Ms. Steele just curated the first of a two-part exhibit of dresses from the collection of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. She described that show as more traditional in display, but downstairs in the same museum, Patricia Mears, deputy director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, has overseen an exhibit that includes a work from every member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Ms. Mears said visitors could post their reactions on Twitter and their posts would be seen online in an effort to reach a wider audience. And while the gowns were displayed with only the name of the designer as identification, in the adjoining main hall, visitors could use small video screens to see a timeline for the designers with an explanation of why each garment was chosen. Ms. Landis, whose costume credits include "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, is not the only expert with a Hollywood background involved in organizing fashion exhibits at museums. Harold Koda, curator in charge of the Costume Institute at the Met, said that the film director Baz Luhrmann was a creative consultant on its coming show "Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations." Within the last four years the Costume Institute has worked twice with Nathan Crowley, a Hollywood production designer. "This exhibit is more playful and fun for us," Mr. Koda said of the Schiaparelli-Prada show. We are trying to be creative. We are working with montage, projections and typography. When you are communicating with the public, what you want is the most engaging delivery system. We used to just have labels, but today there is more animation and a technology aspect. But it is always a challenge, Mr. Koda noted. You can use high-definition screens that are very flat and create three-dimensional representations. But you don't want it to look like a boutique. Pushing the envelope on shows does not just mean adding technology or giving the lighting more razzle-dazzle. Mr. Koda said he believed an increasing number of consumers knew more about fashion. "People today are autodidacts," he said. Everyone who has an interest in fashion is clued in. That awareness lets us do more esoteric subjects.