Fashion Curating: Critical Practice in the Museum and Beyond

Description

As the practice of fashion curation extends into commercial galleries, public and retail spaces, and even to the individual self, professional concepts of “curating” are undergoing rapid change. Today, everyone is seemingly able to “curate”, but where does this leave the traditional understanding of curation as clothing collected and displayed in a museum? This thought-provoking volume explores the practice of fashion curating in the 21st century, bridging the gap between methods of display and notions of “the curatorial” in fashion exhibitions, commercial settings, and the virtual world. From fashion’s earliest forays into the museum to creative collaborations between luxury fashion brands and artists, this book challenges understandings of fashion curation by drawing on the palpably new spaces, places, and actors in today’s curating scene. Exploring poetic and performative museum displays in venues such as the V&A, Somerset House, MoMu, and the Royal Ontario Museum, alongside the ways that brands such as Dior, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton have made use of “the curatorial” in their own commercial strategies, Fashion Curating asks pressing questions about controversial funding and collaboration from the commercial fashion sector, and the limitations of producing exhibitions that are at the same time critical and popular. Bringing together approaches from fashion curators, designers, and world-renowned academics, curation is positioned as a critical practice that opens up new ways of conceptualizing and theorizing fashion, challenging how we think and what we already know. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF PLATES LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION: FASHION CURATING IN THE MUSEUM AND BEYOND Notes References SECTION ONE INSIDE THE MUSEUM 1 CONFRONTING FASHION’S DEATH DRIVE: CONSERVATION, GHOST LABOR, AND THE MATERIAL TURN WITHIN FASHION CURATION Introduction The material turn and fashion Fashion conservation as ghost labor From background to foreground “The intuitive approach” The death drive of objects and the myth of neutrality Conclusion References 2 PERMANENCE AND IMPERMANENCE: CURATING WESTERN TEXTILES AND FASHION AT THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM Object research, selection, interpretation and exhibitions Building the collection, philosophy and research Exhibitions in the Patricia Harris Gallery of Textiles & Costume Making it different: exhibitions in a permanent gallery BIG, Fashion Follows Form and ¡Viva México!: 2012–2016 Note References 3 UNFAMILIAR PLACES, LOCAL VOICES: FOUR EMERGING CURATORIAL NARRATIVES IN AUSTRALIA (2010–2016) Local heroes—curating an Australian designer survey Fashion playgrounds—curating for children Performative curator—critique of fashion in the exhibition space Fashion destinations—exhibition as place branding Conclusion Notes References 4 FASHION CURATION AT MOMU: DIGITAL CHALLENGES Background MoMu Antwerp Fashion Museum Digital archives The digital introduced in MoMu’s exhibitions Conclusion Notes References SECTION TWO THE INDEPENDENTS 5 PROPS AND OTHER ATTRIBUTES: FASHION AND EXHIBITION-MAKING Notes References 6 STAGING FASHION IN SOMERSET HOUSE, LONDON Introduction London as a global fashion city Somerset House Exhibitions at Somerset House: From Skin and Bones to Guy Bourdin: Image Maker Conclusion: towards curatorial investigation of fashion Curatorial credits for Somerset House exhibitions cited References Reports 7 BOUTIQUE—WHERE ART AND FASHION MEET : CURATING AS COLLABORATION AND CULTURAL CRITIQUE Where art and fashion meet: collaboration as curatorial theme Beyond garments: fashion as installation New editions: New York–Tokyo–Berlin Fashion curating: a form of cultural analysis Note References Unpublished documents 8 FROM LESBIAN AND GAY TO QUEER: CHALLENGING THE HEGEMONY IN COLLECTING AND EXHIBITING LGBT FASHION AND DRESS Lesbian and gay styles in the “Streetstyle” exhibition Tokenistic representation? Sexuality and sexual orientation in museums Collecting policies for LGBTQ materials in museums Exhibiting LGBT fashion Conclusion Notes References 9 INTERVENING FASHION: A CASE FOR FEMINIST APPROACHES TO FASHION CURATION Critical curatorial practice Feminist fashion curation A feminist intervention: The Politics of Appearance Critical fashion and feminist practice K8 Hardy: Untitled Runway Show The continued need for a critical engagement with fashion Notes References SECTION THREE BEYOND THE MUSEUM 10 FASHION MUSEUMS AND FASHION EXHIBITIONS IN ITALY: NEW PERSPECTIVES IN ITALIAN FASHION STUDIES Introduction Fashion as historical-artistic heritage and the rise of fashion museums in Italy Fashion exhibitions A new wave: the project of a national museum of fashion Didactic exhibitions, display projects and research at the University of Bologna Conclusions References 11 BEYOND GARMENTS: REORIENTING THE PRACTICE AND DISCOURSE OF FASHION CURATING Fashion materialities Fashion sensorium Performing fashion Conclusion Notes References 12 FASHION CURATES ART: TAKASHI MURAKAMI FOR LOUIS VUITTON Introduction: the relationship between the fields of art and fashion Takashi Murakami: the art of commercial culture Murakami and Louis Vuitton: a symbiotic fusion of art and fashion Marc Jacobs and the curation of art for fashion Notes References 13 ARTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICITY: MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS OF LUXURY FASHION BRANDS IN CHINA Introduction Issues of authenticity: the rationale behind artification of luxury brands Manifesting historical patrimony of luxury giants through story-telling exhibitions Achieving legitimacy: taking museums as the venue of storytelling Making legends of brand founders Manipulating artistic “contagion” Establishing connections with Chinese art Conclusion References INDEX