If one was to compose a list of the most political articles of clothing in modern day fashion, the hoodie would undoubtedly be in the top five of that line up. The garment which went through it’s prime evolution period with Champion in the 1930’s has grown to tell a variety of several narratives including perspectives in music, subculture, androgyny, gender fluidity and most pressingly tales of social equality. Throughout the past two decades with the aid of the media, the hoodie has come to be accused as the narrators in many cases of police brutality & racism. 

“The Hoodie” exhibition, recently opened at the Het Nieuwe Instituut Rotterdam curated by water and curator Lou Stoppard is an in-depth mixed media showcase involving artworks, garments, printed matter, digital footage, social media posts and other cultural artefacts to tell the story of the garment’s history in society.

It explores and examines conversation themes which enable its viewer to consider and reflect on the hoodie’s complicated relationship with contemporary culture from streetwear icon to workwear to political garment. It features work from a lineup of seminal artists and photographers including David Hammons , Campbell Addy, Sasha Huber, John Edmonds & Lucy Orta as well as brands such as Rick Owens, Off-White, VETEMENETS and Vexed Generation.  The exhibition will run until April 2020 and will also be accompanied by a digital magazine featuring specially commissioned essays, interviews and visuals. 

Tags: Art, culture, exhibition, Fashion, rotterdam, the hoodie

Cover Image: Manfred Thierry Mugler , Photo by Max Abadian

Last spring Montreal Museum of Fine Arts launched an exhibition at its headquarters in collaboration with the Clarins Group and the Maison Mugler. The exhibit titled “Theirry Mugler: Couturissime” showcases some of the work of the great French creator Thierry Mugler through his time as a couturier, director, photographer and perfumer with a special focus on his ready-to.wear and haute couture creations. After closing its doors in Montreal, the exhibition has now found its way to the Kunsthal Museum in Rotterdam having opened only a few days ago. 

It features over 140 ensembles, many of which are being put display for the very first time since their creation between 1973 and 2001, with an additional collection of stage costumes, videos and sketches. Of course imagery also plays a major part, as the photographs of industry icons such as Avedon, Bourdin, Goude, LaCapelle, Newton, Ritts and Isserman have been curated all around the gallery to give an even wider perspective of the mythical extravagance which surrounded and still surrounds the designer.  

“I have always been fascinated by the most beautiful animal on Earth: the human being. I have used all of the tools at my disposal to sublimate this creature: fashion, shows, perfumes, photography, video… I am not a person who dwells in the past, but the MMFA, through Nathalie Bondil, was the first to propose to me to stage my creations and imagine together a free, global and reinvented artistic vision. How could I refuse?” said creator Manfred Thierry Mugler. 

Thierry Mugler: Couturissime is only display at Kunsthal Rotterdam from October 13th 2019 to March 8th 2020. 

Tags: Art, exhibition, Fashion, fashion exhibition, haute couture, mugler, rotterdam