The illustrious world of high-fashion has always been untouchable; exclusively produced, pampered and previewed by only the hands and eyes of the elite. To most others, high-fashion is a somewhat alien even carnivalesque art form, more often than not seen statically from the pages of a magazine. It is rare therefore that the energy, unpredictability and ruggedness of fashion is witnessed by others except photographers, designers and stylists. Infamous fashion photographer Nick Knight however is gradually changing things.
Knight has curated and designed ‘SHOWstudio Fashion Revolution’ currently on show at Somerset House. His cleverly thought out exhibition catapults you right into the face of fashion; leaving you so close that as you walk out the exit you feel as though you could recall in detail every one of it’s sounds, smells and intricacies.
Inspired by his website (Showstudio.com) that literally translates as ‘show the studio’ Knight believes that the internet is changing the way fashion is perceived. “The internet allows for a whole new relationship, a two-way communication” he says, “where the audience participates in art, interacts with art and shapes its path”. Thus, I get to work in doing just this throughout Knight’s extremely interactive exhibition, whereby we decide how the final product will look.
In the first room I found myself looking up to three giant white sculptures of Naomi Campbell. In front of her, was a small computer screen that bore the outline of the sculptures, and an electronic pen with pallet of colours encouraging you to ‘decorate’ her however you would like. These computer based scribbles were then instantly projected onto her white torso, and like a child with a set of new crayons, I found myself colouring in Campbell for at least 30 minutes. To create the sculptures, Knight used 3D scanning technology from a photograph; the deliberate procedure of which intentionally inverts the process of fashion shoots where the photograph is the end result of creativity as opposed to its product.
Another really innovative installation was Banquet (2004), based around a commission from W Magazine to photograph luxury eveningwear. The shoot was based around a twenty-three course banquet cooked by Heston Blumenthal, attended by a host of famous models. A webcam was set up looking down upon the plates of each of the attendees, and Knight projected every one of these separate films onto a table covered by a white cloth. The meal was also recorded, and therefore audio was also played. As a result, Knight had re-created this meal, yet all you could see were the images of hands tucking in to half finished main courses surrounded by the murmurs of conversations. Standing watching this felt invasive yet alluring and I wanted to stay to watch each and every plate scraped clean in an attempt to guess who the anonymous eaters may be.
Knight brings you closer still to these untouchable fashionistas through Phonecarte (2004-2008) whereby Lilly Cole, Karen Elson, Irina Lazareanu and Lily Donaldson were instructed by Knight to leave chatty voicemail messages from their various fashion shows, describing what they were doing, how they felt and generally divulging personal information. As I picked up each receiver, I thought about how rare it was to hear the sound of a model’s voice, in fact I was quite taken aback that to the eye these women are so extraordinary, yet to the ear so very ordinary.
The last installation I thought really reflected Knight’s theme well, was Dress Me Up, Dress Me Down (2005). Here the role of stylist is handed over to us and from a touch screen, you are able to select various different outfits from a virtual wardrobe of items, eventually creating one complete ‘model’ out of a differently styled head, body and legs.
Whether you are into fashion or not, I really recommend this exhibition, and at £5 I thought it was money well spent. What a great idea to allow us a gritty insight into the heart of fashion, divulging and revelling in it’s unpredictability, creativity and restlessness. Other highlights included a clothes soudscape, Brad Pitt performance piece, and a film that recorded models sleeping.
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