NEW YORK — Quick, think pink. For most, the color conjures up images of feminine frills and romance — stereotypical girlish things in the vein of Elle Woods in “Legally Blonde.” But porno flicks and smut rags?
Halfway across the world, in Japan, that’s exactly what it suggests: “the Japanese cute-girl culture as well as pornography,” explained Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at FIT. So in other words, their pink is our blue.
At FIT’s new show, “She’s Like a Rainbow: Colors in Fashion,” that’s just one of the many lessons to be learned. The exhibit, the third in the museum’s year-old Fashion and Textile History Gallery, explores the use and symbolism of color in fashion. Other fun facts to be gleaned: Red was the color of choice for many European brides until white became de rigueur in the 19th century; purple was the world’s first artificial pigment, and blue, now the most popular hue to be worn, was once “a second-rate color in antiquity.”
Set against brightly colored wall hangings made from home decor fabrics and printed table covers, the kaleidoscopic items on display range from an 18th-century red riding hood to the green sequined gown — complete with the accompanying fox-and-chiffon stole — Tom Ford used for his fall 2004 Gucci finale. In all, there are more than 150 garments, textiles and accessories featured. Additions to the museum’s collection, bought specifically for “She’s Like a Rainbow,” include a pink Yohji Yamamoto coatdress from fall 2005 as well as a 19th-century violet-and-black-striped taffeta dress.
“People are often intimidated by color,” said Elle’s fashion director, Nina Garcia, whose publication sponsored the show. “It’s the easiest way to make a statement.”
“She’s Like a Rainbow: Colors in Fashion” is on view until May 5.