Pratt Gallery: 14th Street between 6th and 7th Aves

The Pratt Gallery on the 2nd floor of the Manhattan location of the Pratt Institute is a little hidden gem in Chelsea.  The current exhibit (from Sept 9 through Oct 8, 2011) called, "Principals of Design: Pratt Fashion Alumni," is an exhibition of haute couture, womenswear, menswear, costume, shoe, and accessory designs by 21 alumni from Pratt's Department of Fashion Design.

The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, illustrates Pratt's interdisciplinary approach to fashion design education.  There are examples from Project Runway contestant Emilio Sosa (see the feathered concoctions at right), commercial athletic wear, fashion wear, and outer wear from Pratt graduates who design for national manufacturers like Country Road, Anthropologie, and Free People.

There are also theatrical costumes, avant garde pieces by Jeremy Scott, whose clothes are worn by the likes of Britney Spears and Madonna (see the cloved white boots at left), and spacey pieces by John Renaud and goth clothing by Laurel Mae DeWitt (see DeWitt's metallic dress overlay and matching headpiece at right--it's no wonder her loyal clients include Lady Gaga and 50 Cent).

I particularly liked the very wearable clothes (see right) of married couple designers Seokwon Andy Kim and Wonjeong Debbie Yoon of international fashion house Andy & Debbie.  This couple met while studying at The Pratt Institute and the match made for sophisticated, clean lined and beautiful clothing.  Somewhat surprisingly, their commercial success has led to their recent redesign of all the McDonald's uniforms in Korea; I love it! 

This is a small one room gallery, but it is wonderfully curated and has fine examples of fashion design.  If this type of art is of interest to you, the Pratt Gallery is definitely something worth checking out.