Dior Meets Westwood, Fashion Meets Nature in V&A Show: Sneak Peek
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A forthcoming exhibition at the V&A in London aims to explore the relationship between fashion and the natural world (1600-present), as well as posing tough questions about sustainability and whether the industry can become more environmentally aware withDior Meets Westwood, Fashion Meets Nature in V&A Show: Sneak Peek
A forthcoming exhibition at the V&A in London aims to explore the relationship between fashion and the natural world (1600-present), as well as posing tough questions about sustainability and whether the industry can become more environmentally aware without losing its provocative edge.Supported by the European Confederation of Flax and Hemp - CELC, “Fashioned From Nature” (April 21 through January 27, 2019) features natural-history specimens along with original works by Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Christian Dior and more.Fashion and nature have a long relationship, but in the past it could best be described as parasitical. In the 17th and 18th centuries the raw materials of fashion included silk, cotton and flax, as well as whale bone, turtle shell and other non-sustainable materials. As the fashion industry expanded, it brought exquisite dresses to the masses, but also resulted in air and water pollution and a depletion of natural resources.The desire to seek inspiration from the natural world led to some bizarre creations, all of which will be on display at the V&A. These include earrings from 1875 incorporating the heads of real Honeycreeper birds, a dress decorated with hundreds of beetle wing cases from the 1860s, and a cape of cockerel feathers.Later designers chose to incorporate designs from nature rather than simply stealing them, so the show also includes leopard-print gowns by Jean-Paul Gaultier and Busvine; a 1780s waistcoat embroidered with macaque monkeys; and a Gucci handbag with stag-beetle motifs. One of the earliest pieces on display, a late-1600s woman’s jacket, incorporates pea-shoot and flowers in its design; and a 2016 Giles Deacon haute-couture dress is decorated with a pattern of delicate bird’s eggs.By the 1980s, many designers cared as deeply about the environment as they did about creating their breath-taking designs, and the exhibition also includes protest posters, t-shirts and banners by the likes of Vivienne Westwood. Katharine Hamnett’s “Clean Up or Die” collection (1989) is represented in the form of a man's suit, as well as exhibits from the growing movement to customise and re-wear clothes like the Katie Jones outfit and an upcycled dress by Christopher Raeburn. There is also a pineapple fibre clutch-bag Calvin Klein dress worn by Emma Watson, plus a Klein dress of recycled-plastic bottles.Innovative fabrics that have less harmful impact on the environment will be a recurring theme. Grape waste from the wine industry is used as a leather substitute by Vegea; a Ferragamo outfit is created out of waste from the Italian citrus industry; and a dress made from recycled shoreline plastic will all go on display. Stella McCartney has contributed a trouser-tunic outfit of synthetic spider silk; Diana Scherer uses seed, soil and water to train root systems into textile-like materials.The exhibition also includes two sections created by the Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF) at London School of Fashion (UAL). “Fashion Now” and “Fashion Future” explore ways in which fashion impacts on the environment, and how it can continue to thrive - without damaging the beauty of the world it hopes to reflect in design.“Fashioned From Nature” is on display at the V&A (gallery 40) from April 21 2018 through January 27 2019. http://www.blouinartinfo.comFounder Louise Blouin Read more