How does the virtual world mesh with fashion? To comprehend fashion in its entirety, isn’t it necessary to recognise materials and their movement, or even the tactile qualities and sounds of fabrics? The virtual realm, on the other hand, often seems mechanical, cold and emotionless. What is it that makes connecting these two poles so alluring? These questions are the focus of the exhibition, which approaches the subject from different perspectives.

The initial starting point was the research project Virtual Couture: 3D Digital Reconstruction and Animation, carried out in 2024. Fashion designs not previously exhibited were chosen from the collection holdings with the aim of animating and showing them virtually from multiple views. These works included late 18th-century models and 1920s trends by fashion icons Gabrielle Chanel and Jeanne Lanvin, as well as a haute couture design from the 1970s by Madame Grès. Historical contexts were established with the help of contemporary documents, followed by taking measurements of the selected models in order to digitally reconstruct them in three dimensions. This innovative approach has made it possible for the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts) to show fashion in motion for the first time, significantly expanding the rather static view of this important collection until now.

Visitors can directly compare the digital reconstruction with the original designs in the presentation.

Cooperation with Hochschulen (Universities and Academies)

The project was realised in collaboration with three groups of students at the Fachhochschule Potsdam and the Akademie für Mode und Design in Berlin. The outcome and works created in these seminars – represented in virtual formats as well as through artistic interventions and contextual enhancements – will also be shown in the exhibition.

Oliver Lehmann’s exhibit Auf der Spur des floralen Designs (Tracing Floral Design) uses 3D printing to turn the embroidery on an Empire silhouette gown from the Kunstgewerbemuseum’s collection into a tactile experience. Lucie Behrens and Veronika Strasser were inspired in their Une soiree Chanel animation to recreate an evening of dance in Paris during the 1920s. They created a series of risograph prints based on a pattern, turning them into 3D animations that move rhythmically to the music. In the realisation of her game board, The Queen’s Chess, Moran Marlina Dori draws on textile arts and the art of glassmaking to characterise the fashion designer through materials and figures.

Using 3D design software and generative AI apps, students at the Akademie Mode und Design in Berlin designed their digital capsule collections inspired by models at the Kunstgewerbemuseum ‒ as can be seen in Burkhard Jacob’s video still, for example.

Students at the FH Potsdam developed and realised the exhibition concept, including its visual and textual styles, under the direction of Hermann August Weizenegger.

Dr Katrin Lindemann, Dr Sabine de Günther and Diplom-designer (FH) Andrea Döring made up the scholarly and artistic team.

Cooperation partners: AMD Akademie Mode und Design (Fashion Design and Fashion Management department), Fachhochschule Potsdam (Design department)

The Virtual Couture 2024 research project was funded by digiS Berlin.

A special exhibition of the Kunstgewerbemuseum ‒ Staatliche Museen zu Berlin