The Fit museum exhibit featured multiple garments that manipulated the body in their own way, some restricting and some freeing. What really struck me was the wide range of garments that were built to inhibit a woman’s body movement. The corset made for a pregnant woman was especially saddening to see. Overall I thought it was a well curated exhibit the gave an overview about the progression of fashion’s relationship to the body and the changes that are slowly happening today. The body positivity movement has pushed certain designers and labels to create a more diverse runway, but this movement still has a long way to go in the fashion industry.[1] Further I think it’s important for museums to display pieces that look at every point of view, this exhibit showed multiple approaches to the body and was therefore informative about fashion through the years which I thought was educational. Museums are a form of cultural media that have the ability to provide a deep understanding of fashion.[2]
The garment I chose was the Rei Kawakubo dress from the collection Body meets Dress, Dress meets body. The idealized female body has been a source of inspiration in many forms over the years, usually, the body is molded to look a certain way that is seen as conventionally attractive. Rei Kawakubo’s piece contradicted this and broke down the idea of a perfect body by using padding to create a dress that emphasized areas of the body that are not sexualized or considered attractive. I personally enjoy her take on fashion and the body because it creates a conversation, this piece addresses the suffocating norms and rules society places on a woman’s body. It made me think of the current statistic that says 90% of those suffering from eating disorders are women. Creating a conversation about how these rigid societal norms affect women on a psychological and physical level is something I think is very important. I chose Rei Kawakubo’s piece because it is open to interpretation and yet projects something powerful. I believe that fashion is a tool that can be wielded to create change and to support activism and this piece subtly does that.
Rei Kawabuko- Body meet Dress, Dress meet Body
(The Body:Fashion and Physique)
[1] “The Body: Fashion and Physique.” The Body: Fashion and Physique | Fashion Institute of Technology. Accessed April 14, 2018. http://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/the-body-fashion-physique.php.
[2] Kaiser. Fashion and Cultural Studies. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 2011.19
Bibliography
[1] “The Body: Fashion and Physique.” The Body: Fashion and Physique | Fashion Institute of Technology. Accessed April 14, 2018. http://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/the-body-fashion-physique.php.
[1] Kaiser. Fashion and Cultural Studies. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 2011.19
