SHOWstudio commissions fashion films for art exhibition

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
May 13, 2016

SHOWstudio, the fashion website that is known for its innovative fashion films, has commissioned filmmakers George Harvey, Marie Schuller and Rei Nadal to create new works for the ‘Fashion & Freedom’ exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery.

The exhibition looks at the profound effect that the First World War had on women, and also features contemporary pieces by designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Roksanda. For the films, the three filmmakers were teamed up with chosen designers and each focused on a different piece of fashion pertaining to the changes caused by the war.

Nadal worked together with Phoebe English, who created custom designs for Nadal's film about the fall of the corset, while Harvey collaborated with Gareth Pugh on a film about militarywear, and Schuller explored workwear together with menswear designer Craig Green.

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Jenny Waldman, director of 14-18 NOW, the cultural programme that marks the anniversary of the war, says: "Perhaps it’s unsurprising that most exhibitions about the First World War focus on the impact it had on the male population, and especially on the young men who fought in it. By contrast, this exhibition looks at the often-neglected but profound effect that the war had on the lives of British women, and particularly the way it helped to advance their campaign for wider freedoms. The mass exodus of men to the battlefields during the war gave British women the chance and sometimes the obligation to try new roles and take on new responsibilities."

"With these jobs came a need for new clothing: freer, looser and more practical. This contributed to the evolution of modern fashion, a lasting impact which we still recognise today. Women’s activities during wartime also helped their fight for the right to vote, a vital freedom that some of them won just as the war ended in 1918."

The exhibition is open from May 13 to November 27, and the films can also be seen on SHOWstudio.