Dear Shaded Viewers,
Manus-Machina – Fashion in an Age of Technology explores how fashion designers are reconciling the handmade and the machine-made in the creation of both the haute couture and the avant-garde ready-to-wear. The more than 150 ensembles date from the early 20th century to the present. Haute couture was founded in the 19th century when the sewing machine was invented. Manus= hand and Machina= machine and with the machine came the onset of mass production.The exhibition will study how hand and machine are presented as discordant tools in the creative process and question the relationship and distinction between haute couture and ready-to-wear.
The Robert Lehman Wing galleries on the Museum's first floor and ground level present a series of case studies focusing on the hand/machine conundrum. Prototypes are presented as 'monuments to ideas." A series of rooms will be based on traditional metiers including embroidery, featherwork, artificial flowers, pleating, lacework and leatherwork. These will be presented alongside innovative processes such as 3D printing, computer modeling, bonding and laminating, laser cutting and ultrasonic welding.
The Metropolitan Museum
1000 Fifth Avenue
NYC, NY 10028
