Items: Is Fashion Modern?

Items: Is Fashion Modern?

Today, I went to to an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, New York. The exhibition was questioning Is Fashion Modern? which was the name of it. It is about various items, why they were originally designed in history, and how they have been reinterpreted and developed over time.


Walking through the exhibition, I was most interested in the items which had historical heritage which were made for practical reasons and have been developed for more of a fashion statement today. The first example I saw of this was platform shoes. This showed a timeline of different types of platform shoes showing the development of them throughout time. The first platform shoes were made in the Roman times to protect bathers feet from the bathhouse floors. This style then developed and by the 1400s women in Spain and Italy wore them in a fashion sense instead of using them for a practical reason. The shoes in the exhibition then went on to show styles of platform shoes throughout the 20th and 21st century.

Another item found in this exhibition is the Jumpsuit. when reading about the jumpsuit, the first form of this was in the mid 1800s with an undergarment known as the union suit which got is name from being worn by WW1 parachute jumpers. Jumpsuits were used mainly for workwear as they are durable and easy to put on quickly. After this in WW2, women wore "Siren Suits" throughout air raids. In 1910, futurists saw the jumpsuit for its potential and in the 60s space age fashion, futurist unisex outfits were in and the jumpsuit was a great futurist design to show this. The main jumpsuit which captured my eye in a fashion sense was designed by Richard Malone and is made of recycled acrylic knit and plastic bonding. This shows a modern use of materials within a futuristic design.

Richard Malone - Jumpsuit made 2017

The next item which caught my eye was a leather biker jacket. The origin of the biker jacket is pretty well known for "bikers" to wear for protection and safety of the rider as the material is strong and durable. In the exhibition there was a basic and typical style black leather biker, however sitting next to it was an ivory coloured biker. This jacket is made from flexible polymers and leather shoulders which are cut and shaped to protect the wearer. Other interesting parts of this design is that it has an LED lighting system which helps visibility and safety of a biker. The technology of this impressed me and shows how developing technology helps with practicalities of design instead of aesthetics.

This exhibition was very interesting to me and I really enjoyed it. Learning about the developments of design within various items intrigued me and I like the way new technologies have adapted designs and improved practicalities of them. In contrast to this, some of the practical designs have adapted to impractical accessories and garments for fashion and to only worn for fashion and style.