A few days ago, I had the pleasure of seeing the ‘Future
Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion’ exhibition going on at GOMA until the 15th
of this month and oh boy, how much I loved it. For those of you who are
planning to venture out into the realms of Queensland’s one and only Gallery of
Modern Art, I would suggest you to spend the damn $20 (or $16 if you’re still
considered a student; unfortunately that pricing does nothing for me anymore L ) that you would
otherwise spend on lunch some other day and immerse yourself into the beauty of
what is Japanese fashion evolution; the weird, the whimsical, the artistic and
the extraordinary.
A little bit about the exhibition :
the exhibition features and explores the innovation and development of various
Japanese fashion designers from the early 1980’s to the present moment, with
over 100 garments that range from classic and timeless pieces, to weird and out
there outfits that you could only dream about in your dreams. The Japanese
fashion industry is a huge market that is ever expanding and becoming more
popular as time progresses; more and more Japanese fashion designers are making
an international name for themselves due to the creativity, uniqueness and
talent in regards to their designs. The exhibition features an amazing array of
various Japanese fashion designers ranging from internationally known and loved
Rei Kawabuko of Comme Des Garcons, to smaller names on the verge of being
internationally praised like Hiroaki Ohiya, Akira Naka and Yohii Yamamoto. The exhibition
includes 3 huge rooms filled with stunning pieces, projections of fashion shows
up on the walls and smaller mini screen tvs of fashion catwalks from various
designers over the years next to selected garments. You will also be able to
read a timeline of the fashion worlds’ evolution at the beginning of the exhibition
that will teach you a little bit about big time fashion designers evolvement
and emergence into the greatness they are today; like Karl Langerfield and
Alexander McQueen (RIP) . Stunning magazine articles throughout the ages and
seats with fashion books/magazines will also be available, and the exhibition also
has an ‘Up Late’ feature which works to make your experience more amazing at
night by bringing in live music, Japanese inspired food and bars and hear from
local ground breaking designers and fashion identities otherwise known as the ‘Fashion
Talks’.
There is also a pop-up shop available at the front (free of
charge entry, this is before the exhibition gates) which has a hugeeee array of
cutesy Japanese items, fashion books and magazines, whacky jewellery and even
sushi socks!
What I thought about it:
Look, I could go on and on and on about the wonders of the modernistic, voluminous inspired, art-turned-clothes fashion thats gracing it's way through the 21st century, but i'll make it simple and clear; W.O.W. I definitely do not regret spending the $20 ; each part of the exhibition was exhilarating, unique, interesting and different and each piece of garment kept getting more amazing as I walked further into the halls. The amount of time and effort it would have taken not only the gallery coordinators to set up and perfect, but also the designers and the crew involved in the shipment and delivery of each item is unimaginable to me and I could only think that it would have taken a long ass time and I couldn't respect everyone who was involved enough for their efforts.
The exhibition was also a huge eye-opener to me because it let me see garments in person and close-up; before then I have never been to any fashion shows or seen any garments by big-time designers in person; I've stuck to digital and printed out images beforehand. The eye-opener wasn't just the amazingness of the garments themselves but also the intricate detail that could be seen on each and every item of clothing; you could see that all the designers spent a decent amount of time preparing, stitching, sewing and perfecting each and every single item within their collection. That is the amazing part: you see the effort of the artists and you instantly value the item so much more and begin to see it in a different light; in a more respected and praised light than you ever did before. And that is exactly what happened to me.
Featuring the amazing Rei Kawabuko of Comme Des Garçons, multiple fashion award-winning Yohji Yamamoto, and emerging Japanese designers such as MintDesigns and Akira Naka; some pieces stood out to me, spoke to me, inspired me, and fell straight into my dreams.
REI KAWABUKO: COMME DES GARÇONS
Japanese fashion is an emerging and ever-expanding business that features some whacky ass pieces and is essentially leading the fashion world. Japan and Paris are main contributors to the fashion world of today; both producing contrasting fashion trends and ideas that compliment and differentiate with each other perfectly. The main concept played with by various Japanese fashion designers is volume. Voluminous, material-rich garments that work to transform the traditional human body shape and bring an alien, outer human touch to the whole look are all the hype within the fashion industry and i'm loving it completely. 90% of the exhibition was all about playing with volume and shapes to transform the human figure and going above and beyond fashion boundaries, stepping out of the norm and creating art out of fabric. This isn't just fashion anymore, it's artistic expression. It's a movement. It's an obsession. It's the 21st century's take on art and oh boy how I love every inch of it.
Not to mention that the set up fantastic; keeping it simple and leaving the walls and surroundings quite bare allow for the garments to be the start of the show and bring in the central appeal. The huge bare interior hall creates the illusion of volume and keeps things modern.
YOHJI YAMAMOTO !!!!!!
All in all, definitely worth the money and I would recommend for y'all to check it out; even if you aren't that into fashion. Fashion is now considered an art form and these pieces belong in an art gallery, looking at these pieces isn't just for the fashionistas out there but just for anyone to look at and admire. Some of them are crazy, and some of them are down right weird, but that's just part of the amazing ness of Japanese Fashion and the exhibition itself. I thoroughly recommend for anyone to go and spend some money and immerse yourself in the wonders and beauty of the exhibition; I promise you , you will not regret it and I can guarantee that you'll be inspired.
For those of you who are interested it's $20 for an adult ticket and $16 for concession (students), and GoMA also has a few packages like the 'fashionista package' that collaborates with the Queensland Art Gallery's 'Undressed' exhibition so you can go and see both exhibitions and then have lunch at the QaG cafe. They also have the up-late packages and a few other packages that I forgot about but if you head onto the GoMA website (http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/current/futurebeauty) they will have all the deets and prices for you!
thanks for reading& stay tuned for more...
Vera x
Vera x
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