Virtual Couture
How does the virtual fit in with fashion? Isn't it necessary to capture materials and movement, even the feel and sound of fabrics, in order to be able to grasp fashion in its entirety? In contrast, the virtual often seems mechanical, cool and emotionless. So what is the special attraction of combining these two poles? These questions are at the heart of the exhibition, which approaches the subject from different perspectives.
Exhibition Details
The starting point for the exhibition was the research project “Virtual Couture. 3D digital reconstruction and animation”, which was carried out in 2024.
Unpublished pieces from the collection from the late 18th century and fashion from the 1920s were used for the animations. These included models of fashion icons such as Gabrielle Chanelle, Jeanne Lanvin and Madame Grès, which were first analyzed and measured in their historical context and contemporary history in order to be able to depict them in three dimensions. This approach enables the Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin to show fashion in motion for the first time and to provide a deeper insight into this important collection.
Fashion is movement. Change. Interpretation. The exhibition “Virtual Couture - Fashion restaged” shows fashion as a multi-layered, changeable medium - analog and digital, real and virtual. The focus is on five historical dresses, which are complemented by contemporary adaptations - both in digital form and as physical objects. These adaptations approach the original pieces in different ways: sometimes experimentally, sometimes formally, always as a creative examination of the historical original.
However, it is not only the fashion itself that is on display here - but also the way in which it is presented.
The exhibition itself breaks with classic forms of presentation and relies on a scenographically well thought-out spatial staging: a modular pipe system runs through the rooms as a basic design element - clear in its form, functional in its structure, reusable in the sense of sustainable exhibition planning.
Module Details
The main elements are the pedestals. These are in the center of focus and ideally showcase the 5 items of clothing.
The rectangular standing elements then support the exhibition in a rigid and restrained manner thanks to their versatility: for the staging of digital content, various interpretations, texts and other possibilities.
Special exhibits require individual solutions - and this exhibit is no exception. A 3.50 m high scaffold that supports the fabric panels and gives them the stage they need for the individual presentation to the visitors.
It not only serves as an aesthetic framework, but also offers a clear focus on the content through its reduced formal language, thus providing a stage for digital visualizations, physical objects and contemporary adaptations.
The scenographic implementation plays a central role: it enables an open, experimental examination of fashion, its historical influences and its potential in the analog and digital future.
Instead of a traditional red thread, a symbolic cable system guides visitors through the exhibition. Installed on the ceiling, it guides visitors visually and in terms of content through the various stations. It symbolizes the transition from material to virtual fashion and its interpretations.
Virtual Couture is an invitation to understand fashion as a constantly growing system: As an interplay of craftsmanship and technology, fabric and pixels, tradition and innovation, past and future.
