New York: Day 2

It was recommended today that we visit the MoMA to see the ‘Items: Is Fashion Modern?’ exhibition in Manhattan. So we got up and headed straight for 11 West 53rd Street. We started on the 6th floor where the exhibition was being held. As we walked in we were greeted by a wall filled with 111 items of clothing that have had a profound impact on our culture. The exhibition focused on the origins of individual garments and its re-interpretations through time…

The exhibition had 11 different interpretations of transformative The Little Black Dress, from 1950’s to 2017. The first were more classic versions, subtle but showing the progression of the dress. The next 6 were more modern interpretations, my favourite of which being the Kinematics dress by Nervous System. A flat 3-D printed dress with interlocking triangular ‘material’ giving it a totally flexible form, the dress can also be printed as one piece. The texture of the garment is an amazing piece of engineering and design.

‘…the open mindedness of the little black dress offers a metaphor for fashion itself (…) a timeless concept, a metaphor for modernity’

The next Little Black Dress caught my attention because of its strange concept, the ‘Little Black (death) Dress’. Designed by Pia Interlandi, the dress offers an easier grieving period for mourners after someone has died. The ‘dress’ is put onto the body and responds to detections of body heat, when this happens the dress lights up white. I thought this was an interesting concept and spin on the classic dress, taking the death part of black very literally.

My favourite piece of the entire exhibition however was Richard Malone’s jumpsuit (2017) prototype. I loved the highly architectural torso piece, imitating an optical illusion or a spiralling staircase. The use of black and white stripes accentuated the dramatic curves further whilst the yellow drags your eyes to each section. Malone liked the idea of unisex clothing as it adds a contemporary feel to the garment. The construction of the garment is visionary and seemingly unrealistic when it comes to everyday wear, however it offers an insight to the future of fashion.

After MoMA we made our way to Chelsea Market on 75 9th Ave. In an understated building you’d walk straight past it unless you knew what was inside. Home to artisan boutiques and independent stores the market interior is rustic and crude making the stores inside illuminate the otherwise dark pathway.

Tomorrow we are visiting Brooklyn by ferry…