Interview, Fireside Chat
Andrew Bolton: The Intersection of Fashion, Art And Technology - Talks at GS
- The Costume Institute became a fully-fledged curatorial department in 1959, distinct from other museum departments as it raises all its own funding through the fashion community rather than institutional endowments.
- The annual Met Gala, organized by Anna Wintour since 1948, serves as the Institute's primary financial engine, funding acquisitions, salaries, and capital projects while providing necessary media visibility for exhibitions.
- The current exhibition, Manus Ex Machina, focuses on the intersection of handmade and machine-made techniques, deliberately prioritizing "covert" practical technologies over obvious gadgetry.
- Specific technologies highlighted include laser cutting, ultrasonic welding, bonding, and laminating.
- The exhibition's opening piece is a Chanel wedding dress worn by an eight-month pregnant bride, featuring a neoprene "scuba" knit construction that is machine-sewn but finished with 20-foot hand and machine-embroidered trains adorned with pearls and gemstones.
- The exhibition includes 3D-printed garments, which Bolton identifies as potentially as revolutionary and democratic as the sewing machine, despite current material limitations that render them rigid and exoskeleton-like rather than flexible.
- The retrospective exhibition Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty became the eighth most visited exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum's history, attracting approximately 660,000 visitors.
- The exhibition was conceived as a collaborative homage to McQueen, utilizing the memories of his close-knit team of colleagues to avoid posthumous revisionism.
- The success of the show is credited with shifting public perception, establishing McQueen definitively as an artist and fashion as a serious art form.
- Bolton identifies three primary barriers that have historically prevented fashion from being recognized as art: its commercial nature, its inherent functionality (ephemerality), and persistent sexism associating fashion with the feminine sphere.
- The institute's curatorial strategy prioritizes themes with contemporary social significance and cultural relevance to bridge the gap between intellectual discourse and public appeal.
- Bolton asserts that exhibitions must educate and entertain, aiming to leave visitors feeling inspired and rejuvenated.
- Bolton critiques the current fashion industry as a "house of cards" characterized by disposable designers and a pace accelerated by social media, which allows for up to 16 collections a year.
- Looking forward, Bolton advocates for slowing the fashion cycle to allow for greater reflection on design work and a renewed appreciation for the talent involved in making fashion.
- While celebrating the democratization of fashion access through live streaming, Bolton warns that this increased accessibility contributes to the unsustainable speed of production.