Global Fashion/Local Tradition - Exhibit In Utrecht, The Nethetlands

[Mr-Dale]

Article I translated from www.museum.nl

Global Fashion/Local Tradition



To be seen from 17-09-2005 to 15-01-2006



International fashionexhibition Global Fashion/Local Tradition, in which the effects of globalisation in the contemporary fashion is the the central subject. To be seen Is the work of well-known and lesser known fashion designers of today. The theme will be shown from these 6 angles:

• Survey Fashion Weeks

Paris, Milan and London are no longer the only fashion capitals of the world, more and more this is present on an international platform. Nowadays every continent has it’s own fashion weeks. Because of this, and because of the global access to the internet, a lot of non-Western designers succeed in being noticed by the whole world. The exhibit opens with an audiovisual survey of all fashion weeks from the whole wide world.

• Global Fashion as a form of colonialism: mapping the world.

John Galliano is showing a selection of his 2004/2005 fall-winter collection. In this he mixes elements of East-Eurpean folkdressing, clothes from Yemen, costumehistorical and elements from the life of wanderers in a unique way. In his work we see an exploration to authentic peoples, techniques and craftsmanships that he brings together in a ‘supersamplingmix’. Galliano symbolises the speed of fashion: every season a new image is created which will be replaced by the next one in a short while.

• International designers who use their own cultural background.

This part gives an overview of well-known Western and non-Western designers that have made their own background and traditions their trademarks. Here we can see the work of Vivienne Westwood, Bernhard Wilhelm, Sophia Kokosalaki, Comme des Garcons, Yohji Yamamoto, Xuly Bet, Junya Watanabe, Issey Miyake and Hussein Chalayan (Ambimorphous). In 1981 the Japanese first introduced a tranditional Japanese aesthetic and non-Western clothingtraditions. After that, in the 90’s the English, the Belgians and the Dutch also brought their own culture to Paris. Vivienne Westwood wrote history, for example, with her specific use of the English plaid, English tailoring and the typical use of colour that comes along with that. Then, there are also a lot of non-Western designers, like the African Xuly Bet and the Turkish Hussein Chalayan that have been hartly welcomed in Paris because of their fresh thoughts on fashion. Chalayan for one, plays regularly with elements of Turkish folklore dredding and tradiotions. Xuly Bet introduced the idea of recycling in haute couture, a recognisable African principle.

• Putting own cultural traditions on the fashion map.

In this part of the exhibit designers and brands are to be seen that hold on to their own heritage and traditions and with that, seeking an international audience via the internet and fashion weeks. Dene fur Clouds, for one, Native Americans from Northern Canada, shows the ancient native American fingerknittingtechnique proffesionaly. The brand China Lane works with Chinese embroiderytechniques in modern lounge-wear for the Parisian market. Further more, you can see Rita Kumar (India) Manish Arora (India), Sun Goddess (South-Africa), Razu Mikhina (Russia), Coopa Roca (Brazil, Rio de Janeiro), Alexandre Herchcovitz (Brazil, Sao Paolo), Pineda Covalin (Mexico) and Lam de Wolf (The Netherlands).

• How traditional cultures absorb fashion-items.

The Dutch artist Roy Villevoye collects T-shirts from the Asmats in New-Guinea. He found out how they emballish modern T-shirts and, in a way that can be compared to their traditional tattoos and sculptures. With this, Villevoye shows that the traditional living Asmats in New-Guinea, too, are more open to influences from outside than was thought in the past. The thought that cultures like this one have a clothingculture that does not change is with this, proven wrong. Fact is that the classic line between fashion as a Western phenomena and traditional clothingcultures as non-Western phenomena, is no longer true.

• Exotism in the costumehistory.

Then, last but not least, there is a selection to be seen from the own historical collection of the Centraal Museum. Costumes, fabrics and accessories show how other cultures have always been a part of Western fashion. The French designers were inspired by Africa, Egypt and India even before 1980 and used the exotic theme in their collection. Everything that was from outside of Europe was ethnical and exotic, but was not taken seriously in fashion by Western standards.



Publication.

With the exhibit a catologue with backgroundarticles from Prof. Dr. Sabdra Niessen, Sumati Nagrath and drs. José Teunissen. The publication will appear in Dutch and English.

Original article:

http://www.museum.nl/museumnl/handler.cfm?event=tentoonstelling&id=C5F26BCA-A8AD-42FB-B2CB-9A4E4EFC9599

 

[Mr-Dale]

I am so going!