Exhibition: The Vulgar: Fashion Redefined
The exhibition book (source: http://charliesmithdesign.com/work/barbican/the-vulgar/)
The Vulgar: Fashion Redefined is an
exhibition being held at the Barbican, from the 13th of October of
2016 until the 5th of February of 2017. The exhibition reverberates around
different definitions of the term “vulgar” and its manifestation in Fashion,
thinking over the contradiction this word raises and discussing the concept of ‘good
taste’ and ‘bad taste’.
The exhibition was divided in sections
that were spread in the two floors of the gallery. Each section exploring – or emphasizing
one interpretation of the word “vulgar”. The lighting of the entire gallery was
very ‘controlled’, allowing the clothes exhibit being in focus, and sometimes
creating shadows behind the mannequins. Along the exhibition, there were
fragments of texts that presented or emphasized the approach of the exhibition’s
theme in each section; most of these texts were taken from publications by Adam
Phillips, who is a British psychologist. On the ground floor of the exhibition
there were a ‘reading area’ were you could read some of his books used in the exhibition,
as other publications. In the same floor there were also a video of fashion
designers talking about what is ‘vulgar/vulgarity’ to them. This was one of my favourite
parts of the exhibition, because it presented a completely new idea of vulgarity
to me, which is related to ‘the culture of non-confrontation’; that ‘is about
revealing what is normally hidden’, about challenging moral/morality and makes
us think about what is acceptable and what is not acceptable.
In general, I would say that the
layout of the gallery allowed the curators to lead the visitors in the exhibition
through the sections, like when you read a book, I felt that I ‘should’ follow
the ‘natural order’ of the exhibition to better comprehend the message being
communicated. However, I cannot say that this is the best way of experiencing
this exhibition; it might just be my personal way of doing it. In addition, I
believe that if enough time is allowed one should revisit the parts of the
exhibition the most called one’s attention in order to take the most of it.
Being honest, by the time I finished
visiting every section of the exhibition I felt a little tired. I tried to take
notes of what called my attention and by the end I had five A5 pages! (Which is
at least the double of what I normally do) I think this exhibition was very
rich in terms of texts and I was very pleased with how the texts on the wall complemented
the garments to narrate the story and vice versa.
The exhibitio visits many different concepts of Vulgar and its manifestation in Fashion through various perspectives, including materials, sihlouettes, etc. I think, as a fashion designer, this exhibition
was very significant for many diffenrent reasons. (So many that I cannot dare
to dry to talk about each one of them in this post) One of the reasons is that
it opened my eyes to my own creative process as a creator in terms of making me more aware of what I make and what it signify. Another reason is that
I think this exhibition was built around the fact that trends (fashions) are
born inside a place of exclusivity but eventually become popular, massified, vulgar
(although other interpretations and perspectives were approached). I think this
is a crucial dynamic of Fashion, especially as an industry, as it is when
trends become largely adored and reproduced that the industry ‘delights itself’.
In addition, I believe that is inside this dynamic that one of the most important
and criticized aspects of Fashion is born: obsolescence.
(Image: http://thelondonthing.co.uk/barbican-centre-the-vulgar-fashion-redefined/)
(Image: http://www.quilondra.com/mostre/the-vulgar-fashion-redefined)
(Image: http://thelondonthing.co.uk/barbican-centre-the-vulgar-fashion-redefined/)
(Image: http://thelondonthing.co.uk/barbican-centre-the-vulgar-fashion-redefined/)
(Image: http://www.victoriasadler.com/review-the-vulgar-barbican-centre-an-idea-too-big-for-a-single-show/)
(Image: http://www.quilondra.com/mostre/the-vulgar-fashion-redefined)
(Image: http://www.cantabriadmoda.com/2016/10/13/que-es-vulgar/)
(Image: http://thelondonthing.co.uk/barbican-centre-the-vulgar-fashion-redefined/)
(Image: http://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/the-vulgar-fashion-redefined-exhibition-opens-barbican-art-gallery-london-galliano-prada-louis-vuitton-mcqueen-10674040/)
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