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Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

THREE DECADES OF JAPANESE FASHION CELEBRATED AT GOMA

MEDIA RELEASE

31 OCTOBER 2014

THREE DECADES OF JAPANESE FASHION CELEBRATED AT GOMA

Three decades of innovation in Japanese fashion design from the 1980s to the present will be celebrated when ‘Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion’ opens at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) tomorrow, Saturday 1 November.

Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) Director Chris Saines said the opening weekend for ‘Future Beauty’ included a program of curator and designer talks, exhibition tours, and the opening of the exclusive Comme des Garҫons Pocket pop-up shop.

‘This weekend also sees the launch of the Gallery’s Future Fashion Sundays, a monthly event allowing visitors to be immersed in contemporary fashion through workshops and talks, and a fabric and garment swap,’ he said.

Curated by leading fashion historian Akiko Fukai and drawn from the archives of the Kyoto Costume Institute, ‘Future Beauty’ explores the effect Japanese fashion designers have had on their European contemporaries and their challenges to Western fashion conventions, from the 1980s through to today.

Tarun Nagesh, Associate Curator, Asian Art, QAGOMA said the exhibition highlighted the impact of Japanese culture on world fashion and included the work of pioneering designers Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto and Australia’s own Akira Isogawa.

“Future Beauty’ offers a unique opportunity for national audiences to see the work of true innovators in Japanese fashion through more than 100 garments, as well as fashion objects, films, photographs and catalogues.

‘The exhibition is divided into four themes examining unique Japanese styles and aesthetic principles, from the minimal and deconstructed elegance of the 1980s through to the vibrancy of Japanese youth subcultures today, as seen on the streets of the fabled Harajuku,’ Mr Nagesh said.

Andrew Doyle, Managing Director of the exhibition’s Principal Sponsor Audi Australia Pty Ltd said design was a hallmark of the Audi brand.

‘From its early days, Audi has ensured strong design principles work hand-in-hand with innovation to produce vehicles which are stunning and practical.

‘For a design-driven brand, ‘Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion’ is a perfect fit. It showcases how far design can be pushed while remaining relevant and very aesthetically pleasing. In transforming an Audi A3 Cabriolet into a work of art, we wanted to further push the boundaries of expectation.

‘This exhibition promises to be a unique and innovative event and we have tried to bring a taste of this progressiveness to our involvement with the gallery,’ Mr Doyle said.

From 21 November, the Gallery’s popular Up Late series returns on select Friday nights across summer, giving visitors the chance to view this extraordinary exhibition of contemporary Japanese fashion after hours.

‘Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion’ is exclusively at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) from 1 November 2014 to 15 February 2015.

The exhibition has been made possible thanks to the support of Tourism and Events Queensland as the exhibition’s Principal Partner and Audi Australia as Principal Sponsor. QAGOMA will also continue their relationship with Gadens, the exhibition's Supporting Sponsor.

'Future Beauty' was first conceived for display at the Barbican Art Gallery, London, and has subsequently toured to Haus der Kunst, Munich; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; the Seattle Art Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum in the United States; and the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto before its showing at GOMA in Brisbane.

The Kyoto Costume Institute was established by Wacoal Corp in 1978.

Tickets are on sale now at www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/futurebeauty. Adults $20.00, concession $16.00; booking fees apply when booked in advance.

In a first for the cultural precinct, GOMA and the Queensland Museum are teaming up to offer a limited number of joint fashion exhibition tickets. Audiences can see both 'Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion' at GOMA and 'Undressed: 350 years of Underwear in Fashion' at the Museum this summer. Adults $30.00, concession $25.00; booking fees apply when booked in advance.