Judith Clark and psychoanalyst Adam Phillips have curated an exhibition where fashion excess is explored in the context of endless and changing perceptions of vulgarity. Blue Studio worked closely with curator Judith Clark to achieve the required look for the Schläppi mannequins which were customised with a calico fabric.
The exhibition, which opened on the 13th of October 2016, explores the notion of fashion sensibility under the auspices of commonality or ‘vulgarity’. The word itself conjures up all sorts of emotions not least of which invokes repulsion, criticism and rejection. However, we’re asked to take a deeper look at changing views of fashion, exploring and reassessing pre-conceived ideas of its creative diversity. The exhibition takes a deeper look at fashion as art and acknowledges that in itself this introspection could be seen as inherently vulgar.
Vulgarity has come to mean different things through the ages and likewise, the fashion that alludes to bad taste can often be considered exceptional in different circumstances. Fashion symbols and cultural characteristics are explored within the context of time and popular culture.
Each of the mannequins is dressed in fashion through the ages including pieces from as early as the 1600s and contributions from leading designers such as Walter Van Beirendonck, Manolo Blahnik, Christian Dior, Iris van Herpen, Pam Hogg, Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, Stephen Jones, Christian Lacroix, Karl Lagerfeld for Chloé and CHANEL, Alexander McQueen for Givenchy, Prada, Jeremy Scott for Moschino, Philip Treacy, Viktor & Rolf and Vivienne Westwood.
Judith Clark is a curator and exhibition-maker based in London. She is currently Professor of Fashion and Museology at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts, London. Clark has curated numerous acclaimed exhibitions including Spectres: When Fashion Turns Back, V&A, 2005; Anna Piaggi: Fashion-ology, V&A 2006; Chloé. Attitudes, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 2012; and recently the inaugural exhibition at La Galerie, Louis Vuitton, Asnieres. She lectures widely on issues of dress display and fashion and her latest book, Exhibiting Fashion: Before and After 1971 was published in 2014.
The Vulgar – Fashion Redefined
Barbican Art Gallery, London, UK
13 October 2016 – 5 February 2017
Image Credits
The Vulgar: Fashion Redefined
Barbican Art Gallery
13 October 2016 – 5 February 2017
© Mark Allan
