Go To Museums To See Fashion Shows

Y = Ye Qizheng

Reporter: do you remember when you first saw a large-scale fashion exhibition in China? What was it then? exhibition ?

Y: it should be the 2006 Giorgio Armani retrospective, which was seen at the Shanghai Art Museum.

Reporter: so, so far, what is the most impressive fashion show you've ever had?

Y: the "Bvlgari 125th Anniversary design art exhibition" on display at the National Museum in Beijing recently. After seeing it, I think the exhibition is complete and thorough enough.

Reporter: National Museum has launched two luxury brand exhibitions this year, namely, "Bvlgari 125th anniversary". Design Art Exhibition "and" Louis Weedon's journey of art time and space "earlier. According to your observation, how did visitors react to the two luxury arts exhibitions?

Y: audience reaction is still very warm, because National Museum is usually free open, but Louis Weedon and Bvlgari exhibition need to buy another 10 yuan tickets, but there are a lot of people watching the exhibition. It is not hard to see that many of them are here to see the two exhibitions. At the time of Bvlgari's exhibition, I wanted to rent a reader, but I borrowed too many people and borrowed all the explanations, so I went to see it in advance. Later, when I finished reading it, I found that many of the visitors were waiting in line to rent the device and then went to see the exhibition.

Reporter: Louis Weedon, who took the lead in the exhibition of National Museum, has caused some controversy. What do you think is the key point of controversy? What do you think of this?

Y: the key point is whether National Museum should be closely related to the commercial brand. My personal view is that as long as the quality and quality of the exhibition are high enough, and the audiences are welcome, they can be exhibited at National Museum. National Museum is newly built. Many pavilions are empty and are located in the most central part of Beijing. Is it not a pity if there are no spectators? To tell the truth, if it wasn't for Louis Weedon's and Bvlgari's two exhibitions, I wouldn't run to National Museum for the first time. Moreover, after seeing the exhibition of these two luxury brands, I saw the "ancient China" and "Renaissance road" exhibited in National Museum all the year round. Many visitors will be just like me.

Reporter: at the beginning of this year, the MOCA Contemporary Art Museum in the Shanghai people's Park held an exhibition of "cultural Chanel", which was also very popular. But the exhibition was not controversial.

Y: I think that's because MOCA is not a museum, but an art gallery. I also heard some controversial voices at that time, but perhaps they all focused on the content of the exhibition itself. Because at the exhibition site, the audience can not see much clothing, but more is the story of Chanel lady and many artists of contemporary times. Of course, in fact, the exhibition itself, "culture Chanel", has already explained the contents of the exhibition. It is not a traditional fashion show.

Reporter: China's luxury industry has flourished in recent years, which is also a major driving force for brands to come to the exhibition. However, compared with consumption ability, Chinese people's vision and taste in luxury fashion need to be improved. In this regard, what is the real impact of these luxury brand exhibitions on domestic consumers?

Y: I attended the 1st Anniversary Exhibition of "upper and lower" brand the other day. As the exhibition shows, the reason why luxury goods are expensive is the historical heritage of the brand and the materials, labor and technology needed in the production process. But it is hard to fully express in the shops that sell goods. Only through large-scale exhibitions can we discover how the brand is different.

Of course, in China, people who go to see luxury shows may not be the same as those who actually buy luxury goods. People who buy hermes bags may never go to museums. This is the reality that the brand must face. Therefore, at the time of the opening of the exhibition, the brand will inevitably invite a large number of first-line stars to help to increase the exposure of the media, and some of the media will indeed focus on the stars. The report on the exhibition itself is less likely, and it may also be to avoid advertising for big names.

Reporter: at the beginning of this year, San Francisco de Yong Museum held a fashion exhibition called "Balenciaga and Spain". Some art critics insist that fashion is still a long way from art. And fashion is more difficult to transcend commerce than art. Do you agree?

Y: actually, I feel that the art world is often more commercial and even turbid, at least in China. Xu Beihong's oil painting can "refer to a deer as a horse". The art auction house is full of forgery, and fake cultural relics can deceive loans from banks. In contrast, these designer brands that remain to date are real, not only changing the way people dress, but also affecting people's aesthetics. Their influence is not less than that of a handed down art. Of course, the difference between the two may be that artists are often known only after they pass away, and designers must be accepted by the public when they operate. However, nowadays artists can not achieve this level, and the retrospective exhibition of Alexander McQueen is so strong that it proves that he is very "artistic".

Reporter: Museums increasingly favor fashion show, which seems to be the trend of the whole world. Does this also reflect that the status of the fashion industry is becoming more and more important?

Y: basic necessities of life are the basic necessities of life. Nowadays, the fashion industry is not only equal to "clothing", but also covers the whole life style, and the share of consumption and even the economy is bigger and bigger. So the status of fashion industry will be higher and higher. In addition, museums are the places of exhibition history. When these brands have accumulated for a century, they have become an important part of contemporary history. The favor of museums is only a matter of time. Otherwise, where should these precious items left in twentieth Century be exhibited?

Reporter: the museum is going to go on. Funding is essential. Getting sponsorship is very important. Therefore, undertaking commercial brand exhibitions may be unavoidable, and this is not limited to fashion brands. How can museums retain their independence while sponsoring them?

Y: first is whether the exhibition itself is well planned. If the exhibition itself can make the audience feel the culture behind the business, it will surely make the audience moved. With the old saying, "the eyes of the masses are bright." Just like the exhibition of contemporary art in Shanghai a few days ago, viewers can see that business is greater than art. Everyone is going to invest and see the rate of return, instead of buying a beloved artwork.

In addition, I think if the exhibition is sponsored by the brand, it should show who invested in the exhibition, so that the right of choice is given to the audience, at least not for the audience to spend the tickets to see the advertisement.

Reporter: the New York Metropolitan Museum holds the theme fashion show and dance every year. This has become a great event in New York fashion world and has a worldwide influence. At present, several fashion exhibitions that have been held in China are all about the same brand, and the curatorial exhibitions are provided by foreign countries. Museums only provide venues. Of course, the New York Metropolitan Museum is worth learning from. The question is, how much can domestic museums learn at this stage? When will we be able to bring together many designer works, more interesting and more interesting fashion exhibitions?

Y: some fashion related exhibitions held by the V&A Museum in London and the New York Metropolitan Museum are wonderful. However, the demand for exhibition developers and exhibits is very high. Most of the exhibits are privately owned by museums, which they bought or donated in the past many years. At this point, there is no museum in China now. Even if personal fashion collectors are not yet available, it is very difficult for them to have such exhibitions in the near future.

Of course, some large domestic clothing brands have begun to set up their own clothing Museum, but they still collect mainly the antique and antique costumes in the Republic of China, and haven't heard of the works of contemporary fashion designers. But perhaps everything has started slowly, but we don't know yet.