Irene R Healey
Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Imagination
I was fortunate to see the exhibition—at The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters—Dates: May 10, 2018 – Oct 8, 2018 showing the dialogue between fashion and garments produced for devotional practices and traditions of Catholicism. It was fascinating to see the contemporary fashion designers up close and gain insight on how the designers were inspired by the ubiquitous religious imagery growing up in Catholic Europe. I was struck by the craftsmanship and how craftsmanship itself is a devotional act. I also saw how designers use the shape of the body as a template, and through fashion, modify the shape (much as a sculptor does) as a commentary on the body and on being human. If a designer alters the shape of the body through clothing to create an aesthetic experience, can a well crafted prosthesis and beautiful clothing assuage an altered body and enable the person, through fashion, to normalize their experience by using fashion to create and maintain their own creative identity. See metmuseum.org
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