Each year the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Vogue co-host the fashion event of the year, the Costume Institute Benefit, a.k.a. the Met Gala, in New York. In 2014 a ticket would set you back a cool $25, 000, so it’s fair to say it’s a very exclusive affair. The Ball is one of the most talked about events in the fashion calendar; last years ‘China: Through the Looking Glass’ themed night generated 1.5 million tweets on the day alone. Each year the fashion industry waits with baited breath to find out which theme has been chosen. Past themes, including punk, cubism and 18th century fashion, have invited designers to create weird and wonderful bespoke pieces for the red carpet and an array of celebs donning them.
Since the true queen of fashion Ms. Wintour has been seen sporting Apple’s first piece of wearable tech (a tech-ccesory?) it’s official: technology and fashion are a match. The iconic Ball, which will take place on May 2nd, is sponsored by Apple this year so it may come as little surprise that this years theme has a lot to do with 21st century technology; the 2016 Met Gala’s theme will be “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology”.
So the Manus x Machine (which is Latin for ‘the hands x the machine’, obvs) refers to how hand-crafted haute couture and machine-made fast fashion are colliding in our modern fashion system, it will be a celebration of the collaborations between the world of fashion and technology. Technology is becoming such an integral part of our everyday lives that in 2015 it’s impossible for fashion – even the world of hand made haute couture fashion -to ignore technology. Front rows of fashion shows are packed with bloggers and journalists alike gripping their phones and instagramming away, exclusive shows are often live-streamed online, and some of us are starting to make our technology part of our outfit choice.
Whilst we associate the word technology with the new and modern, designers have been integrating technology with their designs for years now. Arguably, one of the most defining moments of Alexander McQueen’s career came from a theatrical display during his Spring/ Summer 1999 show: model Shalom Harlow cowered in fear whilst rotating on stage, as her billowing white dress was spray painted by two robots, making technology part of the live creative process. Hussein Chalayan’s Spring/Summer 2007 show featured awe-inspiring dresses which used remote control technology to transform into an entirely different piece live on-stage. Before the eyes of the incredulous front row a neckline would plunge, and a maxi become a mini, and sleeves would appear from nowhere. Most recently, designers like Tommy Hilfiger Hilfiger and Burberry used apps such as Twitter and Snapchat to stream and live-feed their shows, whilst brands Zac Posen and DKNY integrated technological devices in the making of garments. The former collaborated with Google’s Made With Code initiative and technologist Maddy Maxey to create a LBD incrusted with LED lights encouraging more females in computer science, whilst new creative directors of DKNY Chow and Osborne “utilised a digital printing technique” for many looks in their SS16 collection.
L-R: Burberry previewed their SS16 show on app Snapchat, Zac Posen’s LED LBD for his ZAC Zac Posen show, DKNY SS16. (Images: Burberry, Gianni Pucci, Marcus Tondo)
Technology and fashion’s relationship isn’t all remote control dresses and Apple watches, the exhibit held at the Gala will feature some of the technologies that have changed fashion production forever, from 3D printing technology, to the humble sewing machine. After some truly show-stopping looks at this years Gala, we can’t wait to see what the A-List will be wearing for the 2016 event. We predict some transformer-like pieces, futuristic makeup looks, and lots and lots of metallics.
Bella Brooks