Manus x Machina: Poetic Possibilities of the Machine at the Met

Eleanor Foa Dienstag
/ May 6, 2016
/ Playing

Working against the myth that couture is “hand made” while “machine made” is prêt –à-porter or, basically, for the masses — not on the same level of imagination, craft, refinement and price — Andrew Bolton has fashioned an exhibition that proves otherwise.

What follows are particular standouts, in an exhibition that is, as usual, a knockout, although the quasi-religious music wafting through is, to my mind, a bit pretentious.

It’s clear, from this exhbition, that machines and all forms of technology are simply additional mechanisms through which designers can now weave their magic

Miyake Design Studio, Flying Saucer Dress 1994

Alexander McQueen (Sarah Burton), 2012

House of Dior (Raf Simons), 2015

Thom Browne, 2013

Pierre Cardin , 1968

Comme des Garcons (Junya Watanabe), 2000-2001

Noa Raviv, 2014

Thierry Mugler, 1990-91

Halston, 1970

Wedding Ensemble, Karl Lagerfeld, 2013

Close up of Wedding Ensemble Embroidered Train

Opening photo: Iris Van Herpen 2012
Photos by Eleanor Foa Dienstag

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