The Traphagen School of Fashion played an important role in the development of American fashion. Largely forgotten today, the school opened in 1923 in New York City and trained over 28,000 students. Alumni included Geoffrey Beene, James Galanos, and Anne Klein, all of whom utilized the training they received there throughout their careers. The Traphagen School: Fostering American Fashion celebrated the school’s lasting influence on the fashion industry by examining the history of the school and its design philosophies — which included design-by-adaptation and experimentation — as well as its innovative approach to marketing.

The Traphagen School: Fostering American Fashion was organized by the graduate students in the Fashion Institute of Technology’s MA program in Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice, with the support of Sarah Byrd, Keren Ben-Horin, Emma McClendon, and Elizabeth Way.