If 2019 fashion was all about the bike shorts and slip dresses, then 2020-2021 is nothing but the mask. While COVID-19 has transformed fashion's role from adornment and fantasy to one of public safety, this is not the first time fashion has had to respond to a pandemic. This is the story of how the 1918 "Spanish Flu" Influenza Pandemic changed the meaning of fashion throughout the world, and how creativity — from fashion designers to ordinary people — can survive, and even thrive, in the darkest of circumstances.

Join New York Adventure Club as we explore global fashion trends during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, and what they can teach us about coping with today's health crisis one hundred years later.

Led by fashion historian Caroline Elenowitz-Hess, our virtual look at fashion during pandemics will include:

• How masks and veils were part of the fashion industry’s response to the "Spanish Flu" crisis in 1918

• Bizarre fashion trends that took hold during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, including the “Influenza Instep” and dresses with “Flu Backs”

• Why the 1918 Influenza Pandemic has been seen as a “forgotten” part of American history

• Other ways fashion has responded to disease, from the bubonic plague to AIDS

• A look at the fashion trends emerging during COVID-19

Afterward, we'll have a Q&A with Caroline — any and all questions about the fashion during the 1918 pandemic are welcomed and encouraged!