Core77

Couture Craft and Technology Meld at The Met's "Manus x Machina" Exhibition

By Alexandra Alexa - August 11, 2016

Installation View The exhibition design by OMA New York cloaks the Met's circular Robert Lehman wing in scaffolding wrapped with a white perforated PVC fabric to create the effect of being in a "translucent ghost cathedral," as lead architect Shohei Shigematsu describes. Core77 1 of 40

House of Dior "Juno" Dresses (left), 1949-50, and Alexander McQueen evening dress (right), 2012-13 Elaborate embroidery work (including featherwork and artificial flowers) is a hallmark of haute couture created by a specialized group of "paruriers" (adornment makers). The process has remained largely the same for more than a century—still largely based on the mid-1860s Luneville embroidery (or tambour beading) technique developed by Louis Ferry-Bonnechaux. Core77 2 of 40

Detail of Alexander McQueen Evening Dress This piece combines hand-embroidered silver silk and metallic hand-shredded petals with silver beads, clear crystals and silver plastic feather-shaped paillettes on top of a machine-sewn silk organza base. Core77 3 of 40

House of Givenchy Evening Dress (left) 1963 and Alexander McQueen dress (right) 2012 These colorful pieces both incorporate embroidery with pieces of coral, shells and glass beads. Core77 4 of 40

A classic Chanel dress (left) and a set of Louis Vuitton dresses (right), 2016 The Louis Vuitton dresses are hand-embroidered with clear and white sequins and then screen-printed with black pigment to create a layered effect. Lead designer Nicolas Ghesquiére explains: "Whether to use the hand or the machine is never completely apparent...Your decision has to be informed...I think it's an exciting part of the process, actually, not knowing how you will execute a garment until it says, 'This is right for now. This is what fashion feels like at the moment.'" Core77 5 of 40

Louis Vuitton dresses, 2016 "These pieces were very complex in terms of the processes involved. The celluloid sequins were cut into strips by laser, then machine glued onto tulle...As I began to fold and drape the fabric, bubbles began to form, and the sequins took on the shape of a croissant...Because the sequins were too shiny, we had them spray-painted—by hand—to create shadows and to make them look more dimensional...I wanted everything to look imperfect, even the metal eyelets," says Ghesquiére. Core77 6 of 40

Proenza Schouler dress (left) 2015-16 and Iris van Herpen (right) 2013-14 van Herpen's crustacean-like piece is sculpted with the aid of magnets. A soft rubber is mixed with metal powder and placed on top of a cotton base. "When you mix everything together, the rubber has a few minutes when it is still wet and soft. We pour the rubber onto the cotton fabric. Then we place magnets above and below, and you see the metal powder grow piece by piece...before it sets... While the rubber is still wet and soft we add a very thin enamel powder that has iridescent qualities." Core77 7 of 40

Gareth Pugh, 2015-16 The British designer has developed a trademark material approach using drinking straws. Each straw is cut by hand and attached individually with a small piece of metal jewelry hardware. The ethereal pieces emit a soft sound as the wearer moves, "like feathers caught in a gust of wind." Core77 8 of 40

Iris van Herpen dress (right) 2013-14 This dress doesn't just look bird-like, it actually incorporates a real bird-head skeleton in the shoulder structure. The complex process includes making strips of laser-cut silicone feathers and hand-applying them to a cage-like base structure. Core77 9 of 40

Detail showing the internal structure of van Herpen's dress Core77 10 of 40

Maiko Takeda, "Atmospheric Reentry" headpiece and bolero, 2013 Tacked has developed an intricate technique layering printed clear film sandwiched wth acrylic discs and linked together with silver rings, creating an intangible "aura" rather than a traditional garment. "The effect is that [they] look somehow digital, but the point was they were all made of [the] tactile and low-tech materials around us," he explains. Core77 11 of 40

Chanel, wedding dress, 2014 The exhibition's showstopper is this piece by Karl Lagerfeld, a haute couture wedding dress made of scuba knit and featuring a 20-foot train embellished with a complex Baroque-inspired embroidery. Core77 12 of 40

Detail of the embroidery on the train The pixelated pattern was created using a combination of digital pattern modelling, hand stitching and machine sewing. Core77 13 of 40

Frontal view of Lagerfeld's wedding dress Core77 14 of 40

Hussein Chalayan, "Kaikoku" Floating Dress, 2011-12 Made from cast fiberglass, a wearer would enter this dress through a rear-access panel. The entire garment is on wheels and operated via remote control. The surface has 50 "pollens" made of crystals and pearled paper. Each of them is spring loaded and can be released into the air (also via remote control) to swirl around the wearer in a poetic gesture. Core77 15 of 40

Hussein Chalayan, "Duck" Dress, 2000 This dress was "inspired by the way in which mountains are formed by means of erosion and tectonic forces...[it was] mad from shapeless bales of pink tulle that were cut away by hand–step by step—in order to arrive at more regular shapes," explains Chalayan. Core77 16 of 40

Alexander McQueen dress, 2009 The flowers on these dresses are made out of metal painted with enamel, then hand-applied to the base to create a three-dimensional effect. Core77 17 of 40

House of Dior dress, 2014 Two "brodeurs" (embroiderers) combined their specialized skills to create this two-layered piece: Atelier Montex (founded 1939) embroidered the underdress with clear plastic crystals, red glass seed beads, and clear and white plastic flower-shaped palettes and Broderies Vermont (founded 1956) embroidered the overdress with white rayon florets, red glass seed beads, iridescent flower-shaped palettes, and small pieces of blue, black and white silk fabric. Core77 18 of 40

Detail of fabric manipulation on Iris van Herpen dresses The black dress is made of laser-cut patent leather while on the right a unique textile is generated by weaving a cotton lace overlay with a laser-cut leather appliqué. Core77 19 of 40

House of Dior jacket, 1997-98 This piece by John Galliano is an entirely hand-cut and hand-pieced white leather jacket. Core77 20 of 40

Thom Browne dress, 2013 "It's very rare for me to make an item of clothing in which the hand is absent entirely, but this dress—made from EVA foam, but designed to look like leather–was cut by a machine, sewn by a machine, and finished by a machine," explains Browne. Core77 21 of 40

Comme Des Garçons and Noir Kei Ninomiya dress, 2014-15 Each of these dresses are made of countless laser-cut synthetic leather pieces linked together with metal rivets in varying lattice patterns. Core77 22 of 40

Comme des Garçons and Junya Watanabe dress (left), 2015-16 and Pierre Cardin dress (right) 1968 This dress comes from Cardin's "Cardine" dress series, made of polyester heat-molded in egg carton-like molds. "I produced very few examples because it was very expensive to make the metal molds. For each dress, I had to make a new mold," notes Cardin. Core77 23 of 40

Comme des Garçons and Junya Watanabe "Ruff," 2000-01 This ethereal collar piece is made of machine sewn ivory polyester organza. Core77 24 of 40

Helmut Lang evening dress, 2004-5 A fragile piece made of machine-sewn blue silk organza, hand-stitched and hand-applied pleats of blue silk crepe and hand-glued horsehair fringe. Core77 25 of 40

Noa Raviv, "Hard Copy" dresses The Israeli designer created this collection as a graduate student. "The technological capabilities of 3D printing open new doors to areas of design previously not possible with hand-crafted fashion," says Raviv. "Through my collection I've been able to explore the tension between the real and the virtual, between 2D and 3D, and this inspired me to create imperfect digital images and distorted grid patterns that are impossible to produce using conventional methods." Core77 26 of 40

Madame Grés evening dresses (left), 1950 and Iris van Herpen ensemble (right), 2010 "When you look at the first [3D-printed] piece I made, you can see the fine lines of the print. You can see how the piece has been built up. In one millimeter, there are up to ten lines. It's almost like a fingerprint—it's as detailed as your fingerprint...It was inspired by the way limestone deposits form shells. With 3D printing, I am very much drawn to the organic," explains van Herpen. Core77 27 of 40

Issey Miyake The designer's signature dramatic, sculptural pleated shapes start out as simple flat geometric panels. Core77 28 of 40

Issey Miyake, "Flying Saucer" dress, 1994 The process of unfolding a Miyake piece is shown here via this colorful column dress which folds out like a paper-lantern from a flat form. Core77 29 of 40

Hussein Chalayan, 2009 The dress in the foreground is part of Chalayan's "Inertia" collection, made of jersey thermobonded to neoprene. "The technique emphasized the gestural act of draping fabric directly on the human figure...[the collection] ended with the body being the 'event' of a crash, with dresses caught in the midst of speed...frozen in motion and printed with images of crashed automobiles." Core77 30 of 40

House of Dior, ensemble, 2005-6 These dresses are intended to show traces of the process of construction–from the initial draping to the final gown shape. Core77 31 of 40

Issey Miyake, "Colombe" Dress, 1991 "One of my dreams was to see if we could make clothing without conventional tools, such as needles, thread and scissors. Here is the result: the fabric is woven monofilament; it is cut by heat and put together with snaps and leather straps," explains the designer. Core77 32 of 40

Hussein Chalayan, "Remote Control" Dress This dress "was the first fully functioning fashion garment to incorporate wireless technology...it was made by means of the composite technology used to construct airplanes. It's molded into two panels–front and back—that fasten together by metal clips. The grooves incised onto the dress are the only decorative embellishments." Core77 33 of 40

Viktor & Rolf, ensemble, 1998 Core77 34 of 40

Comme des Garçons, 2013 In these inside-out, conceptual pieces, it is clear that design begins with pattern-making, the first step in interpreting the designer's concept in form. Core77 35 of 40

House of Chanel suits from 1963 (left) to 2016 (middle and right) The evolution of the classic Chanel suit silhouette, initially made out of a wool bouclé tweed material, to current iterations that are 3D-printed. Karl Lagerfeld explains: "It was 3D-printed to look like quilting but the braiding and underlay...were hand-embroidered with gold pailletttes...It's the mix [of hand and machine] that is interesting...Fashion is about today. What keeps the haute couture alive is to move with the times." Core77 36 of 40

Iris van Herpen, Dress, 2012 Like dimensional lacework, this dress was 3D-printed using stereolithography then hand-sanded and hand-sprayed with resin. Core77 37 of 40

Marios Schwab, "Golden Lily" Dress, 2008-9 A layer of laser-cut black silk drapes over a printed fabric to create a complex, multifaceted surface. Core77 38 of 40

Proenza Schouler, 2013-14 "We began by drawing the patterns on a computer. The patterns were then embroidered—by machine—onto tulle. The fabric was then dipped into acid, causing the tulle to dissolve...Then we decorated the material with our 'high frequency' embroidery—bonding...abstract motifs...to the fabric by ultrasonic welding...The idea was to to create dresses made from a new and completely modern type of lace," explain designers Lazaro Hernandez and Jack Mccullough. Core77 39 of 40

threeASFOUR, "Bahai" Dress, 2014 Made of interlocking fractal forms, the fabric of this dress was an experiment in creating movement and dynamic form without any traditional draping. Core77 40 of 40

The Costume Institute's exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology explores how fashion designers are finding innovative ways of reconciling the dichotomy between hand (manus) and machine (machine). Rather than posit the two poles against each other, the show presents compelling examples in which traditional craft techniques and cutting-edge technologies are deployed as equal partners to stimulate the future of haute couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear.

Curated by the Head Curator of the Costume Institute Andrew Bolton, the show features more than 170 ensembles dating from the early 20th century to the present, organized around the traditional métiers (trades) of dressmaking as outlined in Diderot's encyclopedia of 1751: embroidery, featherwork, artificial flowers, lacework, leatherwork, pleating, tailoring, and dressmaking.

From Karl Lagerfeld's show-stopping embroidered wedding dress, Iris van Herbert's magnet-formed iron filigree ensemble, Hussain Chalayan's remote-controlled dresses on wheels and Issey Miyake's elaborate pleated structures—each example is shown on simple dress forms (like those you would find in a working atelier) which highlights the exquisite craftsmanship of each piece.

The case study pieces are set against an ethereal installation by OMA's Shohei Shigematsu, a transparent scaffold that wraps around the circular Robert Lehman galleries creating the experience of a "translucent ghost cathedral"—a transcendental experience which is further augmented by a looping Brian Eno soundtrack.

"Manus x Machina" is on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York through September 5, 2016.