Ensemble
Presenting an irreverent take on masculinity, sexuality and the story of the original sin, Walter Van Beirendonck's eXplicit collection for spring/summer 2009 revisits the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, with models not only wearing fig leaves on the garments but even beards made fully out of fig leaves. Trompe l'oeil (optical illusion) spandex bodysuits with anatomical drawings represent the original, innocent man before the Fall. The contrast between nature and culture, or innocence and sin, is created through the use of synthetic materials which evoke organic materials.
Artwork Details
- Title: Ensemble
- Designer: Walter Van Beirendonck (Belgian, born 1957)
- Date: spring/summer 2009
- Culture: Belgian
- Medium: (a) nylon, elastane, metal, (b) nylon, elastane, (c, d) leather, wood, (e) plastic (polyethylene foam), synthetic fiber, metal
- Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2020
- Object Number: 2020.45a–e
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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