Inspired by the history of the building and
of course, it’s namesake, sculptor Barbara Hepworth herself, “Disobedient Bodies”
is the brainchild of British Designer JW Anderson, esteemed for his work with
collections for brands as diverse as Topshop and Versace, and the first
designer to win both Mens and Womenswear designer of the year at The British
Fashion Council Awards.
The first in a series of new
multi-discipline collaborations for The Hepworth, his showing celebrated a more
abstracted take on the physical form, curating together over 100 artefacts in
the art, fashion, ceramics and design worlds to, as Anderson puts it,
“disregard obvious characteristics and ask how things communicate with each
other in 2017”.
Seperated by hangings made from archived JW
Anderson archives, the labyrinth of colour and form that made up the show was
even more striking against the Hepworth brutalist designs and wide open windows
that gaze upon the gushing river below. Disturbing this peace were several
standout exhibits – Issey Miyake’s 1990’s ‘Bamboo Pleats’ dress danced from the
ceiling next to her ‘Lantern dress’, both stunning in their levels of detail
and exaggeration of the shoulder and waist. Similar tropes played out around
the corner for Commes des Garcons ‘2D’ collection, the stuff of children’s
paper doll nostalgia in bold primary colours, attracting a steady queue of
photo takers.
It wasn’t all clothing – Hans Bellmer’s ‘La
Demi-Poupee’ adds a surrealist tone to affairs, inspired by rebellion against
1930’s beauty standards during the Nazi regime. Across the hall, exhibition
visitors are invited to sit on ‘The Zig Zag Chair’ by Gerrit Rietveld, a
minimal affair that doesn’t feel like it should withstand my weight but somehow
does (even after a hefty serving of the Hepworth café’s excellent Victoria
Sponge.)
And then of course there is the piece de
resistance, the image you’ll have seen all across social media this year. JW Anderson’s ’28
Jumpers’ took over a whole room, a jungle gym of ceiling-to-floor knits that mimics
the experience of pulling on your favourite sweater. A big hit amongst
clamouring kids and insta-ready parents alike, this is an exhibit that
encourages interaction, braiding the elongated sleeves or peeping out from
beneath the layers of dense knit. It’s the stuff of true modern museum-
stripping away the glass cabinets and ‘do not touch’ signs, it presents fashion
at it’s best – tactile, crafted to last and best of all, a hell of a lot of
fun.
0 comments