OMA converts the met's robert lehman wing into a translucent 'ghost cathedral'

from may 5 to august 14, 2016, the metropolitan museum of art’s costume institute presents its spring 2016 exhibition — manus x machina: fashion in an age of technology. the monumental show comprises more than 170 examples of haute couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear, dating from the early 1900s to the present. the exhibited pieces address the distinction between the hand (manus) and the machine (machina), with ensembles ranging from iris van herpen’s 3D-printed pieces, to embroidery by yves saint laurent highlighting the cultural and symbolic meanings of the hand-machine dichotomy.

‘fashion and technology are inextricably connected, more so now than ever before,’ said thomas campbell, director and CEO of the met. ‘it is therefore timely to examine the roles that the handmade and the machine-made have played in the creative process.’

preview of manus x machina: fashion in an age of technology
video courtesy of the met

OMA new york has realized the exhibition design in collaboration with the met’s design department. led by director shohei shigematsu, OMA has transformed the robert lehman wing galleries — situated at the museum’s first floor and ground level — into a building-within-a-building using layers of white fabrics. the space hosts a sequence of ‘case studies’, where haute couture and ready-to-wear pieces are presented to reveal their hand/machine-made characteristics.

‘we were just given the atrium and the hallway — no exhibition space. so we had to really create the environment,’ explained shohei shigematsu at the exhibition preview. ‘each wing has a theme of techniques — like beading, embroidery, and feather-work. one thing we were very careful about was not to overuse media. we were quite worried about the current trend of fashion exhibitions that rely on a lot of flat screens, and screens that are added afterwards. our media is only four points of projections, each highly integrated.’

upper level gallery view: case study
wedding ensemble, karl lagerfeld (french, born hamburg, 1938) for house of chanel (french, founded 1913),
autumn/winter 2014–15 haute couture, back view; courtesy of chanel patrimoine collection
image © the metropolitan museum of art

at the centerpiece of the exhibition, a 2014 haute couture wedding dress by karl lagerfeld for chanel with a 20-foot train occupies a central cocoon. details of its embroidery are projected onto a domed ceiling. this scuba knit ensemble stands as a unparalleled example of the meeting point between handmade and machine-made: the pattern on the train was hand-painted with gold metallic pigment, machine-printed with rhinestones, and hand-embroidered with pearls and gemstones. the dress is presented on a long white platform that extends through the gallery space, highlighting the length of the train and its intricate detailing.

upper level gallery view: embroidery case study
dress, yves saint laurent (french, 1936-2008), spring/summer 1983 haute couture; courtesy of fondation pierre bergé-yves saint laurent, paris
image © the metropolitan museum of art

andrew bolton has curated the exhibition around the traditional trades of the haute couture. the first floor unfolds as a series of alcoves built around the architecture of the gallery. these niches examine the ‘petites mains’ workshops of embroidery, featherwork, and artificial flowers. the ground floor space is arranged as suite of rooms that look at pleating, lacework, and leatherwork. a room dedicated to toiles and the ateliers of tailoring and dressmaking anchors the ground-floor gallery. on both levels, traditional hand techniques are presented alongside innovative technologies such as 3D-printing, computer modeling, bonding and laminating, laser cutting, and ultrasonic welding.

upper level gallery view: artificial flowers case study
wedding ensemble, karl lagerfeld (french, born hamburg, 1938) for house of chanel (french, founded 1913),
autumn/winter 2005–6 haute couture, back view; courtesy of chanel patrimoine collection
image © the metropolitan museum of art

speaking at manus x machina’s preview in new york, andrew bolton — curator in charge of the costume institute — explained the exhibition in more detail. ‘the exhibition came about when I was looking at saint laurent’s iconic mondrian dress, from his fall 1965 couture collection in our archives. in examining its construction with one of our conservators, we discovered that it was almost entirely made by machine. in fact, the only presence of the hand is the hem and the zipper. and of course it made complete sense that the dress was machine-sewn rather than hand-sewn to achieve the semblance of the mondrian familiarity, but nevertheless, I was still surprised.’

upper level gallery view: embroidery
image © the metropolitan museum of art

‘manus x machina questions the dialectical relationship in which the hand and machine are portrayed as discordant instruments in the production of the houte couture and the prêt-à-porter,’ continues bolton. ‘instead of presenting the hand-made and the machine-made as oppositional, it suggests a spectrum of practice whereby the hand and the machine are equal protagonists in solving design problems, enhancing design practices, and ultimately advancing the future of fashion. it proposes the rethinking of the houte couture and the prêt-à-porter, especially in light of the fact that the technical separations between the two are becoming increasingly more ambiguous, and that the quality of the prêt-à-porter is becoming increasingly more refined and sophisticated.’

upper level gallery view: embroidery
image © the metropolitan museum of art

upper level gallery view: artificial flowers
image © the metropolitan museum of art

‘kaikoku’ floating dress, hussein chalayan (british, born cyprus, 1970), autumn/winter 2011–12 prêt-à-porter; courtesy
of swarovski
image courtesy of the metropolitan museum of art / photo © nicholas alan cope

ensemble, iris van herpen (dutch, born 1984), spring/summer 2010 haute couture; the metropolitan museum
of art, purchase, friends of the costume institute gifts, 2015 (2016.16a, b)
image courtesy of the metropolitan museum of art / photo © nicholas alan cope

dress, iris van herpen (dutch, born 1984), autumn/winter 2013– 14 haute couture; the metropolitan museum of art, purchase, friends of the costume institute gifts, 2015 (2016.14)
image courtesy of the metropolitan museum of art / photo © nicholas alan cope

‘flying saucer’ dress, issey miyake (japanese, born 1938) for miyake design studio (japanese, founded 1970),
spring/summer 1994 prêt-à-porter ; courtesy of the miyake issey foundation
image courtesy of the metropolitan museum of art / photo © nicholas alan cope