Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology was an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that showcased the dichotomy between Manus (the hand) , also known as haute couture, and Machina (the machine), also known as prêt-à-porter. The Metropolitan Museum of Art debuted this exhibition during the 2016 Met Gala and ran it from May 5, 2016 to September 5, 2016. It included over 120 pieces from designers like Chanel and Christian Dior, varying from the 20th Century to present day .
The exhibition explored the evolution of clothing and the differences in how pieces are made. Haute Couture is one piece, fitted to a specific individual, while prêt-à-porter pieces are mass marketed and sold to fit many individuals. In contrast to fashion created solely for a specific individual, pret a porter can be more associated with mass production such as fast fashion. Greatly focusing on making hand-made and machine-made equal and using both to solve design complications. Certain aspects of the exhibition direct the viewers attention to the clothing's DNA by laying out various case studies. The DNA reveals if the article was produced by hand or by machine.
At the same time, the show was meant to question the stigma hand-machine dichotomy has had in culture and symbolic meaning. "Typically, the hand has been identified with exclusivity and individuality as well as with elitism and the cult of personality. Similarly, the machine has been understood to signify not only progress and democracy but also dehumanization and homogenization." Said by the Met Museum themselves.
The incorporation of machines with modern fashion continues to breed new designs and will continuously influence the modern motif of what fashion will and can be.
A dramatic cathedral-like structure, designed by OMA and carefully constructed from white translucent scrims stretched over an intentionally visible framework, featured central domed atrium leading to five porte-cochères. While showcasing exquisite craftsmanship, this exhibit also explored technology's relationship with the handmade.
The exhibition featured pieces by renowned designers such as Maria Grazia Chiuri, Pier Paolo Piccioli, Nicolas Ghesquiere, Iris Van Herpen, Christopher Kane, Karl Lagerfeld, and Miuccia Prada.
The exhibition of Manus x Machina is a prime example of how fashion design is more than just clothing, it is an art. New York Times "Is it Streetwear or Is it Art" is an article going into detail about Mr. Thomas's "Gallery Dept" store. It talks about streetwear and his part in the fashion world, highlighting that fashion designs are more than just clothes and dresses but actual art.
Exhibition Galleries
Manus x Machina's intention was to have the handmade and the machine-made serve as expressions of the designer's creative impulses, to liberate them from their usual haute couture and prêt-à-porter confines. The galleries that made up the exhibit incorporated the use of traditional handcrafted methods and modern machine methods to create homogenous pieces that highlighted the designers' creativities.
Wearable Technology
“Manus x Machina” has embraced the implementation of wearable technology into high-end fashion. This enabled new boundaries for what could be considered wearable technology and even brought on the support of Apple as sponsors for the event. Designers at the event showed off new measures of technology that included 4-D printing, nanoengineering, metamaterials, biotechnology, and using nano drones to make a dress.
Case Study, Chanel Wedding Ensemble
Karl Lagerfield's Wedding Ensemble for Chanel is a hand molded, machine sewn, and hand finished garment made from scuba knit, a polyester based fabric, and silk satin. This ensemble is has been described by Lagerfeld as "haute couture without the couture," being the focal point of the Manus x Machina exhibition.
There was embroidery, painting, sewing, and heat presses to make and design the dress using both machines and hand.
Broderie
Broderie is also known as embroidery. This includes feather work and artificial flowers. The techniques of creating these have remained unchanged for more than a century.
Traditional embroidery is needlework deriving from three types of stitches: flat, looped, and knotted. In the 1860s Louis Ferry-Bonnechaux invented Luneville embroidery: the practice of wooden frames used to stretch out and hook the fabric to decorate the textile with chain stitch.
The greatest innovations in hand embroidery developed due to new materials allowing for a diverse range of surface embellishments.