: "Form Follows Fashion," an exhibition currently on view through
December 31 at The Museum at FIT, examines shape and structure,
volume and proportion as they relate to fashion. The primary
focus of this intriguing exhibition is how clothes may be
considered as abstract, sculptural forms in the same way one
would study a molded work of art.
Approximately 100 ensembles are on view. They include garments
from such contemporary avant-garde Japanese fashion designers as
Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, Yohji Yamamoto and Junya
Watanabe. In contrast to narrative or representational fashion
design, which is inspired by a theme, such as Anglomania,
abstract fashions are primarily about formal qualities. For
example, Kawakubo devoted an entire collection to formal
variations on the skirt. This exhibition also features the work
of couturiers with a sculptural or architectural vision, such as
Cristóbal Balenciaga and Mme Grès. One of the highlights is
Charles James's famous "Abstract" or "Four-Leaf Clover" ball
gown, a masterpiece of structural engineering designed in 1953.
The title of the exhibition - "Form Follows Fashion" -
deliberately changes the famous dictum "form follows function."
Coined by the American architect Louis Sullivan, the slogan has
become central to the functionalist philosophy of design.
Strongly associated with modernism, design functionalism blended
the Darwinist idea about fitness for purpose with an emphasis on
machine technology. Whatever its validity with respect to
architecture and product design, much debated, the functionalist
philosophy has had relatively little impact on fashion design.
Some of the clothes on display are more functional than others,
but viewers will be struck more by the visual strangeness and
beauty of the fashions than by any fitness of purpose.
The Museum at FIT is on the southwest corner of Seventh Avenue
at 27th Street. For information, 212-217-5800 or
www.fitnyc.edu/museum.
