Fashion in the Age of Technology
Would you think true art of fashion design could not use machine labor?
Recent Fashion in the Age of Technology exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York proves: the fashion industry always kept up with innovation in the best possible way.
Two words described the essence of the exhibition. One, ”Manus” (Latin for hand), used to represent manual work involved in the creation of the high-end fashion garments. Another, “Machina”, as we understand it since the industrial revolution, is associated with mass production. The symbol “X” used between them replaced the obvious “vs.” to unite two used-to-be antagonists in order to solve design problems.
As a result, we observe a collection of fantastic fashion ensembles that involved technology in one way or another! Each creation lives a life on its own not necessarily needing a body to fit in. Each is an art piece so admired by spectators, that thought of wearing it poses a difficult question to answer.
“Fashion has always been forward-thinking; the system is based on constant change, a never-ending wheel of trends and ideas.” – Observer. Style and Design
“Haute couture without the couture”
The center of the exhibition is the Chanel Wedding Ensemble designed by Karl Lagerfeld in 2014-2015 for Chanel. It attracts visitors not only by its size but also by its 20-foot train painted and printed with a remarkable pattern. When I came closer to it I noticed that the pattern is nothing I have seen before. To me, it looked like an old classic and contemporary pattern at the same time. As described by Met, this “pixelated baroque pattern” is a combination of machine and hand work, including techniques such as hand-painting and machine printing. Total of 450 hours of craftsmanship labor!
Embroidery
My interest, of course, was an embroidery technique illustrated by some outstanding and innovative designs. I think, no bead artists would pass McQueen’s dress embroidered with coral, pearls, shell and glass beads.
Fascinating waves of texture covering the dress seemed to be one-color movement. Warm coral color pleases the eye. I don’t get tired looking how pearls blossom in the middle of the coral forest, and how the waves of shell beads sparkle in the midst of velvet orange ocean of beads.
Flowers as Eternal Creations
A flower’s life is very short. Yet, in art, a flower’s life is prolonged throughout eternity.
In the exhibition, there are many various examples of flowers’ beauty expressed through the art of garment making. Even though laser-cut plastic flowers on Luis Vuitton dress seemed very airy and almost fairy-like creations, I was still drawn to the Court Presentation Ensemble 1928 by Boue Sueurs. Ribbon embroidery might be my unexpressed passion.
Another dress I kept in my memory was presented almost like a heavenly creation. Maybe it was just me liking the angelic music playing at the exhibition? The dress by Raf Simons (House of Dior, 2014) seemed somewhat special. White silk embroidered flowers, hand-embroidered with red beads created a feeling of air living in the dress as if it existed in clouds and only flowers referred to Earth existence.
3D printed perfection
3D printing is one of the latest techniques used in fashion design. I didn’t take it seriously until I saw the Capriole dress by Iris van Herpen!
As I heard, many people mentioned at the exhibition, I wouldn’t wear it. However, the sculptural structure of the dress impressed me so much, that I continued imagining it with beadwork woven into the structure. Despite being 3D printed, the process of making this dress was very elaborate. Every detail of the structure had to be cleaned and perfected after printing. This reminded me of long hours of beading a necklace – an intricate piece of beadwork created to impress. When one faces such a striking creation, it is impossible to focus on the technique first. The immediate impression gets imprinted in one’s mind as an image of a unique idea, an image of perfection, an image of the artistic message. Later I found how this dress actually looks on a human body. Of course, I would add some beads to it, but it seemed perfect without them.
Throughout the exhibition, I found plenty of information on making presented dresses as well as some history on techniques. This was the first exhibition I’ve seen, that involved a spectator as a student and offered a rather involved and organized way to learn how these incredible fashion designs made. I moved through sections of the exhibition returning to each one at least once with a desire to learn more. I felt as if each visitor could leave not only with a passion for dressmaking but also with loads of knowledge of how this mystery happens.
Full list of exhibition sections.
More photos from the exhibition are collected in Svetlana.Gallery Facebook album Manus X Machina.
P.S. I still wanted to know more and purchased the book Manus X Machina printed by Metropolitan Museum of Art about this exhibition. It is beautifully printed and packed with images from the exhibition including the close-up photos of details.
Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology
