Exhibition
Present Imperfect: Disorderly Apparel Reconfigured
12 May 2017 – 4 Aug 2017
Event times
Monday–Friday: 10.00am–6.00pm
Saturday: 12.00 noon–4.00pm (during term time)
Sunday and Public Holidays: Closed
Cost of entry
FREE
Address
- 20 John Princes Street
- London
- W1G 0BJ
- United Kingdom
Travel Information
- 3, 12, 88, 94, 159, C2, N3
- Oxford Circus
- Marylebone
Present: Disorderly apparel reconfigured;
Imperfect: A playful project that tests the principal elements of exhibiting fashion: object, body, text, installation.
About
Disorderly apparel describes garments that are badly damaged, utterly worn-out or made from textiles that have perished over time. The items exhibited in Present Imperfect are prized for these very qualities. However, such apparel can be left overlooked or suppressed, lie dormant or languish in museum stores, and are rarely exhibited. Present Imperfect seeks to reassert these seemingly awkward items of dress and render them as compelling.
Fragile items that have been loaned for this exhibition include a pair of smoldered Victorian kid-leather gloves, a leather jacket template by Alexander McQueen, a ballet singlet borrowed from the Rambert Archives, an exhausted Stone Island coat and a century old evening dress made by leading London couture house Redfern.
Working processes and ideas that are usually undertaken back-of-house are shared in the gallery space so that visitors can see ideas from the making of this exhibition that were not foregrounded but are still brought out on view. The intention is to highlight that within the evolution of any exhibition numerous choices and ideas are explored, rejected and chosen.
Curated by Jeffrey Horsley and Amy de la Haye. Alongside SetWorks and the Digital Anthropology Lab, Horsley and de La Haye have worked with graphic designer Giulia Garbin and photographer Camilla Glorioso, herself a recent graduate from MA Fashion Photography at LCF.
This exhibition was commissioned by Ligaya Salazar, Fashion Space Gallery and presented in collaboration with Centre for Fashion Curation.