The Museum of Arts and Design in NYC is opening a new exhibition aiming to create the debate about the fashion system. It was 2015 when fashion authority Li Edelkoort declared “the end of Fashion as we know it”. By digging deeper into her manifesto for the next decade, it becomes clear that the problem doesn’t lie in Fashion itself, but more in an obsolete fashion system that doesn’t seem to be able to keep up neither with contemporary society’s values and needs nor with its means of expression. Some established fashion designers are slowly beginning to drift away from a fashion system that has by now become oppressive both for industry insiders and for consumers, and are now trying to transform the old model into a more sustainable one.
In the meantime, a generation of young designers is beginning to explore a brand new creative and production process. An entirely new system that is not determined solely by commerce, market, and trends but leaves room for detailed research on matters such as gender, body types, conscious production and the relationship between fashion and its everyday context. The word ‘Fashion’ itself is somehow being reconsidered, and this is also pretty much what the exhibition “fashion after Fashion” aims to do by presenting the work of six designers who are rethinking fashion anew.
fashion after Fashion focuses on some of the most innovative work being produced in the context of contemporary fashion. It features sculptures, installations, and video pieces by Eckhaus Latta, ensæmble, Lucy Jones, Ryohei Kawanishi, Henrik Vibskov, and SSAW Magazine. For the occasion, Fashion takes some tips from the art world by presenting unique works that, coherently with their designers’ approach, have a strong concept behind them and show a very personal and individual thought.
Thought, concept, and individuality become the new branding; and innovative research, the new trend. Each designer featured in fashion after Fashion finds its own way of questioning fashion as we know it, and of rethinking the fashion system. Lucy Jones explores the world of body disabilities; Eckhaus Latta transitions into a cozy, intimate world outside the fashion capitals and amongst authentic urban beauties; Henrik Vibskov is a multi-talented artist who uses all kinds of artistic disciplines to express his own colourful vision; ensæmble deals with history, costumes, origins and traditions, transforming everyday garments into artworks; Ryohei Kawanishi exasperates the idea of ready to wear, and SSAW challenges body and beauty stereotypes.
fashion after Fashion focuses on some of the most innovative work being produced in the context of contemporary fashion. It features sculptures, installations, and video pieces by Eckhaus Latta, ensæmble, Lucy Jones, Ryohei Kawanishi, Henrik Vibskov, and SSAW Magazine. For the occasion, Fashion takes some tips from the art world by presenting unique works that, coherently with their designers’ approach, have a strong concept behind them and show a very personal and individual thought.
Thought, concept, and individuality become the new branding; and innovative research, the new trend. Each designer featured in fashion after Fashion finds its own way of questioning fashion as we know it, and of rethinking the fashion system. Lucy Jones explores the world of body disabilities; Eckhaus Latta transitions into a cozy, intimate world outside the fashion capitals and amongst authentic urban beauties; Henrik Vibskov is a multi-talented artist who uses all kinds of artistic disciplines to express his own colourful vision; ensæmble deals with history, costumes, origins and traditions, transforming everyday garments into artworks; Ryohei Kawanishi exasperates the idea of ready to wear, and SSAW challenges body and beauty stereotypes.
fashion after Fashion is co-curated by Hazel Clark and Ilari Laamanen. Open to the public from April 27th till August 6th at The Museum of Arts and Design, Jerome and Simona Chazen Building / 2 Columbus Circle / New York, NY.
