Fashioning the Art Gallery : Illusion, Commodity and Death in Martin Margiela at Lafayette Anticipations; A Digital Study of Interdisciplinary Artistic Practices

Sammanfattning: A study of the shift within the practice of Martin Margiela's creative practice based on his solo exhibition at Lafayette Anticipations from Oct. 20 to Jan. 2 2022 in Paris, France. Known as a 'designer's designer', Margiela made a conscious decision to step away from the so-called 'world of fashion' in 2009 to then, in the context of the Lafayette Anticipations exhibition, being presented as an artist in 2021. Margiela's loyal following was apprehensively optimistic while the art critics were worried about a lack of innovation. This study opposes the idea that there is a dichotomy between art and fashion, and instead bridges the gap through a interdisciplinary and performative perspective. The thesis formulates a hypothesis in which the creative practice of Margiela is seen as one, with the exhibition becoming fashion extended spatially. The aim is to introduce an alternative way of looking at- and interpreting interdisciplinary practices. By using reviews, floorplans, social media posts, interviews and the previous ouevre of Margiela as material, a fair analysis can be made without a physical visit to the exhibition. Digital research corresponds with the development of an increased number of digital experiences of art in the twenty-first century, accelerated by the Covid19 pandemic. An 'exhibition walk-through' is being constructed and becomes a vital part of the material of the study. Fashion is, within the context of the thesis, defined through the theories of Walter Benjamin as a set of processes where capitalist society seeks to commodify the human body. Margiela's body of work from 1989 to 2021 approaches fashion as a defence against death in different ways, through a practice similar to those Nicolas Bourriaud describes in Postproduction from 2001. By appropriating, using and reprogramming existing cultural objects, the practice of Postproduction presents an alternative to the constant longing for novelty which drives fashion (and capitalism) towards eternal growth.