EDGE champions the gallery and museum venue as a new era of exposition for emerging designers.
Fashion is an expression and designers are artists. Shows can be curated with a collective vision of both a historical context and a relevance to contemporary culture. The Met and V&A are landmark institutions that exhibit fashion, but the opportunity is to bring this concept into the mainstream for both the public and the fashion industry.
When fashion supports a more engaged message it reaches beyond the consumption or industry at large to the fascination of its contribution to the arts, social, and historical values. The benefits go beyond the obvious exposure to the press, industry, and consumer but re-grounds us to its meaning and real purpose. More and more consumers want meaningful products. Yes, conscious consumerism.
Local communities can celebrate the historic value and current innovation of fashion. Sub cultural events such as fashion shows and other collaborative exposure to the arts community – music, visual, performing arts – can leverage the main exhibition event. In addition, offering education through seminars, workshops, and panel discussions can add value and have long-term reach.
Feature Image: Oscar de la Renta:The Retrospective, de Young Museum, 2016 | photo: Si Jie Loo
This concludes the three part series.
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