The Fashion Battle of Man and Machine

As soon as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announced that the theme of the upcoming Met Gala charity ball and exhibition in May would be ‘Manus x Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology’, it was clear in which direction the fashion current is heading.

Designers’ and tailors’ hands and šcissors will compete with technology to highlight the clash of fashion, where on one side stands man and on the other machine. The desire this time is to discover whether it is a conflict or a complementing of man and machine, whether it is possible to reconcile human labor with that of machines, and what the impact of technology is on ‘haute couture’ fashion and ready-to-wear ‘prêt-à-porter’.
Namely, high fashion used to be handmade, while that for ordinary citizens was made with the help of machines; today, these intertwine. Given that the boundary of duality is no longer prominent, the best of both worlds is taken. The exhibition will feature more than a hundred pieces of ready-to-wear clothing and haute couture.

Historical Overview
Embroidery, leatherwork, lace-making, and pleating will be showcased in contrast to the capabilities of modern machines such as laser cutting, 3D printing, computer modeling, circular knitting, and heat shaping. The historical journey of fashion from 1880 and the dress of Englishman Charles Frederick Worth, the first haute couture designer, who was first embraced by European courts and then by everyone else, to Chanel’s famous women’s suit, skirt, and jacket in 2015, will be seen. The influence of technology and production for the masses will be observed over time, determining whether it is disposable or here to stay. Every year, the ball, held since 1946, celebrates the theme of the exhibition according to which the clothing worn that evening is determined. Guests thus arrive in noticeable attire in accordance with the exhibition, so many dignitaries do not miss such a glamorous event. So far, themes have included punk, China, India, Russia, Napoleon, Jacqueline Kennedy, cubism, superheroes, the Victorian era, Austro-Hungary, or various designers. Contributions are collected for the Metropolitan Institute of Costume, and the exhibition is open for several months.

Nothing Without the Machine
An excellent announcement for the Met Gala is Karl Lagerfeld, who has already presented Chanel’s white women’s tweed suit with a skirt and elbow-length sleeves woven using 3D technology for this fall. Many designers are following the idea, preparing similar clothing for spring as well. Thus, Louis Vuitton has created a futuristic mini skirt with hints of techno and Japanese anime cartoons. The boundaries of the possible and impossible have been erased by Hussein Chalayan with water-soluble fabric, and his unforgettable dress made of machine-made metal plates from the 1960s has been brought into the present in the form of an olive dress with dark green sleeves by Paco Rabanne.
The love for 3D printing and mixing the digital with the real has occupied Dutch young designer Iris van Herpen throughout her career, while Miu Miu transforms a candlestick drawing into a digital pattern on dresses, as does Lanvin from an image published in New York magazine. Jonathan Anderson for Loewe has designed high-tech pants made of plastic and PVC, connecting them with leather and suede, while behind the cocktail dress with PVC details stands Christopher Kane.