My last class at FIT was spent the same way Beyoncé spends a Monday- at Vogue’s costume exhibit at The Met! This year’s theme was Manus x Machina, and The Met’s website explains its intent- to “explore how fashion designers are reconciling the handmade and the machine-made in the creation of haute couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear.” The collection features pieces that date from the early 20th century to present day, each one as extravagant as the next. The early Dior stands out just as much as Iris Van Herpen’s 3-D printed designs. The star piece of the exhibit is the Chanel wedding gown that you’re probably sick of seeing on Instagram, but nonetheless is intricately beautiful enough that it’s projected onto the cathedral-style ceiling. The set of the rest of the exhibit mimicks a church made of mist, or what a character’s dream looks like when it’s really over-exaggerated in movies. The exhibit was made with the intent of proving that the machina needs the manus and vice versa; they are not mutually exclusive. It certainly did its job well, showing that while the contrast between the handmade and machine-made was obvious, quality was never lost.

Hannah Zwick