IT HAS BEEN over three years since the last fashion exhibition at Newfields, and for good reason. Due to the art form’s three-dimensional nature, intricate craftsmanship, and incorporation of delicate fabrics, displays of style are some of the hardest showings for museums to put on. Couple that with the decontextualization of these pieces from their cultural origins, whether arising out of the newest social media trends or the private unveilings of haute couture, and one could rightfully wonder: can clothes really be radiant beyond the runway? Newfields’ latest showing, Body / Beyond: Fashion That Transforms, confronts this question and many more as it shines a spotlight on adornment.
Primarily concerned with how fashion can emphasize, expose, and augment the human form, Body / Beyond offers an overview of the innovative art’s development in 25 pieces. Beginning in the ‘50s and ‘60s, the show displays the minimalist “H-line” of Christian Dior alongside the opulence of a Balmain ball gown. Taken together, these pieces exemplify the hopeful nature of postwar optimism, with their restrained designs still made personable and energetic by the former gown’s saturated pink and the latter’s hand-embroidered florals.
Further inventiveness is displayed in various ‘80s and ‘90s silhouettes, with a plaid Thierry Mugler skirt suit offering audiences a keen look at the shoulder-padded-and-stunning pragmatism of power dressing. Yet things aren’t all business; the exhibition made sure to include the daring designs of Vivienne Westwood, highlighting her penchant for the punk movement in a piece displayed next to a video broadcasting a sequence of runway shows. An 18th-century-inspired bustier paired with a miniskirt, the look from her “Dressing Up” collection is as subversive as it is stylish.
The unapologetic and experimental is also seen in Newfields’ acquisition of three new pieces. Material girls will be pleased to see a Jean Paul Gaultier conical bra cup maxi dress, famously worn by Madonna while on her Blonde Ambition World Tour in 1990. Additionally, even the most casual of dressers will be amazed by the brocaded velvet ensemble of Rei Kawakubo and the deceptive sequined blazer of Martin Margiela. Imbued with a dynamism vested in their very materiality, these pieces truly do come alive. Ultimately, the art in this exhibition makes clear that, with fashion, as with all things, being bold is what will take you beyond.
