Objects Of Appeal

The impact of everyday staples, from a rubber slipper to a baseball cap, is at the heart of a landmark new exhibition Items: Is Fashion Modern? at the MoMA

Something as simple as a pair of Levi’s 501 Jeans or a pearl necklace can be charged with cultural meaning, and can reflect everything from our current economic and political climate to aesthetics, technology, and, of course, the people who wear it. Items: Is Fashion Modern?, a new exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, will turn the lens on 111 fashion objects to understand exactly these aspects of society in the 20 th and 21 st centuries. It’s only the second time that MoMA will host an exhibition dedicated to fashion, and the ambitious display has everything from the Casio watch to the burkini and even a handloom sari by designer Sanjay Garg. Butool Jamal spoke to curator Paola Antonelli about the impact of design on our lives, her recent research trip to India, and why we can’t avoid talking about sustainability. 

How is MoMA’s approach to fashion different from that of other institutes?