Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2009

The starting point of Luxury in Fashion Reconsidered—a major fashion-themed exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo—is the need to revamp the idea of luxury for a post-credit-crunch, “herbivore” Japan that has been partly freed from the malevolent spell of brand-name-driven, Bubble-era consumerism. The exhibition presents an extensive historical survey of female Western fashions, stretching from the gaudy embroidered bodices and sumptuous silk dresses of a period of implicit feminine power (18th and 19th centuries) to the sleek, slim-lined, oddly emasculated feminist costumes of the recent past. The most purely entertaining part of the exhibition is the Maison Martin Margiela section, featuring one-off garments created using recycled materials: combs, bottle tops, playing cards, etc. My favorite was a dress made from old vinyl records shaped like a stylus. The commonplaceness of the materials emphasizes the key role that labor and imagination have always played in creating luxury throughout the ages.

Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo
Luxury in Fashion Reconsidered. Various media. Until Jan 17, free (elem and under)/¥600 (MS, HS)/¥800 (65 and over)/¥900 (univ)/¥1,200 (general). 4-1-1 Miyoshi, Koto-ku. Open Tue-Sun 10am-8pm, closed Mon. Nearest stn: Kiyosumi-Shirakawa. www.mot-art-museum.jp