From Gucci’s 2019 “Men’s Tailoring Campaign”. (By courtesy of Gucci and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

This year’s Venice International Film Festival took place on the island of Lido from August 31 to September 10. Known to literature enthusiasts through Thomas Mann’s “Death in Venice” and to cinephiles as the venue for the Cinema Biennale over the years, the island not only hosts the movie industry but also becomes a focal point for the fashion industry every festival season. The “red carpet outfits” worn by actors during opening and closing nights, galas, and award ceremonies often garner more attention than the movies they star in. In 2017, Timothée Chalamet, renowned for the movie “Call Me by Your Name” directed by Luca Guadagnino, graced Venice for the movie “Bones and All” with the same director, with his backless and red outfit becoming the talk of the town.

This iconic outfit is just one of Timothée Chalamet’s Haider Ackermann designs that have made a splash. Shifting our focus from Venice to London, let’s explore the current exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A), where the celebrated actor’s jacket from the previous Venice Film Festival is on display. The exhibition, titled “Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear”, which combines art, design, and fashion, has captured the attention of Hitit Mod’s exploration radar.

Tracing the evolution of menswear throughout the centuries, the exhibition explores the construction and portrayal of masculinity through the perspectives of designers, couturiers, tailors, and their clientele. JA Projects, founded by the architect Jayden Ali, designed the exhibition layout in collaboration with Gucci. The exhibition, illuminating the power, artistry, and diversity of menswear, encompasses three galleries of the museum, organized into four sections under the themes of “Undressed”, “Overdressed”, “Redressed”, and “Dressed”. JA Projects shapes the spatial design of the exhibition, spanning from antiquity to the present day, with the discourse “from Piazza to Pizzazz”, combining the words “piazza”, meaning square, and “Pizzazz”, defining the state of being lively and energetic.

Showcasing nearly 100 design and art objects, including pieces by prominent couturiers, classical sculptures, Renaissance paintings, and iconic photographs, the exhibition commences with a design from Craig Green’s Spring-Summer 2021 collection. This design deconstructs not only the masculine body but also masculine tradition.

Craig Green, Spring-Summer 2021 (Photo: Amy Gwatkin. by courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum, London

In the first section “Undressed”, exploring the impact of classical antiquity on the European concept of masculinity, visitors are surrounded by the sculptures that embody the classical proportions and ideals. Within this section, the sculptures highlighting the tradition of idealizing the male body converge with the modern representations found in the photography and prints of David Hockney, Lionel Wendt, Zanele Muholi, and Del LaGrace Volcano.

The second section of the exhibition “Overdressed”, which delves into the luxury menswear as the symbol of power, prosperity, and individualism, transports visitors into an elegant men’s wardrobe where extravagant silhouettes, vibrant colors, and opulent materials take the center stage. Staged in a mise-en-scène evoking the ambiance of rooms in a country house, the exhibition seeks to immerse visitors in the sensation of being invited to a house party where all the guests are dressed extravagantly. To underscore this playful design, the scales and colors have been taken to an extreme approach. The architect even drew inspiration from the photograph titled “Diary of a Victorian Dandy: 17.00 hours” to craft the color palette for this section.

In the third section “Redressed”, visitors are confronted with a landscape defined by the mass production and rhythmic repetition of industry. The exhibition design conveys the concept of urban reawakening and explores the construction and dismantling of clothing.

Yinka Shonibare CBE, “Diary of a Victorian Dandy: 17.00”, photographed in 1998, printed in 2012. (Photo: by courtesy of the Artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London)

In the final section, a movie directed by Quentin Jones is partially screened on the mirrored wall, while visitors become part of the exhibition with their reflected images.

Installation for the Final section of the exhibition, (by courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

Edward Crutchley, Spring-Summer Creation 2022 (Photo: Chris Yates. Model: Siddharta Van Der Sluis. By courtesy of Edward Crutchley.)

The exhibition showcases outfits that transcend the gender binary, worn by the well-known figures such as Timothée Chalamet, Sam Smith, David Bowie, and Marlene Dietrich. The most talked-about “3 dresses” of recent history are also featured in this exhibition:

- the tuxedo dress worn by Billy Porter at the 2019 Oscar Ceremony,
- the dress designed by Alessandro Michele exclusively for Gucci and worn by Harry Styles in 2020, and
- the wedding dress designed by Ella Lynch for the 2021 season of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK and worn by Bimini Bon Boulash.

Uniting various disciplines such as design, fashion, cinema, and architecture, “Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear” is open to visitors at the Victoria and Albert Museum until November 6, 2022.

For detailed information about the exhibition, click here.