There was a time in history when the technological advances that are common in today’s society did not exist. These advances transformed the fashion industry permanently, making the clothing manufacture process a fairly simple one. Laborious tasks that were done by hand like cutting and embroidering, pattern drafting and sewing, quickly became a thing of the past. After the invention of the sewing machine came about, the rest was history. Fast forward two centuries and some change later and here we are incorporating the evolution of technology as it pertains to fashion into this year’s Met Gala exhibition.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute unveiled its’ spring 2016 exhibition, Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology on May 5th and will remain open to the public for viewing until August 14. This exhibition, presented in the Museum’s Robert Lehman Wing, explores how designers are reconciling the handmade and the machine-made in the creation of haute couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear. The exhibition was made possible by one of the most successful and rapidly expanding tech companies of the 21st century, Apple. Additional support was provided by Conde Nast.
“Traditionally, the distinction between the haute couture and pret-a-porter was based on the handmade and the machine-made, but recently this distinction has become increasingly blurred as both disciplines have embraced the practices and techniques of the other,” said Andrew Bolton, Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute. “Manus x Machina challenges the conventions of the hand/machine dichotomy and proposed a new paradigm germane to our age of technology.”
The exhibition is structured around the traditional métiers of the haute couture. Traditional hand techniques are discussed alongside innovative technologies such as 3-D printing, computer modeling, bonding and laminating, laser cutting, and ultrasonic welding.
The Met Gala will be chaired by songtress Taylor Swift, actor Idris Elba, Jonathan Iva, and Anna “Nuclear” Wintour herself. Honorary Chairs include Nicolas Ghesquiere, Karl Lagerfeld, and Muiccia Prada. This event is The Costume Institute’s main source of annual funding for exhibitions, publications, acquisitions, and capital improvement.
A special feature on the Museum’s website, www.metmuseum.org/ManusxMachina provides information about the exhibition. Follow on Facebook.com/metmuseum, Instagram.com/metmuseum, and Twitter.com/metmuseum to join the conversation about the exhibition and gala benefit. Use #MaxusxMachina, #CostumeInstitute, and #MetGala on Instagram and Twitter.