Page 111 - AIT0921_E-Paper

Entwurf • Design Studio MUTT, GB-Liverpool
Grundriss • Floor plan
Grundriss Untergeschoss • Basement floor plan
Bauherr • Client Victoria & Albert Museum, GB-London
Standort • Location V&A Fashion Gallery, GB-London
Nutzfläche • Floor space 665 m 2
Fotos • Photos French + Tye, GB-London
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More info on page 142
BAGS: INSIDE OUT
IN LONDON
Handbags are really a special phenomenon in fashion!
Whether we are indifferent to fashion – we all own one
or even several. How such a simple object for storing
things has turned into a significant accessory is shown
by the exhibition Bags: Inside Out in the Victoria & Al-
bert Museum in London. Studio MUTT from Liverpool
designed the exhibition curated by Dr Lucia Savi.
W hether we intend it or not – whether they are jute bags casually
hanging from our shoulder, practical hiking rucksacks or sinfully
expensive “it” bags – handbags tell a lot about our person. Their insides,
on the other hand? Those are extremely private and definitely not meant
for prying eyes! The focus of the London exhibition is on this duality
among other aspects. The Victoria & Albert art- and design museum with
a diverse collection from 5,000 years of art- and cultural history is the
setting for the narrative rooms by Studio MUTT. With the help of the gra-
phic designer Heather Whitbread, the V&A Design Studio and the ZNA
lighting studio, the three designers from Liverpool send the visitors on an
entertaining journey which – from the military rucksack to Winston Chur-
chill’s dispatch box all the way to Louis Vuitton’s suitcases for travelling
– has quite a lot to offer. Accessed through the lower level, 300 exhibits
in a trendy city scene await the curious. A special challenge for Studio
MUTT: 12 existing showcases, whose arrangement in the room does not
really follow any specific logic, had to be separated into curatorial the-
matic blocks. This is aided by printed fabrics which are stretched on
wooden frames and give the showcases a new appearance as well as
adding an additional ornament to the historic venue. Showcases enve-
loped in a simple masonry pattern on pale-blue fabric present the the-
matic block function and use. The topic of status and identity – covered
in an emerald-green fabric – adorn arched windows which allow a view
of the coveted status objects. The upper floor is dedicated to the design-
and manufacturing process. Cubes which resemble Parisian fashion hou-
ses are contrasted with anonymous industrial buildings and illustrate the
various manufacturing processes of handbags. The end point of the sce-
nography is an oversized workbench. The Makers’ Table, ten metres
long, shows craftsmanship techniques and materials which are neces-
sary for the manufacture. The analogue exhibits are complemented with
interviews of the sponsors from the fashion firm Mulberry, with the leat-
her expert Bill Amberg and with the sustainable textile studio Elvis &
Kresse. Well worth a visit, not only for fashion lovers!
AIT 9.2021 • 111