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From serpents on silk to labyrinths on linen—the advancements of digital printing and textile development is allowing designers to further their visions on cloth. Before the technology was favored by Alexander McQueen, digital printing was first used in the carpet industry in the 1970s and then later on large format banners in the '80s. It finally found its place in fashion in the early 1990s.
Issey Miyake was one of the first to seize the cloth tactic for his Guest Artist Series, but Alexander McQueen's Spring 2010 collection, Plato's Atlantis, put digital printing on the fashion map. The mastermind created 37 looks of scaled-serpent prints that seemed to sliver with the motion of the models. Phoenix Art Museum's new exhibition, Digital Print Fashion, which opened this week, captures the best of what ink-jet printers can provide.
The exhibit showcases 40 ensembles from Mary Katrantzou, Miuccia Prada, Ralph Rucci, and Alexander McQueen.
The idea of the exhibit came to Dennita Sewell, the museum's curator of fashion, while she was reading a The Wall Street Journal article, "Are You Wearing a Watercolor?" in May of 2010. Dennita said, "The story highlighted the technology and the many collaborations between artist and designers that the medium was facilitating." The tension of technology had found its way into the brands outside of Twitter, specifically the designer's inspiration boards. She went on, "The new generation of designers that are entering the field have grown up using digital media all of their lives. It seems natural that they would use these tools in their design."
Dennita doesn't see the software and ink-fostered designs phasing out soon, as she told us. "The technology is still being developed and designers are still at the fore of realizing its potential. Digital printing will continue to impact the look and economics of fashion and is poised to become the primary method of printing for the 21st century."
Even if you can't make it to Phoenix, see photos of the exhibit here.
The Digital Print Fashion exhibit is open through July 14, 2013. For more information, visit phxart.org.