ceiling projections in the central atrium,  designed by OMA architect Shohei Shigematsu, director of OMA New York.

Shohei Shigematsu, director of OMA New York, led the exhibition design in collaboration with the Met’s Design Department at the beggining of 2016. Now, the exhibition Manus x Machina: Fashion in an age of Technology opens in May 5, 2016 and will be on view till August 14, 2016 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Presented in the Museum’s Robert Lehman Wing and Anna Wintour Costume Center, the exhibition will explore the impact of new technology on fashion and how designers are reconciling the handmade and the machine-made in the creation of haute couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear.

Shohei Shigematsu at OMA’s New York office. image © Geordie Wood

Shohei Shigematsu has designed a wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art- the 1970s Robert Lehman Wing, converting it into a fabulous fashion temple with double-hieght atrium, new skylight, bright, white and pure galleries. Shigematsu unfolds the space with multi-dimensional approaches -which one of them is including the projected images of dressmaking techniques. “We’re trying to dissolve the dichotomy of the hand and machine, and present it as a continuum of practice,” said Andrew Bolton, curator of this fash-tech exhibition.

The Robert Lehman Wing galleries on the Museum’s first floor and court level presents a series of pairings of handmade haute couture garments and their machine-made ready-to-wear counterparts. The galleries are arranged enfilade, with a suite of rooms reflecting the traditional structure of a couture atelier and its constituent petites mains workshops for embroidery, feathers, pleating, knitting, lacework, leatherwork, braiding, and fringe work. These are contrasted with ensembles incorporating new technologies including 3D printing, laser cutting, thermo shaping, computer modeling, circular knitting, ultrasonic welding, and bonding and laminating.

Karl Lagerfeld (French, born Hamburg, 1938) for House of Chanel (French, founded 1913). Wedding ensemble (back view), autumn/winter 2014–15 haute couture. Courtesy of CHANEL Patrimoine Collection. image © Nicholas Alan Cope.

Manus x Machina will feature more than 100 examples of haute couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear, dating from an 1880s Worth gown to a 2015 Chanel suit. Hubert de Givenchy, John Galliano, Hussein Chalayan, Issey Miyake and Karl Lagerfeld are among the designers presenting their works in the exhibition. 

The most important aspect of the exhibition is to reflect the founding of the haute couture in the 19th century, when the sewing machine was invented, and the emergence of a distinction between the hand (manus) and the machine (machina) at the onset of industrialization and mass production.

Yves Saint Laurent (French, 1936–2008). Evening dress, autumn/winter 1969–70 haute couture. French. Silk, bird-of-paradise feathers. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Baron Philippe de Rothschild, 1983 (1983.619.1a, b). image © Nicholas Alan Cope.

''It will explore the ongoing rhetoric of this dichotomy in which hand and machine are presented as discordant instruments in the creative process, and will question this oppositional relationship as well as the significance of the time-honored distinction between the haute couture and ready-to-wear'' stated in OMA's project description.

Iris van Herpen (Dutch, born 1984). Dress, autumn/winter 2013–14 haute couture. Dutch. Silicone, cotton. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2015 (2016.14). image © Nicholas Alan Cope.

The Anna Wintour Costume Center galleries will present a series of “in process” workshops, including a 3D-printing workshop where visitors will witness the creation of 3D-printed garments during the course of the exhibition. OMA New York will also lead the concept design for The Costume Institute Benefit, held on May 2. 

Iris van Herpen (Dutch, born 1984). Ensemble, spring/summer 2010 haute couture. Dutch. Polyamide, acrylic, leather. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2015 (2016.16a, b). image © Nicholas Alan Cope.

Apple sponsored to the exhibition as the high-tech company wanted to remove boundaries between handmade and machine-made fashion. Jonathan Ive, chief design officer at Apple, has collaborated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Met Museum Costume Institute for this great show and exhibit. 

Issey Miyake (Japanese, born 1938) for Miyake Design Studio (Japanese, founded 1970). "Flying Saucer" dress, spring/summer 1994. Courtesy of The Miyake Issey Foundation. image © Nicholas Alan Cope. 

“It’s a completely false notion that there is inherent value in what is made by hand, or an inherent lack of value in what is made by machine,” said Jonathan Ive, chief design officer at Apple. Anna Wintour, Idris Elba, Taylor Swift and Apple’s chief design officer, Jonathan Ive, will be co-chairing the Met's opening gala on 2 May 2016. 

image courtesy of Met Museum store.

This fash-tech works of the exhibition are also collected in a book called 'Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology' which is now ready to buy from Met's store. The stunning images of garments as well as close-up technical details by celebrated photographer Nicholas Alan Cope, the book traces the evolution of design from the founding of the haute couture through the onset of industrialization and mass production to the high-tech advancements of today.

Hussein Chalayan (British, born Cyprus, 1970). "Kaikoku" floating dress, autumn/winter 2011–12. Courtesy of Swarovski. image © Nicholas Alan Cope.

Iris van Herpen (Dutch, born 1984). Dress, spring/summer 2012 haute couture. Courtesy of Iris van Herpen. image © Nicholas Alan Cope.

Karl Lagerfeld (French, born Hamburg, 1938) for House of Chanel (French, founded 1913). Wedding ensemble, autumn/winter 2005–6 haute couture. Courtesy of CHANEL Patrimoine Collection. image © Nicholas Alan Cope.

Top Image © OMA

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