Seeking visual stimulation this summer? The Museum at FIT, the MET, and the cable network BET all recently have debuted exhibitions or programs that deal with fashion, art and its seemingly endless, inextricable connections.

FIT's exhibition, entitled, "Arbiters of Style: Women at Forefront of Fashion," is on display until November 8th, and its FREE. It is the first and only survey which highlights the woman's role and status in the fashion world, showcasing women as creators, promoters, clients, and muses who have constructed fashion and style for the past 250 years, according to the school's press release. Seventy looks run the gamut from simply a frock worn by an influential female to a Vivienne Westwood constructed suit, shown below, which ignited the Anglo-mania trend in the 80's and, again, a few years ago. 

A selection of male designed garments will be shown, but only through the lens of the axiomatic influence of the wearer and/or muse. Women's fashion infamously has a male-dominated presence in the business, and it is nice to see a compilation of the theory and execution of women's fashion by women, the way women influence each other and themselves, and the garments they choose to purchase and wear when they are the architects of their own ideas and constructions. 

If you are looking for a more supernatural escape, head uptown to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Spring/Summer exhibit, "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy." Using a more abstract concept than years past, the exhibit combines more avant-garde pieces with ready-to-wear and even the actual superhero costumes, such as Spider Man's body suit from the recent films. As I am sure you have heard about the much publicized exhibit, I won't bore you too much, but I will say the exhibit is wonderfully coordinated and should not just be viewed by the fashion lover. Drag some of your superhero, comic book-loving friends to the Met for a fun summer activity on the cheap, as admittance for students is only a few bucks. 

And, finally, for this fashion flash, you won't even have to leave the comfort of your own home. Mix up some sangria and watch BET's "Fashion Blackout" special which brings fashion's homogeneous look of underweight, white, Eastern European models, to the surface. Parson's grad and designer Tracy Reese, model Tyson Beckford, Brown alum and Vogue's editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley, and two Howard graduates that were featured on America's Next Top Model discuss the ways in which the media has white-washed fashion and the dominance and power that key-holders such as Miuccia Prada and Marc Jacobs have on the fashion world as they parade identical androids down the runway and in their ad campaigns. Although more than a half-hour needs to be dedicated to such talk, the recent sparks of interest will certainly initiate change in this fall's forthcoming Spring 2009 ready-to-wear runway's.

"Fashion Blackout" premieres tomorrow, May 29, at 8.30pm on BET.

FIT photos courtesy of Irving Solero.