Hands, machines and technology

When fabrics combine hand, machine and technology

Iris van Herpen, 2012. 3-D printed epoxy

If you like the many faces of fabric, get thee to the Met before The Costume Institute's spring 2016 exhibition, Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology  closes because it's a stunner.

The show is full of beautiful objects, but its focus is on  how fashion designers have embraced machines and technology to create new works. Almost all designs are  from the early 20th century to the present. The exception is an 1870 Irish crocheted wedding dress.

Ranging from haute couture to prêt-à-porter, some of the works are very avant-garde--and barely wearable. Like the cast fiberglass 'statement' dress that releases maple-seed-like elements by remote control. But the majority of the 170 ensembles are not only very wearable, but elegant and timeless. 

Iris van Herpen dress, 2013-14.

Fabric meets technology

Gareth Pugh, 2015-16.

Dutch designer Iris van Herben's haute couture dresses stand out as examples of harnessed technology--and you don't need to like them to appreciate their creativity. One of her dresses was made of 3-D printed epoxy, sanded and hand-sprayed. 

Another van Herben dress (at left) is strangely dark and highly textured. Its fabrication, fascinating. Cotton twill fabrics was hand-painted with polyurethane resin and iron filings, then hand-sculpted with magnets. 

Another dramatic haute couture dress by British designer Gareth Pugh was machine-sewn white sold-wool gazer with an overlay of white mesh and hand-embroidered with clear plastic drinking straws. Prefer one in black? He has one of those, too.

Alexander McQueen, 2014-15.

Feathers, pleats, lace, leather...and more

I almost had visual overload on the many ways feathers were incorporated into dresses and capes. One Alexander McQueen ensemble (2014-15) is covered with embroidered ostrich and goose feathers. 

Junya Watanabe, cape. 2015-16

And how about pleats? It's hard to outdo Spanish designer Mariano Fortuny for pleats and, yes there are several of his classics to behold. For modern interpretation, I was taken with the contemporary (2015-16) cape of machine-sewn gray wool and polyurethane jersey by Japanese designer Junya Watanabe.

Hussein Chalayan, "Duck dress." 2000.

Scissors are always at hand, but not in the way British designer Hussein Chalayan used them to create his prêt-à-porter "Duck" dress. He cut away shapeless bales of pink tulle fabric by hand until he had a female shape. Kind of like shaping boxwood hedges, I guess.

There is much, much more. If you can't get to the exhibition, consider purchasing the Manus x Machina catalog. 

And here are a few more dresses that I found particularly stunning.

L-R: Irish crochet wedding dress, 1870. Paul Poiret.Coat-wool, leather. c.1919.
Norman Norell, evening dress. 1965 (prêt-à-porter) 

L-R: Givenchy, 1963. Dior "Venus, 1949-50. (haute couture)
Alexander McQueen, 2012 (prêt-à-porter)

Fashion, craft and fiber art

Fashions may change, but exquisite craftsmanship endures

Detail, Coral-encrusted evening gown. Givenchy. c.1964.

The current exhibition, Immortal Beauty, at Drexel University in Philadelphia exceeded all expectations. For one, I had no idea Drexel had such depth in textiles and fashion. Its collection documents more than 400 years of costume history and holds more than 14,000 garments and accessories.

From Parisian couture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries through to high fashion from the mid-20th century on, the collection is a serious resource for study. Suggested more than 100 years ago by the then Director of the School of Illustration Howard Pyle, a collection of fashionable dress and accessories would support study by Drexel's dressmaking and millinery students.

The exhibit is only a taste of Drexel's large collection, but it is a sweet one. 

Melanie Pascal
dinner dress, c. 1878.

Beginning with 19th century fabrics and garments (and one 16th C textile fragment), the exhibit travels in time into the early 21st century. Garments are complemented by accessories--hats, shoes, handbags and a spectacular parasol--and represent designs by leading designers of their day. The big names are there--Charles Frederick Worth, Mariano Fortuny, Givenchy, Salvatore Ferragamo, Christian Dior, 'Coco' Chanel, Mary Quant, Halston--and many more.

I loved the lacework on the Melanie Pascal dinner dress. Its not likely to find such rich lace these days, but the lines suggest other textural applications in knitting or weaving.

Givenchy evening gown.
c.1964

But the star of the show is an evening gown richly encrusted with coral branches and embroidery. Donated by Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco, who is known to have worn the dress at least three times. The descriptive video near the end of the exhibit includes footage of her in the gown. The gown, which weighs 15 pounds, is stunning, to say the least. 

I also loved the the evening gown, c. 1926, by Callot Sours. Even on a mannequin, the dress seems likely to shimmy off its mannequin. And perhaps the original owner had a mesh purse, c.1928 like the one made by Whiting & Davis on display. (Both below) Spectacular.

Whiting & Davis mesh purse,
c.1928

The exhibit is free and open through December 12. If you like and are inspired by costume and fashion, try to fit it into your schedule. 

Callot Soeurs evening gown,
c.1926.