The exhibition’s itinerary begins with ‘Talking Heads’, a series of video interviews of Austrian fashion professionals from different backgrounds. From magazine editors to photographers to casting directors and scholars, they were all invited to reflect on their personal experiences in fashion as well as the changes they wish to see in the future. All mentioned issues of sustainability, inclusivity, and creativity within an industry driven by commercial considerations. Next, a multimedia installation celebrates the forty-year influence of the University of Applied Arts Vienna and displays the work of the numerous international guest professors who helped shape generations of Austrian creatives. Names like Karl Lagerfeld, Raf Simons, Hussein Chalayan, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Jil Sander, as well as Lucie and Luke Meier, the brand’s current artistic directors and A Magazine N°21 curators. Each of these designers’ work is presented with a film broadcasted on two big screens parted by a long runway.
The exhibition’s centerpiece is a 7-meter-high walk-in sculpture designed by Austrian architect Gregor Eichinger. No stranger to fashion, Eichinger helped to put together the U-Mode in 1984 and notably worked with Helmut Lang on numerous store designs, both in France and in Japan. His scaffolding-like structure welcomes about 250 silhouettes and accessories from household names like Lang and Gernreich as well as today’s rising talents such as Christoph Rumpf, Grand Prize winner at the 2019 Hyères Festival, Kenneth Ize or Arthur Arbesser. Throughout the exhibition, the silhouettes show a clever mix of past and present inspirations. A particular dress by Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood puts a modern spin on the Austrian traditional costume, the Tracht, photographed for the brand’s campaign with the model wearing a Donald Trump mask. Another main inspiration is the Wiener Werkstätte, the early 20th century artist cooperative founded by Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann. It was the Wiener Werkstätte that later shaped Bauhaus and Art Deco.
The main room also gives center stage to fashion photography: the works of 34 photographers such as Erwin Wurm, Marina Faust, Lukas Gansterer, Bettina Komenda, Hanna Putz, or Maria Ziegelböck are exhibited all over the walls on large banderoles. Visible from every angle of the room, including from inside the walk-in sculpture, their distinct visions complete the clothes’ narrative.
Words: Maxime Der Nahabédian