Couture: then and now
Foreword of the book 'Fashion. A History from the 18th to the 20th Century'. By Akiko Fukai, Chief Curator, The Kyoto Costume Institute
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The Kyoto Costume Institute's first major exhibition, "The Evolution of Fashion 1835-1895," was held in the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, in 1980. This exhibition and others that followed were designed to introduce the world history of Western fashion as an enjoyable, beautiful, and universal cultural property. Several of the KCI's exhibitions, such as "Revolution in Fashion 1715-1815," "Japonism in Fashion," ("Japonism & Mode") and "Visions of the Body: Fashion or Invisible Corset," have also traveled to Paris and New York, receiving accolades for their presentation and their accompanying catalogues. An exhibition of clothing requires a different approach from the exhibition of a painting or a sculpture. For example, for clothing, mannequins are frequently used to mount the show, and most museums do recognize
that mannequins are an essential part of an effective clothing presentation. However, because fashion has changed not only the shape of clothing over time, but also has especially altered the basic shape of the female body, the KCI has given much thought to the construction of mannequins uniquely appropriate to each exhibition.
The KCI specially made its own mannequins for its first exhibition, "The Evolution of Fashion 1835-1895," held in conjunction with the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Understanding that modern-day mannequins could not be used to represent the mid-nineteenth century body shape, the KCI measured its entire collection of costumes from this period to find an average size, then successfully constructed mannequins perfectly shaped for clothing from the middle of the nineteenth century. Due to their specially designed joints, the mannequins could also assume remarkably realistic and active poses.
The Kyoto Costume Institute now has four types of specifically designed period mannequins, and they are recognized worldwide as sensational innovations. Kyoto Costume Institute mannequins are used by forty-eight museums in eleven countries, including the Musée de la Mode et du Costume, Paris (Palais Galliera), the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. In this volume, all photographs of costumes dating from before the nineteenth century were mounted on special KCI mannequins.
At the KCI the dressing of mannequins is also considered an essential part of a costume exhibition. Great care must be taken to faithfully reproduce the unique silhouette of the clothing of each period. Furthermore, to precisely reproduce the fashion of a given period, the KCI attempts the full styling of mannequins with accessories such as hats, gloves, and shoes, carefully examining and researching accurate details from related materials such as fashion plates, magazines, paintings, and photographs. As a result, the dressed mannequins appear astonishingly life-like, reflecting the postures of their time in a manner almost poignant to behold.
Page 1 2 3 4 5
Page 1 2 3 4 5
The Kyoto Costume Institute's first major exhibition, "The Evolution of Fashion 1835-1895," was held in the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, in 1980. This exhibition and others that followed were designed to introduce the world history of Western fashion as an enjoyable, beautiful, and universal cultural property. Several of the KCI's exhibitions, such as "Revolution in Fashion 1715-1815," "Japonism in Fashion," ("Japonism & Mode") and "Visions of the Body: Fashion or Invisible Corset," have also traveled to Paris and New York, receiving accolades for their presentation and their accompanying catalogues. An exhibition of clothing requires a different approach from the exhibition of a painting or a sculpture. For example, for clothing, mannequins are frequently used to mount the show, and most museums do recognize
that mannequins are an essential part of an effective clothing presentation. However, because fashion has changed not only the shape of clothing over time, but also has especially altered the basic shape of the female body, the KCI has given much thought to the construction of mannequins uniquely appropriate to each exhibition.
The KCI specially made its own mannequins for its first exhibition, "The Evolution of Fashion 1835-1895," held in conjunction with the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Understanding that modern-day mannequins could not be used to represent the mid-nineteenth century body shape, the KCI measured its entire collection of costumes from this period to find an average size, then successfully constructed mannequins perfectly shaped for clothing from the middle of the nineteenth century. Due to their specially designed joints, the mannequins could also assume remarkably realistic and active poses.
The Kyoto Costume Institute now has four types of specifically designed period mannequins, and they are recognized worldwide as sensational innovations. Kyoto Costume Institute mannequins are used by forty-eight museums in eleven countries, including the Musée de la Mode et du Costume, Paris (Palais Galliera), the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. In this volume, all photographs of costumes dating from before the nineteenth century were mounted on special KCI mannequins.
At the KCI the dressing of mannequins is also considered an essential part of a costume exhibition. Great care must be taken to faithfully reproduce the unique silhouette of the clothing of each period. Furthermore, to precisely reproduce the fashion of a given period, the KCI attempts the full styling of mannequins with accessories such as hats, gloves, and shoes, carefully examining and researching accurate details from related materials such as fashion plates, magazines, paintings, and photographs. As a result, the dressed mannequins appear astonishingly life-like, reflecting the postures of their time in a manner almost poignant to behold.
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