FashionUnited has put together exhibitions on all aspects of fashion, design and fashion photography to give Kulturfreund: inside an overview for the year 2022. The museum scene of 2022 has a lot to offer, from documenting personal stories and design reviews to expositions that look at the inexhaustible cogwheel of fashion – consumption.
About individuality and personalities
Seven women, seven profiles, seven personal stories shaped by fashion. The exhibition “Dressed – 7 Women” enables visitors to immerse themselves in the worlds of a wide variety of women and, by means of a very personal insight, to get a feel for how fashion turned the wearer into not only consumers but also performers. The cloakrooms presented in the course of the exhibition tell the various vitas of the protagonists. From power dressing and Hamburg’s punk scene to contradicting aesthetics to the strict dress codes of the upper class, “Dressed – 7 Women” opens the wardrobe doors of unique women and transports visitors to the immediate everyday life in which fashion is used.
The exhibition opens on February 25th at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg and can be visited until August 28th.
Emancipation in focus
The exhibition “Here We Are! Women in Design” in the Vitra Design Museum establishes a connection between creative work and the working conditions of women. In a comprehensive manner, the exhibition draws attention to the traces of emancipation and signs of the times that are hidden in the creations of female designers. The exhibition is divided into four time periods, which range from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day and show the development of the last 120 years using exhibits from over 80 designers.
The exhibition can be seen until March 6th at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein.
When clothes speak
Numerous fashion theorists refer to the communication power of clothing. The exhibition “The Language of Fashion” is literally dedicated to the meaning of text on fashion creations. With over 25 exhibits ranging from the 19th century to the present day, the exhibition focuses on the diverse role of text as a stylistic device for expressive design. Whether ironic catchwords, graphic representation of brand names and logos, political messages or aesthetic typography – the numerous ways of exploiting text through fashion are illustrated here using designs by, among others, Coco Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Tom Ford, Karl Lagerfeld and Martin Margiela.
The exhibition is open until October 31 in Hamburg’s Museum of Art and Industry.
The phenomenon of fashion
As fashion theorist Elizabeth Wilson once said: “Indeed, fashion is so multifaceted that its essence can hardly be grasped.” The exhibition “Fashion ?! What makes fashion into fashion ”addresses the complexity of fashion from a critical and entertaining point of view. With designs that were created between 1950 and today, the exhibition primarily shows contemporary designers: inside and questioning the meaning of clothing, the emergence of trends and the omnipresence of fashion as a social tool.
The exhibition can be visited in the Landesmuseum Württemberg in Stuttgart until April 24th.
The mirror of society
Even if fashion is often not considered serious from the scientific point of view, it is still an indispensable indicator for trends in society as a whole. The exhibition “Fashion Pictures – Art Clothes” shows fashion photographs, drawings and paintings from the 20th century and examines the meaning of fashion as an expression of art and as a mirror of artistic society. “Fashion pictures – art clothes” raises questions about self-presentation, the transition between clothes and costumes, as well as about fashion as contemporary art.
The exhibition is open from February 11th to June 6th in the Berlinische Galerie Museum in the capital.;
The life’s work of Helmut Newton
Helmut Newton ushered in a new era in fashion photography with his striking motifs. His photos regularly explored societal and moral boundaries and created new perspectives on fashion and femininity. The exhibition “Helmut Newton. Legacy ”, which was originally dedicated to the photographer’s 100th birthday, shows around 300 works – from groundbreaking classics to lesser-known motifs. Special publications, archive pieces and quotes from the photographer complement the visual legacy of the Berlin native. The exhibition enables visitors to comprehensively experience the creation of world-famous Newtonian photographs and his incomparable style.
The exhibition is open until May 15, 2022 in the Museum of Photography in Berlin.
Deceleration of the fashion cycle
The exhibition “Slow fashion against wasting ugly clothes” is dedicated to the cycle of textile products and examines their creation and disposal. The patron of the exhibition is Vivienne Westwood, who in 2014 made the phrase “Buy less, choose well, make it last” a motto of the sustainability movement within the fashion industry. The exhibition also presents the research results and associated design projects of the University of Hanover, which provide an outlook on possible solutions for long-lasting and resource-saving fashion.
The exhibition is open until March 13th in the Museum August Kestner in Hanover.
Between fashion and art
The Dutch photographer Paul Kooiker has dedicated himself to fashion photography after twenty years as a photographer and university lecturer. His work is mainly dedicated to an abstract staging of the body in which the physical mass of the models is distorted or manipulated. Kooiker makes use of the stylistic devices of surrealism, exaggeration and drama. He creates images that are intended to stimulate the viewer to interpret and question. The photographic collection of the Folkwang Museum shows “Paul Kooiker’s Photographs” now alongside works by Jürgen Teller, Hans Bellmer, Cindy Sherman and other renowned photographers.
The exhibition can be seen in the Museum Folkwang in Essen until February 6, 2022.
Consumption – Possibilities and Limits to Endless Growth
Even if it is not explicitly focused on fashion, the exhibition “Must-Have – History, Present, Future of Consumption” is also worth a visit for those interested in fashion. The exhibition gives a comprehensive insight into the dynamics that drive endless consumption. A look back at the past decades enables a holistic understanding of how supply and demand, as well as industrialization and scarcity, have an impact on human purchasing behavior.
The exhibition can be visited until November 27th in the LVR industrial museum in Euskirchen, near Bonn.
Dior: In the sign of the times
The Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin has curated a special presentation on the occasion of new Dior models that have been added to the collection. The new additions make it possible to travel back in time through the history of Dior and that of the renowned designers who created for the French fashion house. The exhibition was brought to life in cooperation with the Macromedia University of Applied Sciences. Lecturers and students in the design branch examined the nuances of the individual creatives. They also created new concepts and collections that pick up on Dior’s signature. The student body of the communication design branch developed strategies that the exhibition represents on social media. Fashion management students also created virtual exhibition areas that pick up on the topicality of the Metaverse. The exhibition “How to Dior – Christian Dior and his successors” is open until June 26, 2022 at the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin.
