A special exhibit of clothing by self-crowned "King of Fashion" Paul Poiret just opened at the Met, and our cameras took a tour. In the early twentieth-century, the Frenchman liberated women from the corset, introduced a vivid color palette, and was the first designer to socialize with his clients. His "naïve and spontaneous" approach continues today through designers like Proenza Schouler, says Andrew Bolton, associate curator of the Costume Institute. "Poiret believed that women should dress in the way that suited them most, not just following trends."

Fashion Video Archives [NYM]