The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston brings fashion and technology together brilliantly in their #Techstyle exhibit. The art on display examines concepts from 3d printing to sustainability to wearable technology, and I’m not talking about just smart watches with the last one. While the pieces are all wearable and are presented with images showing the article being worn there is only one piece in the exhibit that I feel could make it to the sales floor, even then only with some modifications.
When you first enter the exhibit in the anteroom you will be greeted by a clip from the short film “Prototype” featuring Viktoria Modesta wearing a prosthetic spike leg and dancing. Immediately behind the television is the prosthetic from the clip effectively setting the pace for the entire four dimensional exhibit. The first room focuses on clothing that interacts with the world instead of just being a part of it. In the room there are five dresses, one in the center, and one on each wall. The pieces on the walls are each accompanied by a short film prominently featuring the dress and showing off it’s unique nature. The films can be a bit disorienting at first glance, they each take turns being the center of attention then showing a near still image while the others play. The dress in the center the room by CuteCircuit is especially eye catching, the piece has thousands of micro LEDs allowing it to display several moving patterns along with a scrolling message.
Stop by #techstyle to see more than 10,000 microLEDs light up a @CuteCircuit dress with animations. pic.twitter.com/OgaZmnOgL0
— Museum of Fine Arts (@mfaboston) April 16, 2016
The second room is far more subtle than the other two main rooms. That’s not to say skip it by any means, or else you’d miss out on Issey Miyake’s incredible “3D Steam Stretch Dress.” This outfit looks remarkably like folded origami. This piece is shown with a making of video that shows how it was woven together and steamed to give it’s distinctive three dimensional texture.
The third and final room in the exhibit focused on clothing that is made from non-traditional materials. Several dresses were 3d printed including the one to the left of this post which has become almost synonymous with #Techstyle. Another 3D printed dress this one made by Jessica Rosenkrantz of the Somerville based company Nervous System actually has a swatch of the “fabric” that visitor can feel, which for hunks of hard plastic attached on hinges makes a surprisingly soft and flexible material. Besides the 3d printed outfits, this room also has dresses made using lasers. Elvira ‘t Hart’s piece stands out immediately. It is a jacket made by laser cutting the artist’s sketch from leather. This leaves the work with an odd not quite real look. Kate Goldsworthy takes a different approach to using lasers, instead of using dyes and creating waste byproducts she uses a laser to color the fabrics. Goldsworthy’s laser lining method allows the fabrics to be completely recyclable, at end of life.
All of these would be more than enough to justify the $25 entry fee, and I’ve even held off mentioning the best ones! For those who are in the Boston area this is truly a must see. #Techstyle will be on display at the Foster Gallery in the MFA until July 10 2016. To find out more click here to visit the Museum’s webpage.