MODA celebrates the fusion of fashion and technology with its two newest exhibitions
On June 25, the Museum of Design Atlanta, conveniently located across the street from the High Museum, held its opening party celebrating the unveiling of their two newest exhibitions: “Beautiful Users: Designing for Humans” and “On You: Wearable Technology.” For those unaware of the museum, their website states, “MODA’s mission is to explore the many facets of the design disciplines…with exhibitions that showcase design achievements in the fields of architecture, electronic media, fashion, furniture, graphic design, industrial design and interior design.”
Upon arrival, guests were greeted with free, unlimited glow-in-the-dark cocktails and were ushered into the atrium, where they were encouraged to take a stab at accessory design with a DIY workshop. Numerous tables piled with a bevy of colored mini LED lights, pipe cleaners and rainbow embroidery floss thread were available for attendees to unleash their inner child and make a variety of jewelry options to wear during the event.
Down MODA’s narrow hallway, the first room on the right featured the “Beautiful Users” exhibition, created in conjunction with the Cooper Hewitt National Design museum. The exhibition featured a surprising array of products from silverware and razors to innovative 3D printed jewelry and footwear. Though these pieces may seem incongruous to one another, they are unified by the theme user-centered design: designing technology best suited for the needs of the consumer through the combination of both functionality and comfort. This exhibition is unique in that it enables the viewer to make connections between a diverse array of objects, the main of which is the process of design. Attendees can be transported back in time to realize the creative design that was put into everyday objects such as the telephone, which we take for granted in our technologically-fueled era.
Further down the hall is the “Wearable Technology” exhibition developed in collaboration with Georgia Tech. The highlight of this exhibition is the “Pixi” dress and bustier, designed by a team headed by Zane Cochrane. While speaking with Cochrane, he talked about the process of creating the garments and the technological hurdles his team had to overcome. For example, he developed a system where you could project an image on the dress and it would instantly take on its colors. Although this sounds like a difficult task, he explained it was actually much less arduous than programming every single led light to change in conjunction with one another to create a pattern. They are continuing to experiment with their technology, but Cochrane asserts that they have already programmed the garments to take on the colors of its surroundings. He explained that a model could walk through a variety of rooms and the dress would change its colors to match, meaning the technology is artificially intelligent in that it can sense its surroundings and adapt on its own. The “Pixie” garments, along with the other pieces in the collection, illustrate a physical technological timeline on wearable technology up to the present day.
Once the summer sun set and the skyline turned dark, the outdoor party took off. The DJ played music while the guests mingled, ate from a selection of assorted hors d’oeuvres, danced and celebrated the success of the two new exhibitions. Both “Beautiful Users” and “Wearable Technology” will be on display until October 2, 2016, giving curious spectators plenty of time to experience the exhibitions for themselves before they are gone.
