MANUS X MACHINA: FASHION IN AN AGE OF TECHNOLOGY INTRODUCTION The traditional distinction between the haute couture and prêt-à-porter has always been between the custom-made and the ready-made. Haute couture clothes are singular models fitted to the body of a specific individual, while prêt-à-porter garments are produced in multiples for the mass market in standard sizes to fit many body types. Implicit in this difference is the assumption that the handwork techniques involved in the haute couture are superior to the mechanized methods of prêt-à-porter. Over the years, however, each discipline has regularly embraced the practices of the other. Despite the fact that this mutual exchange continues to accelerate, the dichotomy between the hand (manus) and the machine (machina) still characterizes the production processes of the haute couture and prêt-à-porter in the twenty-first century. Instead of presenting the handmade and the machine-made as oppositional, this exhibition suggests a spectrum or continuum of practice, whereby the hand and the machine are equal and mutual protagonists in solving design problems, enhancing design practices, and, ultimately, advancing the future of fashion. It prompts a rethinking of the institutions of the haute couture and prêt-à-porter, especially as the technical separations between the two grow increasingly ambiguous and the quality of designer prêt-à-porter more refined. At the same time, the exhibition questions the cultural and symbolic meanings of the hand-machine dichotomy. Typically, the hand has been identified with exclusivity and individuality as well as with elitism and the cult of personality. Similarly, the machine has been understood to signify not only progress and democracy but also dehumanization and homogenization. In examining these values, the show’s intention is to liberate the handmade and the machine-made from their usual confines of the haute couture and prêt-à-porter, releasing them from the exigencies of the fashion system into the hands of fashion designers for whom they serve as expressions of creative impulses. UPPER LEHMAN – ATRIUM MÉTIERS Manus x Machina is structured around the métiers, or trades, of dressmaking outlined in the Encyclopédie, one of the most provocative publications of the French Enlightenment. Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert’s famed Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers (Encyclopedia, or Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts, 1751–72) placed these trades on the same footing as the arts and sciences, which had been regarded as the noblest forms of scholarly activity since Greek antiquity. The elevation of these and other métiers served as an incendiary challenge to established prejudices against manual labor, biases that the authors sought to refute by showing the creativity and complexity such work involved. In fact, the Encyclopédie, detailing as it does the skills and tools requisite for these arts, provides an erstwhile articulation of the exhibition’s theme—manus × machina, hand and machine. The métiers defined in the Encyclopédie remain central to the haute couture today, and they provide the organizing principles of this exhibition. Embroidery, featherwork, and artificial flowers are explored on the upper floor, while pleating, lacework, and leatherwork are featured on the lower floor. The lower galleries also examine the prototypes—toiles and paper patterns—involved in the creation of the haute couture, as well as the traditional divisions of a couture house, namely the ateliers for tailoring and dressmaking. In essence, the exhibition unfolds as a contemporary adaptation of the Encyclopédie and the protoindustrial world it highlights. Case Study House of Chanel (French, founded 1913) Karl Lagerfeld (French, born Hamburg, 1938) Wedding Ensemble Autumn/winter 2014–15, haute couture Courtesy of CHANEL Patrimoine Collection Perhaps it used to matter if a dress was handmade or machine-made, at least in the haute couture, but now things are completely different. The digital revolution has changed the world. —Karl Lagerfeld This ensemble, which Lagerfeld has described as “haute couture without the couture,” exemplifies the confluence of the hand (manus) and the machine (machina). Made from scuba knit, a synthetic material, the dress is hand molded, machine sewn, and hand finished. Maison Desrues (founded 1929) hand embroidered the buttons with gold, glass, and crystals, and Atelier Montex (founded 1939) hand embroidered the medallion with glass, crystals, paillettes, anthracite cannetilles, and gold leather leaf motifs. The train of scuba knit and silk satin is machine sewn and hand finished. Lagerfeld’s hand-drawn design was digitally manipulated to give it the appearance of a randomized, pixelated baroque pattern and then realized through a complex amalgam of hand and machine techniques. Atelier Lunas (founded 1993) used a heat press to transfer the rhinestones; Atelier Anne Gelbard (founded 1997) painted the gold metallic pigment by hand; and the pearls and gemstones were hand embroidered by Cécile Henri Atelier (founded 1982). Published by Vincent Giuntini, Lucques, Italy Leather bound volume with engraved plates; ink on paper Bequest of Marianne Khuner (AE25 .E532 1758 Q) Denis Diderot (French, 1713–1784) Jean Le Rond d’Alembert (French, 1717–1783) Pierre Mouchon (French, 1733–1797) “Embroiderer” from Recueil de planches, sur les sciences, les arts libéraux, et les arts méchaniques: avec leur Case 1 explication, 1762–72, book 2 (part 1), vol. 2, plate 1 Denis Diderot (French, 1713–1784) Published by Antoine-Claude Briasson, Paris Frontispiece Leather-bound volume with engraved plates; ink from Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des on paper sciences, des arts et des métiers, Jane E. Andrews Fund, in memory of her husband, par une société de gens de lettres, 1758–71, vol. 1 William Loring Andrews, 1955 (AE25 .E531 1762 Q) Published by Antoine-Claude Briasson, Paris Leather-bound volume with engraved plates; ink on paper Jane E. Andrews Fund, in memory of her husband, William Loring Andrews, 1955 (AE25 .E531 1762 Q) Denis Diderot (French, 1713–1784) Jean Le Rond d’Alembert (French, 1717–1783) Pierre Mouchon (French, 1733–1797) “Maker of Artificial Flowers, Plans of Cutters for Flower Petals” Case 2 from Recueil de planches, sur les sciences, les arts Denis Diderot (French, 1713–1784) libéraux, et les arts méchaniques: avec leur Jean Le Rond d’Alembert (French, 1717–1783) explication, 1762–72, book 3, vol. 4, plate 1 Pierre Mouchon (French, 1733–1797) Published by Antoine-Claude Briasson, Paris “Feather Trader, Various Creations and Tools” Leather-bound volume with engraved plates; ink from Recueil de planches, sur les sciences, les arts on paper libéraux, et les arts méchaniques: avec leur Jane E. Andrews Fund, in memory of her husband, explication, 1762–72, book 7, vol. 8, plate 1 William Loring Andrews, 1955 (AE25 .E531 1762 Q) Published by Antoine-Claude Briasson, Paris Leather-bound volume with engraved plates; ink on paper Jane E. Andrews Fund, in memory of her husband, William Loring Andrews, 1955 (AE25 .E531 1762 Q) Denis Diderot (French, 1713–1784) Jean Le Rond d’Alembert (French, 1717–1783) Pierre Mouchon (French, 1733–1797) “Leather Craftsman, River Work and Macerating Vats” Case 3 from Recueil de planches, sur les sciences, les arts Denis Diderot (French, 1713–1784) libéraux, et les arts méchaniques: avec leur Jean Le Rond d’Alembert (French, 1717–1783) explication, 1762–72, book 6, vol. 7, plate 1 Pierre Mouchon (French, 1733–1797) Published by Antoine-Claude Briasson, Paris “Lace” Leather-bound volume with engraved plates; ink from Recueil de planches, sur les sciences, les arts on paper libéraux, et les arts méchaniques: avec leur Jane E. Andrews Fund, in memory of her husband, explication, 1762–72, book 2 (part 2), vol. 3, plate 1 William Loring Andrews, 1955 (AE25 .E531 1762 Q) from Recueil de planches, sur les sciences, les arts libéraux, et les arts méchaniques: avec leur explication, 1762–72, book 8, vol. 9, plate 1 Published by Antoine-Claude Briasson, Paris Leather-bound volume with engraved plates; ink on paper Jane E. Andrews Fund, in memory of her husband, William Loring Andrews, 1955 (AE25 .E531 1762 Q) Denis Diderot (French, 1713–1784) “Fan Maker, Assembly of the Fans” Case 4 from Planches pour l’Encyclopédie, ou pour le Denis Diderot (French, 1713–1784) Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts Jean Le Rond d’Alembert (French, 1717–1783) libéraux, et des arts méchaniques, avec leur Pierre Mouchon (French, 1733–1797) explication, 1765–76, vol. 4, plate 3 “Tailor of Suits, Tools” Published by Vincent Giuntini, Lucques, Italy Leather bound volume with engraved plates; ink on paper Bequest of Marianne Khuner (AE25 .E533 1765 Q) UPPER LEHMAN – EMBROIDERY BRODERIE (EMBROIDERY) The elaborate embroideries, featherwork, and artificial flowers of the haute couture are made by a coterie of paruriers (adornment makers) whose practices have remained surprisingly unchanged for more than a century. Traditional embroidery is needlework that adorns woven or knitted textiles. The basis of the technique, which has infinite permutations, derives from three types of stitches: flat, looped, and knotted. Among the more significant developments in hand-embroidery techniques was Louis Ferry-Bonnechaux’s mid-1860s invention of Luneville embroidery (also known as tambour beading). The practice uses a wooden frame to stretch the fabric and a small hook to anchor