Valerie Steele gives keynote at Fashion Studies Conference in Barcelona

Valerie Steele, the Director and Chief Curator of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), delivered the keynote speech at II Coloquio de Investigadores en Textil y Moda (the Colloquium of Researchers in Textile and Fashion) titled “Nombres en la sombra.” The colloquium was held from November 21 to 22 at the Design Museum in Barcelona in conjunction with the Fundacio Historia del Disseny.

Steele’s keynote addressed recent and emerging issues in fashion studies, focusing on exhibitions. Historically, fashion exhibitions tend to be chronological or retrospective narratives by large individual designers; however, there are many other important aspects that are set aside. Her talk, “Deconstructing the Canon,” was delivered in English, with simultaneous translation.