ARTISTRY
67. Curated Experience
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a supermodel! The
power of a fashion concept can be traced
back to the most unexpected of sources. Who
would have ever thought that an entire exhibi
tion exploring the influences of superheroes on
fashion would be the basis for an exhibition at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York?
The "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy" exhibit
filtered fashion through the colorful fiction of
comic books and graphic novels. Beyond secret
identities, the exhibition established specific
strategies for creating superhero personas that
had a direct correlation to fashion.
The fashion tactics employed included using
graphics to brand a superhero; wrapping a hero
in the flag to capitalize on patriotism; supersizing
muscle to overemphasize the masculine or femi
nine strength; the contradiction of good and bad
existing simultaneously within the same char
acter; adding a protective layer of armor; how
aerodynamic design feeds the need for speed;
breaking with conventional standards of beauty;
heroes that morphed into human-animal hybrids;
and the introduction of the antihero, with a dark
er, grittier side that defied easy classification.
This wealth of resources was generated from
just one genre. Approaching fashion design like
a museum curator has the advantage of being
exposed to connections that may not have been
obvious, and building a concept around that.
140 Fashion Design Essentials
In "Superheroes: Fashion
and Fantasy," the Costume
Institute at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New
York explores fashionable
superheroes. Outfits by
designer Bernhard Willhelm
and House of Moschino.
