December
9, 2005 - April 9, 2006
(final dates to be determined)
Fashion
in Colors: The KCI Collection at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design
Museum
80 works from the Kyoto Costume Institute' s extensive collection
of 11,000 objects were chosen for the exhibition Fashion in
Colors that was presented at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo in
October 2004. A customized version of the exhibition will be
presented at Cooper Hewitt and includes several works by Dutch
design duo Viktor & Rolf (Viktor Horsting & Rolf Snoeren).
The exhibition examines relationships between colors, feelings
and function in historical and contemporary costume from around
the world, and includes work by Azzedine Alaïa, Cristbal
Balenciaga, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana,
Mariano Fortuny, Christian Dior by John Galliano, Jean-Paul
Gaultier, Rei Kawakubo, / Comme des Garcons , Issey Miyake,
Robert Piguet, Emilio Pucci, Yves Saint-Laurent, Elsa Schiaparelli,
Viktor & Rolf, Madeleine Vionnet, Junya Watanabe, Vivienne
Westwood, and Yohji Yamamoto
A reinterpretation
of 400 years of international fashion history, "Fashion
in Colors" examines relationships between colors, feelings
and function in historical and contemporary costume from around
the world. Once used to reflect the wearer's social status or
profession, colors have evolved beyond this role to express
personal taste and mood. Technology and cross-cultural interaction
have also influenced the development of colors, democratizing
and broadening color options by making once-priceless dyes readily
available to all.
Viktor
& Rolf
Viktor Horsting (b. 1969, Israel) and Rolf Snoeren (b. 1969,
the Netherlands) together form the Dutch design duo Viktor &
Rolf. They have presented their haute couture collection in
Paris since 1998, and their pret-a-porter collection has been
presented in Paris since 2000. Viktor & Rolf have attracted
attention from the fashion and contemporary art worlds for their
unique and artistic presentations.
The
Kyoto Costume Institute (KCI)
The Kyoto Costume Institute specializes in Western fashion and
has a collection of over 11,000 dresses and related items from
the 18th Century to the present. KCI has organized many exhibitions
including: "Japonism in Fashion" (The National Museum
of Modern Art, Kyoto, 1994), which also traveled internationally;
and "Visions of the Body" (National Museum of Modern
Art, Kyoto, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 1999).
In 2002, KCI published Fashion: A History of the 18th Century
to the 20th Century, Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute
with Taschen, which was translated into 10 languages. "Colors:
Viktor & Rolf & KCI" was curated by Fukai Akiko,
Chief Curator of the KCI. www.kci.or.jp
Designer List
Azzedine Alaïa, Cristbal Balenciaga, Coco Chanel, Christian
Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Mariano Fortuny, Christian Dior by
John Galliano, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Rei Kawakubo, / Comme des
Garcons , Issey Miyake, Robert Piguet, Emilio Pucci, Yves Saint-Laurent,
Elsa Schiaparelli, Viktor & Rolf, Madeleine Vionnet, Junya
Watanabe, Vivienne Westwood, and Yohji Yamamoto.
Contact:
Cooper-Hewitt,
National Design Museum
Press Office
2 East 91st Street
New York, NY 10128
Tel.: 212-849-8420
cooperhewittpress@si.edu
http://ndm.si.edu
