Digital fashion in Centraal Museum Utrecht

The boundary between the physical and virtual world is increasingly blurred. A unique exhibition by Centraal Museum Utrecht in collaboration with the Utrecht fashion collective Studio PMS.

The dividing line between the real and virtual world is increasingly blurring. A unique exhibition of Central Museum Utrecht in collaboration with the Utrecht fashion collective Studio PMS show this in an original way.  Text: Fleur de Jong
Image: © Studio PMS, Centraal Museum

First ever digital fashion archive

To take a new look at existing fashion heritage, Studio PMS looks at the exhibition From Fit to Polygon into the possibilities that digital techniques offer to breathe new life into the Centraal Museum's fashion collection. Studio PMS created digitalized versions of fashion from the collection especially for this purpose; from an 18th century dress to a colorful Fong Leng. All museum objects have been reconstructed with the utmost care and form the kick-off of the very first Dutch digital fashion archive.Jan Jansen – Pair of women's slip-on shoes | Central Museum Collection

More sustainable fashion industry

Studio PMS consists of the Utrecht Puck Martens, Merle Kroezen and Suzanne Mulder. As a collective, they strive for a fashion industry that is more sustainable and less hierarchical. Digital fashion seems to be the perfect solution for this: designing virtual fashion is accessible and less exhausting for the environment. Moreover, Studio PMS believes that since the pandemic, people have been forced to become more accustomed to this phenomenon due to virtual fashion weeks and trying on clothes online.

The exhibition is divided into three themes: Behind the scenes, Step-by-step en (Adaptable).. Behind the Scenes provides a behind-the-scenes look at the digital design process. In Step by Step you can see how the designers have transformed objects from the museum collection into the digital world. For (Adaptable) Studio PMS works together with a new generation of designers. Together they go one step further: they reconstruct a garment from the museum's extensive fashion collection, give it a new treatment and in this way create new works of art and a museum. NFT.

The exhibition can be seen in Centraal Museum Utrecht until June 19.© Studio PMS, Centraal Museum© Studio PMS, Centraal MuseumAlso read: 'Hotel TwentySeven is the chicest design hotel in the world'