Royal Academy of Arts Visit - AWARE Art Fashion Identity

Theory 21.1.11 – Royal Academy of Art Visit (Exhibition AWARE)

Questions

What does the exhibition teach us about people’s motivations for consuming fashion?

Visiting the exhibition, “Aware” – Art Fashion Identity at the Royal Academy of Art (21.1.11), it teaches us a great deal about people’s motivations for consuming fashion.  Factors such that clothing marks a person’s individuality and social identity, whilst also clothing can form a purpose, being practical and have a specific function.  Also from the exhibition you can see that clothing can be a means of communication, revealing personal and collective identities.  People’s consumption of clothing in a way illustrates individual’s way of life and identities, it shows a status.  Fashion changes from day to day, year to year, so fashion is constantly reinventing itself, which keeps the consumer intrigued.

Pick one piece and reflect on what it says about the production, consumption or marketing of fashion.

Hussein Chalayan’s installation piece, ‘Son’ of Sonzai Suru (Sakoku) October 2010 stood out and fascinated me within the exhibition.  I found it really interesting and thought I would explore more into the piece and reflect on my own thoughts.  This installation is based on Bunraku theatre, a traditional form of Japanese puppet theatre.  I feel that the puppets that support the dress create and state some sort of movement.  From researching into the designer, Chalayan, I found that he was exploring the concept of a moving image, “I am trying to embody a feeling and an idea with the clothes”.  Also they translate this idea that they are puppeteers behind the production and the industry the dress was produced.  Such that the puppets are people behind the garment that we have consumed and portraying the idea that we don’t know what has gone on behind the history of the making of the garment.