they were considered shockingly modern at the time, but even today only the thin and firm-figured person can wear such a gown. Through March 10th.

HERMES UNVEILS ‘COMME DES CARRES’ This time the French luxury brand Hermes has a new collaboration with Rei Kawakubo, the Comme des Garcons designer who has created two limited-edition collections of Hermes’ mythical silk carre scarves. The first collection called Noir et Blanc, features five scares with abstract black-and-white designs. The second collection, Couleur, is a line of six colorful scarves also including geometric elements like giant patchwork, gingham and shirt stripes. Both collections hit the stores in February including the Hermes boutique on Madison Avenue in New York City. These scarves are pricey but have collectible status.

Ta Ta Darlings!!! Best investment of your time would be to see the three fashion exhibitions at The Museum at FIT. Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs are best accessed at her website pollytalk.com. Just click on the link in the left-hand column for visonarymen, womendeterminedtosucceed, poetry or fashion.