Sony’s PS3 Enhances Luxury In Fashion Reconsidered Exhibit

Luxury: Why has fashion always been attracted to and so closely associated with it? Examining fashion from the standpoint of luxury, this exhibition considers the relationship between luxury and fashion in different societies and eras, from the 17th century to the present, and explores new directions for the future.

The growth of the industrial economy has brought a wealth of material blessings into our lives, but has also confronted us with some challenging global issues. Under these circumstances people do not necessarily share the same view of luxury, which is one of the manifestations of this affluence. Views range from the perception of luxury in terms of visually luxurious and lavish expressions, to a take on luxury that is more individualistic, more of an intellectual pleasure. For this exhibition, we use the concept of ‘luxury’ as a vantage point from which to take a new look at fashion-the most sensitive indicator of our values and social trends.

Luxury in fashion Reconsidered is a cutting-edge fashion exhibition, addressing the theme of luxury from a variety of perspectives by presenting 17th century to present-day fashions, with a total of 90 garments carefully selected from the collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute (KCI) & Maison Martin Margiela / Kokonoe Co., Ltd..

At the exhibition, they will display high resolution images of 15 works through the Playstation 3, leveraging a new technology developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. With this technology, visitors are able to see the details of dress materials by freely zooming in and out on Sony’s 47inch Public Display.

Exhibits:
Section 1. Ostentation

• Bodice gifted to Elizabeth I [The 17th Cenrtury]
• Dress (robe à la française) made of silk brocade [The 18th Century]
• Reception dress by Maison Worth [c.1900]
• Party costume for la 1002e nuit by Paul Poiret [1910s]
• Gabrielle Chanel, Maison Worth [1920s]
• Christian Dior, Elsa Schiaparelli [1940-50s]
• Roy Lichtenstein, Pierre Cardin, André Courrèges
• and Yves Saint Laurent [1960s]
• Chanel (Karl Lagerfeld), Thierry Mugler [1980-90s]
• Balenciaga (Nicolas Ghesquière), Louis Vuitton (Marc Jacobs)
• and Viktor&Rolf [2000-]

Section 2. Less is more

• Paul Poiret [1910-20s]
• Gabrielle Chanel, Madeleine Vionnet [1920-30s]
• Grès, Christian Dior, Cristobal Balenciaga and André Courrèges [1940-60s]
• Azzedine Alaïa, Yves Saint Laurent and Issey Miyake [1980-90s]
• Lanvin (Alber Elbaz) [2000-]

Section 3. Clothes are free-spirited

• Comme des Garçons (Rei Kawakubo) [1980s-]

Section 4. Uniqueness

• Artisanal collection by Maison Martin Margiela [1990s-]

New acquisition: Kyoichi Tsuzuki—Happy Victims
April 1 (Wed.)–May 24 (Sun.), 2009
The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
4F Collection Gallery

Luxury in Fashion Reconsidered: Lecture series
Lecture I: “Ikebana—A World of Eco-Luxury”
April 18 (Sat.)  2:00PM–3:30PM
Lecturer: IKENOBŌ Yuki (headmaster designate, Ikenobo) in Japanese only

Lecture II: “Fragrance and Luxury—Exploring the Culture of Fragrance”
April 19 (Sun.)  2:00PM–3:30PM
Lecturer: HATA Masataka (president, Shoyeido Incense Co.) in Japanese only

Lecture III: “Haute Couture ou le monde des artisans” (tentative title)
April 25 (Sat.)  2:00PM–3:30PM
Lecturer: Olivier Saillard (curator, Musée de la Mode et du Textile)
in French with Japanese translation
The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
1F Lecture hall (maximum capacity 100), free admission
Reservation required (via KCI, TEL 075-321-9221)

Related links: Exhibition page on the KCI website.

Venue: The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (MoMAK)
Okazaki Enshoji-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8344 , JAPAN
Date: April 11- May 24, 2009
Closed: Every Monday except May 4 (national holiday)
Hours: 9:30 AM-5:00 PM (admission until 4:30PM)
Extended Hours: Every Friday, 9:30AM-8:00PM (admission until 7:30PM)

Venue: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT)
4-1-1, Miyoshi, Koto-ku, Tokyo, 135-0022, JAPAN
Date: October 31, 2009-January 17, 2010
Closed: Every Monday except November 23 and January 11
(national holiday).
November 24, December 28-January 1 and January 12, 2010
Hours: 10:00AM- 6:00PM (admission until 5:30PM)