Laser printed dress at Met's 'Manus x Machina' exhibition
The annual Metropolitan Museum of Art's fashion exhibition, sponsored by Apple, is a fresh look at how traditional couture may be changing with the use of new technologies, some replacing the handmade elements of dressmaking. One example of recently enhanced technology is the sculptural laser printed dress by Dutch designer Iris Van Herpen. The exhibition catalogues the development over the last century of dressmaking technology, from the machine made lace, by Coco Chanel in the 1930s, to laser cut silicone feathers and silicone-dipped gull skulls, also designed by Iris Van Herpen.



The extremes of the lively lace section start with an 1870 Irish wedding dress hand-crocheted in cream-color cotton that is abloom with rather legible flowers. At the other end of the spectrum are extraordinary recent excursions into 3-D printing with synthetic polymers by Ms. van Herpen, threeASFOUR and Noa Raviv, whose dresses feature bulky, corsagelike curving forms reminiscent of Frank Gehry’s computer-aided designs.

Sometimes it’s more inspiring to see technology used in ways that seem to promise wider use, which Mr. Lagerfeld does in the tailoring section. Next to one of Coco Chanel’s classic bouclé tweed suits from the mid-1960s, Mr. Bolton has installed three new versions by Mr. Lagerfeld. At first you may notice that the fabric is quilted, slyly evoking Chanel’s little quilted purses with the gold chains, then, that it’s perforated.

This material is actually a finely gridded facsimile of weaving that was designed by Mr. Lagerfeld and 3-D-printed in a polyamide developed by Materialise. A video of models wearing the suits suggests that flexibility is still an issue, and probably expense is too. Still, it’s not hard to imagine this material as part of everyday life a few years down the road, especially without the gold, Lesage-embroidered sequins visible behind it.

Saint Laurent is known to have said: “Art is a very big word for couture. It’s a métier like any other, but a poetic métier.” Mr. Bolton quotes these words in his ravishing exhibition, which makes fashion feel bigger without fussing over its artistic status.