Manus x Machina

While I was in New York a few weeks ago I had the amazing pleasure of going to the Manus x Machina exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  This is the annual fashion exhibition that is kicked off by the famous Met Ball.  Each year there is a theme to the exhibition, in the past themes have been Punk in 2013, Chanel in 2005, and Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty in 2011.  I have never been to the exhibition nor have I ever been to The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  So I was super excited to be able to go.

The exhibition was very extensive, it included several rooms, was scattered over 2 floors, and showed garments from the early 1900s to AW16 collections.  Per the leaflet that was included with the catalog that I purchased, "Manus x Machina challenges the conventions of the hand/machine dichotomy and proposes a new paradigm germane to our age of technology"  The exhibition featured pieces that were made by hand with incredible skill and also pieces that were made by machine.  It was grouped by different skills.

Toiles - commonly referred to as muslin, and generally used to make the pattern for a garment, it can also be used for draping because of the difference in weight of the fabric.

Comme Des Garcons | SS13 

Machine-sewn cream cotton with white elastic straps hand-gathered and sewn attachments, machine-sewn, hand pleated ivory cotton twill

Tailleur and Flou - this describes the 2 ateliers or workrooms, tailoring and dressmaking.  Initial concepts and design direction comes from the head designer or creative director, but is assisted by an atelier, who is in charge of seeing the concept translated into the garment.

1st from the left 

House of Chanel | 1963-68

Suit: machine-sewn ivory wool boucle tweed, hand-applied navy and ivory wool knit trim hand-braided with interlocking, chain stitching; blouse: machine-sewn silk broadcloth, machine-embroidered with bound pleats, hand-worked buttonholes

3rd from the left 

House of Chanel | AW15

3-D-printed white polyamide overlay, hand-stitched clear crystals, hand-embroidered by Lesage with gold synthetic sequins on black silk crepe de chine

Hussein Chalayan | SS09

Molded white polyurethane foam, hand-painted and airbrushed with gray, green, blue, brown, black, and red crushed automobile imagery

  

Pleating and Folding - ignited by the popularity of the hand fan, the pleating and folding done to fabric was achieved by using a pleating mold or frame.  the fabric is compressed in between and exposed to a combination of moisture and heat in an oven.  It is then dried.  This process did not hold the pleats and ladies would have to send garments back to be repleated.   Later, when synthetic textiles were introduced a permanent set pleating techniques were developed.

Miyake Design Studio | SS94

Machine-garment-pleated, machine-sewn polychrome polyester plain weave

Miyake Design Studio | SS90

Machine-garment-pleated, machine-sewn yellow and red-purple polyester-linen plain weave

Iris Van Herpen | SS10

3-D-printed white polyamide, machine-sewn white goat leather, hand-cut acrylic fringe

Noa Raviv | 2014

Lacework and Leatherwork - Lacework was introduced in the 15th century, handmade lace is traditionally categorized as wither bobbin or needlepoint.  Because of the amount of work that went into lace making various investors sought to create a machine that could replicate it.  The first machine was created in the early 1800s.  Leatherwork became popular during the 1920s with the creation of reptilian simulations-created by compressing and stamping leather to emulate skins of snakes and other animals. With recent technologies such as laser cutting, ultrasonic welding, and synthetic biology leatherwork is continuing to experience advances with technologies 

Prada | AW08

Machine-sewn cream silk gabardine, digital-inkjet-printed in brown and black with digitally scanned and rendered troupe l'ceil motif; hand-finished

House of Chanel | 1937

Hand-sewn, machine-made black silk-rayon lace, hand-shaped with wire and horsehair at sleeves; hand-attached, machine-sewn black rayon crepe liner,; white linen floral corsage with die-cut, hand-embossed, and hand-assembled flowers

Left

Threeasfour | SS16

Machine-sewn white neoprene and nude nylon mesh, hand-applique of 3-D-printed

Right

Proenza Schouler | AW13

Machine-sewn white nylon mesh, pieced with white ceramic "stone" customer lace, bonded with white ultrasonic-welded satin viscose crepe "embroidery"

Embroidery, Featherwork, and Artificial Flowers - Featherwork and embroidery are usually combined into one practice.  Most common is to build up the feathers, through meticulous handwork the individual barbs of a feather are knotted together, adhered with glue, and threaded or wrapped with wire.  Artificial flowers also use a process that has not changed much, it involves treating the material in flour and cutting the flowers in layers.  The method for metal punching flower shapes remain largely unchanged.

Alexander McQueen | SS12

Machine-sewn white silk organza, hand-sewn to nude silk mesh; hand-embroidered with silver beads, clear crystals, and silver gelatin feather pailettes; hand-applique of silver silk and metallic hand-shredded petals, hand-embroidered with silver beads, clear crystals, and silver gelatin feather paillettes

Iris Van Herpen | AW13

Machine-sewn black cotton twill, hand-painted with gray and purple polyurethane resin and iron fillings, hand-sculpted with magnets

Yves Saint Laurent | SS83

Machine-sewn, hand-finished black silk crepe; hand-embroidered by Lasage with silver, gray, blue, brown, opalescent, and black gelatin sequins and beads in an imbrication pattern

Norman Norell | 1953

Machine-sewn light blue silk jersey, hand-embroidered with blue-ombre gelatin sequins; machine-finished, hand-hemmed

Hussein Chalayan | AW11

Cast fiberglass painted with gold metallic pigment, hung with Swarovski crystal and pearled paper "pollens," rear-entry panels with motorized hinges, radio-controlled digital handset

Christopher Kane | SS14

Sweater: machine-knit ivory cashmere, appliqué of white nylon net, machine- and hand-embroidered with green, black , and orange silk-synthetic thread and yellow and opalescent sequins, skirt: machine-sewn nude silk-synthetic organza, laser-cut yellow polyester voile appliqué, machine- and hand-embroidered with green, black, and orange silk-synthetic thread

Gareth Pugh | AW15

hand-embroidered with black plastic drinking straws

Boue Soeurs | 1928

Hand-sewn ivory silk tulle, machine-embroidered with couched silver cord in a foliate and vermicelli pattern; inset of silver-blue silk and metal lame with machine-picot edging; hand-appliqued with hand-embroidered white silk tulle with artificial flowers in pink, purple, green, yellow, and blue silk ribbon and floss

Photos taken by me.

Content with assistance from the Manus x Machina catalogue