Amidst the challenges of climate change, extreme weather events such as heatwaves and floods, pandemics, and conflicts, envisioning our collective future can be daunting. Equally perplexing is the question of how we will safeguard ourselves and our bodies from the myriad of threats that confront us daily (think about the relentless migration of deadly species including insects and fish, across borders). As we brace ourselves for future unstable and hostile environments, clothing and accessories will undoubtedly play a crucial role in our protection.
The Vancouver Art Gallery recently embarked on an exploration of the future of fashion through an innovative exhibition. "Fashion Fictions" (on view until October 9, 2023) acknowledges the growing emergence of creative solutions and designs that defy conventional fashion norms, materials, and technologies. The show aims to uncover how fashion can adapt and respond to the ever-changing and uncertain world we inhabit.
Inspired by Julian Bleecker's essay "Design Fiction" (2009; downloadable for free at this link), which builds upon the concept coined by critic and theorist Bruce Sterling, the exhibition's title emphasizes the innovative power of bridging dichotomic entities such as fact and fiction, the present and the near future, and the scientific and the fantastical.
The featured designers - more than 50 including Comme des Garçons, Marine Serre, Iris van Herpen, Neri Oxman and threeASFOUR, among others - inhabit and operate in liminal spaces, using fashion as a medium to blend unrelated ideas and propose novel aesthetics, bodily forms, and even new ways of existing in the world.
Drawing inspiration from diverse cultural traditions, science fiction, technology, and a commitment to sustainability, these designers create fashion objects that visually manifest new realities and celebrate hybrid identities. This isn't Retrofuturism anymore as these designers are not recycling the futuristic image of the '60s inspired by the Space Age (even though the influence of Paco Rabanne and André Courrèges is implicitly acknowledged here), but they are pushing forward, recognising that the optimistic outlook of the early space discoveries has given way to a state of permacrisis that can still offer creative minds very intriguing inspirations.
The exhibition, curated by Stephanie Rebick the Gallery's Director of Publishing and Content Strategy, is structured into three thematic sections: "Material Futures", showcasing technological and scientific innovations in materials research;" Aesthetic Prophesies", highlighting the fusion of cultural traditions with speculative creations; and "Responsible Visions", investigating designers' incorporation of adaptive reuse and upcycling into their explorations through designs made with discarded leather, safety pins, and metal wire.
There is so much to discover and rediscover here, from Jun Takahashi's intricate honeycomb-pleated gown from Undercover's A/W 2017-18 collection to Ying Gao's latest robotic garments that can morph on the wearer's body; from Alice Potts' bio-design incorporating crystal embellishments made from human sweat to shoes made from bacteria; from 3D printed state-of-the-art creations by Julia Körner to Ronald van der Kemp's swirling chain-link cascade of textile waste, the subversive designs of South Korea's Goom Heo or Maiko Takeda's colour-gradient acetate spiked headdresses donned by Björk on the cover of her 2015 "Vulnicura" album.
The exhibition also features a section on digital fashion, with garments that only exist in virtual realms, adorning social media avatars, or being sold as NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). Works from The Fabricant, a renowned Netherlands-based digital couture house, share the spotlight with British designer Taskin Goec, known for creating both digital and physical clothing. While this section is not critical, visitors should use it to ponder about digital waste. Digital fashion and NFTs consume indeed electricity and impact all the same on the environment.
Throughout the exhibit, themes like safety, security, and survival emerge, indicating intriguing developments in the world of design. Fashion serves not only as a means to incite consumer desire for the latest trends, but also addresses deep-seated, foundational needs related to navigating the present and future.
One example of an item that represents safety is the puffer jacket to which curators dedicated the biggest room in the art gallery. Initially designed for mountaineering and outdoor enthusiasts, it has transformed into a fashion icon since Norma Kamali's innovative sleeping bag coat in 1973. Now, puffers have become a staple in everyone's closet, but they also turned into conceptual designs as proved by Craig Green's creations for Moncler Genius. The puffer jackets in the exhibition go from minimal to cocooning like quilts, from billowing to gargantuan or sculptural like Rick Owens's coats. Variation is the key when it comes to sizes, shapes, and interpretations.
In the present day, fashion exhibitions are widespread across the globe, and it's not uncommon to come across the same designs displayed in various cities like London, New York, or Tokyo. Curators at Vancouver Art Gallery made instead a very wise choice choosing to feature also several Indigenous designers that you may not find in other museums.
Contributing curator Amber-Dawn Bear Robe, hailing from Alberta's Siksika Nation, selected works by several North America Indigenous designers and artists addressing social and environmental issues. Bear Robe highlights that the long-standing presence of veteran designers like Dorothy Grant and Kanayu Rebecca Baker-Grenier, proves that Indigenous designers are not a new trend.
Yet in this exhibition these designers are showcased in an innovative way: rather than displaying them in one room, they are juxtaposed to established and celebrated designers and therefore in conversation with global fashion brands including Alexander McQueen, Issey Miyake, Balmain, and Balenciaga.
These designs also remind us that for Indigenous people fashion is not merely about pretty garments with a seasonal trend, but it is deeply political: it shows their technical skills, but also their cultural heritage, intertwining art with life.
Among the highlights there are the works of Siksika artist Adrian Stimson such as his Bumble Bee Regalia (Naamoi’stotoohsin), a white beekeepers' suit adorned with 300 meticulously hand-sewn beaded bumble bees, complemented by beaded gloves and moccasins.
Crafted in collaboration with Lucille Wright, the design is a reference to an almost forgotten rite in Siksika (Blackfoot) culture that sees children dancing like bees and forming swarms to prepare them for future societies. In our times, the ensemble also hints at the essential role bees play in the planet's long-term sustainability.
Caroline Monnet presents a futuristic fusion of Anishinaabe and French design in her Aïcha’s Regalia (2022), a remarkable wide-shoulder cape jacket that incorporates traditional weaving and reflective floor coating, elevating industrial materials to fine conceptual, wearable art. Similarly, her Catherine's Coat (2002) incorporates Plexiglas with her matriarchal family designs, clashing Space Age aesthetics with cultural heritage. These thought-provoking garments take on new dimensions in her large-scale photograph "Echoes from a Near Future". The image combines fashion photoshoot with conceptual art and political statement and portrays Indigenous women leaders emanating an aura of empowerment, providing us with a new narrative woven with a fusion of heritage, resilience, and visionary leadership that goes beyond the realm of clothing.
Cree-Métis artist Jason Baerg's Sunset Dress also provides us with a narrative of nature's harmony and beauty through its chic black-and-white vertical stripes symbolizing ascending trees, juxtaposed against sky-blue leather trim representing the Earth.
Barry Ace's Otter Moccasins bring together an array of materials, from otter pelt to electronic components, artfully integrating the innovative spirit of Anishinaabe culture with emerging technologies.
The exhibition also features the imaginative creations of other Indigenous designers like Shaya Ishaq's Circles of Lite, part of her Mirror, Mirror exhibition on wearable artwork, and Himikalas Pam Baker, who celebrates her Squamish, Kwakiutl, Tlingit, and Haida heritage through a black dress adorned with Northwest Coast artwork.
"Fashion Fictions" also features a program of events and collaborations, including a creative research laboratory conceived and programmed by Material Matters from Emily Carr University of Art + Design.
What will we be wearing one day? What will our supermodern wardrobes be like? Will our crystal embellishments be made of sweat, will we be wearing shoes grown out of bacteria and will fashion designers be also microbiologists? As usual, time will tell, but for us living in the present the only choice is to immerse ourselves in these fashion fictions, listen to the stories these objects are telling us about the future and wonder how fashion will mutate season after season, decade after decade.
In conclusion, one crucial consideration lingers for more established brands and fashion houses: the exhibition's focus on independent and Indigenous designers suggests a potential shift in the dynamics of fashion power in the years to come. Perhaps the future of fashion does not solely reside in the pockets and profits of huge conglomerates, but rather in the hands and hearts of these visionary creatives who skillfully merge traditions and technology in a more human-centric approach.
Image credits for this post
All images in this post courtesy of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
1. Ying Gao, 2 5 2 6, 2022, PVDF, organdy, glass, silicone, electronic devices, Courtesy of the Artist, Photo: Maude Arsenault
2. Ronald van der Kemp, Overcoat, The Mind Vaccine Collection, Autumn 2021 (Look 34), felt made from textile trash, Courtesy of RVDK Ronald van der Kemp, Photo: Marijke Aerden
3. Goom Heo for Goomheo, Pleated Look, Chaos is our Comfort Zone collection, Spring/Summer 2022, Courtesy of Goomheo
4. Craig Green for Moncler Genius, Ensemble, Moncler 5 Craig Green collection, Autumn/Winter 2018, micro ripstop nylon, cotton down, Courtesy of Moncler
5. Alice Potts, INPerspire, 2023 (detail), wool hat with biomaterials, Courtesy of the Artist, Hat: Courtesy of Reigning Champ, Sweat: Alice Potts, Photo: James Stopforth
6. Caroline Monnet, Echoes from a Near Future, 2022, inkjet print mounted on aluminum, Courtesy of the Artist
7. Shaya Ishaq, Circle of Lite 3, 2019, inkjet print, Courtesy of Shaya Ishaq, Photo: Brandon Brookbank
8. Yimeng Yu, Curvature Collection: IronThrone, 2022, digital image, Courtesy of the Artist
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