Chelsea S.
Yelp
This museum is about 1/3 Salvatore Ferragamo stuff, 1/3 an exploration of the intersection between art and fashion, and 1/3 gender and feminist themes in contemporary art. You might be deceived when you first climb down into the dark basement and encounter a display of hundreds of Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, as well as wooden shoe molds of famous women for whom Salvatore regularly made shoes (the likes of Angelina Jolie, Madonna, Lady GaGa, and many more). If you want to see an archive of Salvatore Ferragamo fashion through time, you will have one room for that, but that's it.
The exploration of the intersection between art and fashion starts with a display of actual articles worn on the runway, which leave the viewer to question whether these are actually clothes. Most are unwearable and lack real function, but they were on the runway, and, therefore, art. This room was also accompanied by videos of contemporary performance art. Connecting art to fashion again, the museum explored Salvador Dali's influence in fashion in the early 90s.
The museum also explored contemporary art themes more generally. I can recall a video of a fashion model who was being dressed as a "Russian Doll," layer upon layer until she was completely engulfed, as well as a video of ordinary looking humans wading down a river in New York, but appearing rather dead.
The museum also featured a series of photographs of Andy Warhol exploring his own identity and bending gender lines in the 80s. There was also a room to help you understand the artistic process. The viewer is surrounded by walls with a projection of absolutely random stuff just appearing on the screen, similar to the randomness of the artistic process... I guess.
All in all, this was definitely a weird museum, but worth a visit if you prefer offbeat things. The museum is digestible in about an hour, so even if you find that it's not your speed, you will be able to move on and carry on with your day.