until Sunday August 14 2016

Metropolitan Museum of Art
T : +1 212 535 7710
1000 Fifth Avenue
10028 New York
United States

The exhibition will examine how new technology like laser cutting, computer modeling and other machine made fabrication methods is influencing the world of high end fashion. More than 100 pieces of haute couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear will displayed, from an 1880s Worth gown to a 2015 Chanel suit. The exhibition will also have live workshops, in which visitors will look closely the process of 3D printing.

“Traditionally, the distinction between the haute couture and prêt-à-porter was based on the handmade and the machine-made” said Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s curator in charge. “But recently this distinction has become increasingly blurred as both disciplines have embraced the practices and techniques of the other”. “manus x machina will challenge the conventions of the hand/machine dichotomy, and propose a new paradigm germane to our age of digital technology”, he explained.

The exhibition will address the founding of haute couture in the 19th century, when the sewing machine was invented, and the emergence of a distinction between the hand (manus) and the machine (machina) at the onset of industrialization and mass production.

The show will be staged in two gallery spaces in the museum.
The Anna Wintour Costume Center will be dedicated to the ateliers of tailoring and dressmaking.
The Robert Lehman Wing will celebrate handmade culture items, featuring techniques such as feather work, embroidery, and artificial flowers juxtaposed with machine made designs like thermo shaping, circular knitting and ultrasonic welding.

Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology opens to the public on 5 May 2016 and will be on view until 14 August 2016. Shohei Shigematsu, Director of OMA New York, will lead the exhibition design in collaboration with the Met’s Design Department.

Exhibition Dates: May 5-August 14, 2016
Exhibition Locations: Robert Lehman Wing and Anna Wintour Costume Center

The Met Fifth Avenue
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028