Whilst in LA for psfk I paid a visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art to check out their recently opened exhibition highlighting the connections between and shared inspirations of fashion and architecture.
‘Skin + Bones: Parallel Practices in Fashion and Architecture’ presents an assortment of work from contemporary (and a few earlier) fashion designers and architects, grouped together under grandiose titles including Identity, Shelter, Structural Skin, and Tectonic Strategies.
All the usual suspects are represented- outfits by Hussein Chalayan, Yohi Yamamoto, Issey Miyake, Viktor + Rolf and Comme des Garcons are displayed alongside buildings designed by Herzog & de Meuron, Toyo Ito, Shigeru Ban, and Zaha Hadid, successfully depicting the overlapping styles and ideas. Interesting additions to the line-up include delicate constructions by Oliver Theyskiens, geometric designs by Yeohlee Teng, and clever linear cutting from Narcisco Rodriguez.
Attention is paid not only to the individual clothing but the total ‘architecture’ of the fashion shows in the same way that buildings are represented both as a whole and in part stages/ through different viewpoints, helping to understand the importance of interaction in both disciplines. Although a little thin on the ground in some areas (some sections contained only clothing with no or very little architectural interpretation) the exhibition does a good job of showcasing interesting global evolutions in architecture.
New architectural ideas currently in production from Greg Lynn, Office
dA, and Neil M Denari Architects utilising innovative manufacturing
techniques, unexpected exterior cladding, and artistically expressive
design are definitely worth seeing.
It’s a shame that there are so few younger designers from both disciplines included, but the exhibition is still most definitely a success- and the accompanying book is even more impressive than the information on display. If you’re in LA you have until March to visit- if not, lots of the information shown is available online
Filed under: exhibition reviews, architecture, fashion
