#WearingMemories was a crowdsourced project inviting The Museum at FIT’s audience to submit images of and text about a garment or accessory that held significant meaning to them. The project was conceived as a companion piece to the exhibition Fashion Unraveled (May 25 – November 17, 2018), a show about clothing that is worn, imperfect, and incomplete.
Complete submissions were published to the museum’s Tumblr account and select stories were shared on other MFIT social channels. A few submissions were used for the basis of a video, using the voices of museum staff members that played in the gallery during the run of the exhibition.
#WearingMemories offered people the opportunity to share deeply personal stories about themselves or their loved ones. Some garments demonstrated creativity and craftsmanship, others reflected heartbreak or resilience in the face of adversity. A number of stories were about items belonging to parents, siblings, or children, having been handed down or remade with love. The project helped personalize the museum experience. Not only did the crowd-sourced project receive more than 400 submissions, it was one of MFIT’s most successful social media campaigns to date.