There isn’t much chance of me making it to the 22nd Century, but those of you on a macrobiotic vegan diet who do all sorts of yoga and sleep in oxygen tents might just live to see the predictions of Bernhard Willhelm and Jutta Kraus come true – although you’ll be a bit long in the tooth to get away with wearing the stuff. This site-specific work at Los Angeles’ Museum of Contemporary Art is the designers’ forecast of next century’s fashion experience, coupled with a reaction to the “uniformity of consumerism” in this era, and features their Autumn/Winter 2015-16 collection as part of the sculptural installations.
Bernhard Willhelm 3000: When Fashion Shows the Danger then Fashion Is the Danger comes on the back of the Paris studio’s move to Beachwood Canyon, Los Angeles, and the latest designs continue to evolve from past collections’ loose-fitting draped garments of the Middle East and Africa to incorporate the global influences of their new metropolis. Willhelm talks of his admiration for the historical court fool – the only one allowed to speak the truth to the king – and the German designer isn’t afraid to have fun in this riotous exhibition. “You need to say ‘hi’ to your haters and ‘bye’ to conventions,” he says. Catch the event at MOCA Pacific Design Centre until 17 May.
Installation views
Bernhard Willhelm 3000: When Fashion Shows The Danger Then Fashion Is The Danger,
February 7–May 17, 2015 at MOCA Pacific Design Center,
courtesy of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles,
photography by Brian Forrest
