Dress Code: Are You Playing Fashion? (Touring)

How did you choose the clothes you are wearing today?

Uniforms, suits, jeans, T-shirts, tracksuits, dresses, trench coats…. In some cases, we choose our clothing because of the way we feel. In other cases, we decide based on what we are going to do or who we are going to meet. After all, as with cosplay, there are times when we want to transform ourselves into a different person.

On the other hand, fashion is not merely an act of wearing clothing – it is also an act of seeing and being seen. Every culture, society, and group has its own codes. This gives rise to a kind of communication between ourselves and others that resembles a game. Due to the spread of the Internet and social networking, anyone can freely transmit images of their own attire, leading to a new phase in the way in which we engage with fashion. In addition to fashion and art, this exhibition focuses on clothing styles depicted in movies and manga, encouraging viewers to reexamine the latest dress codes in contemporary society and our apparel practices (or games).

Touring

The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, 09 August 2019–October 14, 2019;

Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto, 08 December 2019–February 23, 2020

Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery,  04 July 2020 – August 30 2020

Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, Germany, 21 May 2021 – 12 September 2021

First image courtesy The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto. Photo by Kenta Hasegawa.

Second image © The Kyoto Costume Institute, photo by Kazuo Fukunaga