By Shanea Pearl
The annual gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute opened their exhibition Manus X Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology on May 5 and will run through August 14. The title of the exhibition translates to “Man Versus Machine”, an apt title given the MET exhibition delves into the exploration of fashion merged with technology. The gala, sponsored by Apple and Condé Nast, opened the event to only a select number of celebrities, music artists, business moguls and even a few promising up and coming designers. This exclusive invite only event is the party that even high-profile names have trouble getting on the list. Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue Magazine, was the chair of the gala and had the final say of potential guests, red carpet arrivals and even where they sat at their $275,000 per plate tables.
This year’s exhibition, curated by Andrew Bolton, started with a red carpet event. Traditionally the exhibition is the pièce de résistance—with 170 ensembles dating back to the invention of the sewing machine in the early 19th century to the present- the designers on the red carpet arrivals had a few potential candidates itself. Attendees included Beyoncé in a fleshy latex Givenchy Haute Couture gown adorned with $6,000 pearls and Gigi Hadid in a gray chiffon, collared princess cut Tommy Hilfiger gown alongside Zayn Malik in a tailored one button Versace suit adorned with sleek metal robotic sleeves. Zoe Saldana caught my eye, and others like Solange, Madonna, Lady Gaga and Kimye caught the stink eye. Balmain’s Army of gorgeous girls included Jourdan Dunn, Doutzen Kroes, Alessandra Ambrosio and the new face of Estée Lauder- Kendall Jenner. Jenner’s younger sister Kylie didn’t disappoint in her jewel encrusted Balmain either. One designer may have captured the best of both worlds in their red carpet looks. The marriage of haute couture and evolution were evident in the collaborative work of Georgina Chapman, Keren Craig of Marchesa, IBM Watson and social media. It captured the spirit of Manus X Machina—the growing floral appliqués that bloom from the hips atop of a full sheer skirt tapered into leaflets and spaghetti straps illuminated with led lights and micro technology that analyzed the mood of the fans and changed colors accordingly, was jaw dropping and historical in its own right. The future of techno-textiles is just beginning.
The exhibition doesn’t just showcase pretty dresses and gowns; it narrates how technology has improved manufacturing, changed societal norms and trends. In the 19th century, advances in technology brought along the sewing machines allowing dressmakers to create the same stitches they had by hand at a faster pace. That set the ball rolling to start mass producing fashion, while diminishing the practice of hand sewing. Today, designers are able to produce massive amounts of clothing to be available almost immediately. Fabrics that were once woven together on a loom operated by a human have been replaced with computers and machines that need little to no human operation. The Robert Lehman Wing galleries hold the exhibition which dissects haute couture and ready-to-wear fashion. Paying homage to traditional techniques; rooms are dedicated to traditional métiers of haute couture fashion. These titans of techniques include embroidery, feather, leather and lace work; appliqués and pleating and are contrasted modernized versions that include innovative techniques and manipulation such as 3D printing, laser cutting, ultrasonic welding, computer modelings, bondings and lamination. Designers featured in the exhibit are Karl Lagerfeld, Coco Chanel, Yves St Laurent, Iris Van Herpen, Raf Simons, Issey Miyake, Christian Dior, Christopher Kane, Hussein Chalayan and Nicholas Ghesquiere.Manus X Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology is definitely worth a trip to The Big Apple for all artists.
[slideshow_deploy id=’27077′]
