TILBURG.- Today’s world is marked by a fascinating interaction between the physical, the virtual and the social. Discussions about beauty ideals, the impact of technology on our self-image, and dialogues about cultural identity and gender roles are at the heart of SHAPE – body, fashion, identity at the TextielMuseum in Tilburg. The exhibition centres around the malleability of the body and the role of textiles and fashion in creating identities. Well-known fashion designs by artists such as Iris van Herpen are presented alongside the puffer coat from the popular series And Just Like That, digital fashion, body-related art, AI and intriguing installations created especially for this exhibition in the TextielLab.

Fashion plays an increasingly important role in expressing who we are. Or who we want to be. It is like a second skin. We all surround and cover our bodies, and we all do so in our own way: sometimes to serve a function, sometimes to make a statement. Adding to this complexity is the fact that we no longer only dress in the real world but can also make a fashion statement online. With the rise of AI, the possibilities have become endless. This autumn, the TextielMuseum will bring together conceptual, sculptural fashion and body-related art from around the world that aims both to surprise and inspire reflection about contemporary notions of the body and concepts of identity.

Three central themes

These concepts of identity are organised around three themes: the vulnerable body, gender diversity and the hybrid body. Within these themes, a dialogue arises between the works, in which topics such as ethnic diversity, luxury versus poverty, people/flora/fauna, people and technology, and beauty and gender ideals are explored.

Celebrating the human form

The young multidisciplinary British artist Daisy Collingridge rejects the aesthetics of plastic surgery and bodybuilding in her work. Instead, she investigates and celebrates the natural human form. Using humour, she challenges common body ideals and examines how complex our body image has become, in part due to the influence of social media. At the same time, she is inspired by the dissected anatomical structures she saw as a child at the Body Worlds exhibition.

The sculptures are bodily. They celebrate flesh, form and movement. The speak of acceptance and joy. Their tactile textile forms and inviting colours speak of closeness and invite touch.’ - Daisy Collingridge in Magazine Metal

Human meets machine

Designer Marlou Breuls blends the human body, fashion and technology into an exciting whole in her robotic sculpture ‘Lady in Rug’. A woman's body emerges from 12 square metres of floral hand-tufted carpet that appears to breathe and move. Where does the body begin, and where does the object begin in relation to the environment? In this fascinating installation, disciplinary boundaries fade, the object appears to be 'humanised’ and the body activated.

Luxury and poverty

The puffer dresses that Pierpaolo Piccioli and model and designer Liya Kebede designed for the Genius Series by the outdoor clothing brand Moncler fuse elegant couture shapes with patterns inspired by African textiles. While a thick, warm coat is of existential value for some, for others it is merely a fashion statement. The latter applies to the blue dress worn by actress Sarah Jessica Parker in And Just Like That, the sequel to the hit series Sex and the City. It offers her character – a fictional socialite – luxurious protection in snowy New York. An outfit by Lisa Konno and her film Goodwill Dumping, about the mountains of discarded clothing from the Global North that are dumped in Africa, form a stark contrast to this. Konno created a new dress from textile waste especially for the exhibition.

Critical commentary

Some fashion designers use the catwalk as a platform to critique the world around them. In 2015, for example, the American designer Thom Browne presented a collection of menswear that resembled human bodies with the skin removed to reveal the muscle tissue underneath. Several years later, he dressed his female runway models in padded volumes that accentuated their feminine forms. A comment perhaps on the ease with which we can now alter our bodies to fit a physical ideal with cosmetic procedures?

Three new installations

SHAPE also features work by Iris van Herpen, Lucy Orta, Nick Cave, Marga Weimans, Walter Van Beirendonck, MAISON the FAUX, Amina Saada, Bodil Ouédraogo, Christian Siriano and Tom Van der Borght, among others. Especially for the exhibition, the leading Danish designer Henrik Vibskov, the Dutch fashion designer Marlou Breuls and the Belgian AI designer Elmo Mistiaen are currently developing fascinating installations in the TextielLab as part of the knitting R&D programme. The TextielLab is the TextielMuseum’s professional workshop, where professionals from all over the world translate stories into fabric. A visit to SHAPE would not be complete without a visit to the lab, where stunning designs are created every day on state-of-art machines.

Breathtaking setting

The art and fashion in SHAPE will be shown in a breathtaking setting designed by Studio Harm Rensink, in close collaboration with AI designer Elmo Mistiaen. They are developing a textile landscape surrounded by surreal, futuristic and seductive images inspired by the human body. The campaign image of the exhibition was generated by Elmo Mistiaen through AI and already gives an impression of this.