The first thing visitors encounter upon entering the new exhibit at the Met’s Costume Institute, “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology,” is a wedding gown with a 20-foot train. Designed by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel’s fall 2014 haute couture collection, its construction is not only technologically innovative, it challenges the notion that couture is necessarily handmade.
The train was initially sketched by hand; then digitally manipulated to create the appearance of a pixelated baroque pattern; hand-painted with gold metallic pigment; machine-printed with rhinestones; and finally hand-embroidered with pearls and gemstones.
It’s also the perfect entry point to the show, which examines the tension between garments made by hand (couture) and by machine (ready-to-wear) — and the ongoing blurring of the two.
“Traditionally, the hand has been identified with exclusivity, spontaneity and individuality,” explained curator Andrew Bolton in a preview earlier this week. “Likewise, the machine has been understood to signify not only progress, but also inferiority, dehumanization and homogenization.”
Those assumptions are challenged across two floors spanning 170 pieces dating from the late 19th century to present day. Upper galleries are dedicated to embroidery, featherwork and artificial flowers, while ground-floor spaces investigate pleating, lacework and leatherwork.
One of the most extraordinary pieces is a dress from Dutch designer Iris van Herpen, made of hand-stitched strips of laser-cut silicone feathers and real-life bird skulls with glass eyes.
Wow factor aside, the emphasis on detail — a meticulous explanatory text accompanies each look — illuminates the strenuous processes and sophisticated technology being used to create what’s easy to dismiss as just pretty clothes.
“We’re in a really troubling moment,” Bolton says of the ever-evolving rag trade. “Designers seem to be dispensable and fashion seems to be disposable. I hope that the show reminds people of the geniuses of our world and of what they do.”
“Manus x Machina” runs through Aug. 14 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave.; metmuseum.org. Pay-what-you-wish admission.