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Hamish Morrow (British, born South Africa, 1968). Ensemble, spring/summer 2002. White polyester mesh, ivory and white silk/nylon blend foliate damask dipped in purple dye; faceted glass, silver wire, and white cotton canvas ties. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Hamish Morrow, 2006 (2006.367a–d).
Hamish Morrow is known for his adventurous exploration of materials and techniques—for example, employing ultrasonic welding or computerized printing. Read more »
Vivienne Westwood (British, b. 1941) and Malcolm McLaren (British, b. 1946). “Seditionaries” Top and Trousers, 1977. Top: Black cotton sateen, metal, and plastic; Trousers: Black cotton sateen, silver metal, braided nylon, and black plastic. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Richard Martin Bequest and Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2006 (2006.253.22 and 2006.253.23a, b).
Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood’s punk designs of the mid-to-late 1970s were as revolutionary as Poiret’s corsetless fashions of the early 1900s. Read more »
Hussein Chalayan (English, born Cyprus, 1970). Corset, fall/winter 1995–96. Amber wood and silver metal. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2006 (2006.252a, b).
Unlike much of Hussein Chalayan’s work, this corset was not created with the specific political and social narratives that generally inform his collections. Read more »
Rei Kawakubo (Japanese, b. 1942) for Comme des Garçons (Japanese, founded 1969). Headdress by Stephen Jones (British, b. 1957). Ensemble, spring/summer 2006. Navy wool gabardine, red, yellow, white, and black tartan cotton, and yellow, brown, and white tartan wool; silver metal and brown leather; Union Jack–printed cotton. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Comme des Garçons, 2007 (2007.306a–d).
Rei Kawakubo has on occasion displayed a surprising affinity for contemporary British street fashion. Some of her earliest Paris collections alluded to punk and neo-romantic styles through the filter of her own strong deconstructivist aesthetic. Read more »
French Suit, 1810–12. Green silk voided velvet with yellow and ivory silk filament fleck motif and ivory silk satin piping. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Irene Lewisohn Bequest, 2003 (2003.45a–c).
The incipient classicism of the last years of the reign of Louis XVI continued to develop and inform post-revolutionary styles. This suit’s apparent austerity compared to the elaborately embroidered examples in vogue during the ancien regime suggests a concession to the mood of the tumultuous times. Read more »