Fashioning Masculinities By Claire Wilcox amp Rosalind Mckever hardcover

About the Book

Published to accompany the exhibition Fashioning Masculinities: the Art of Menswear from 19 March to 6 November 2022 at the Victoria and Albert Museum， South Kensington， London.

Book Synopsis

From V&A curators Rosalind McKever and Claire Wilcox， Fashioning Masculinitiesisa visually stunning exploration of how fashion shapes ideas of masculinity.

At a moment of unprecedented creativity in mens fashion and continuing reflections on gender， contemporary designers are questioning established forms， seeking to liberate wearers from traditional models of masculine dress.

This book combines fashion with artistic and broader cultural histories --looking at the designers， tailors， and artists who have constructed and performed masculinity from the Renaissance to the present day. It traces connections across and beyond European menswear， celebrating both rich traditions and daring individualists.

Divided into three parts， Undressed reveals the role of the body and underwear in fashioning masculinities. Overdressed explores the power dynamics of sartorial bravado， while Redressed deconstructs a modern masculine uniform: the black suit.

Featuring a staggering range of cultural touchstones from Hercules to Virgil Abloh， Giovanni Battista Moroni to Jawaharlal Nehru， Yves Saint Laurent to Kehinde Wiley， Marcus Rashford， Marlene Dietrich， and even Captain America， Fashioning Masculinities challenges our preconceptions about menswear， revealing the fascinating historical roots beneath the power， artistry， and diversity of masculine attire and appearance today.

Billy Porters hot pink Golden Globes cloak and Harry Styles embroidered Gucci suits are set to have a fashion face-off with the Belvedere Apollo and Auguste Rodin in the V&As upcoming exhibition dedicated to the evolution of menswear. --Guardian on the exhibition

Key looks worn by fashion icons will also be interspersed throughout， from Harry Styles， Billy Porter， and Sam Smith to David Bowie and Marlene Dietrich， highlighting the multiplicities of masculine sartorial self-expression， dressing beyond the binary. --Womens Wear Daily on the exhibition

Includes color illustrations

Review Quotes

Along the way， the theme of each section is underscored by paintings， sculpture， ceramics， photography and other objects from the museums collection， and in the case of the book， dozens of short essays from museum curators， academics and fashion critics exploring the links between classical statuary and Marvel superheroes or Renaissance portraiture and hip-hop (poignantly， its afterword is penned by the late Virgil Abloh). The book also devotes more time to accessories， and the roles played by identity， history and geography. . . And while the exhibition and book address the current relationship between masculinity and dress， visitors and readers should come away with the understanding that its always been fluid.--The Robb Report

Much like the exhibition， the book centers first on the male physique and shifting ideals over time - how that influenced 19th-century tailoring， and how it looks today， represented by body builders like Arnold Schwarzenegger， who mad his Mr. Olympia-winning body into a movie career， and the muscular stars of the Marvel super hero films . . . There is a feeling of maybe more plurality than there has been previously.--WWD

This exhibition is an active investigation into the way men dress and the very idea of masculinity itself. What better time for a studied enquiry than now - with male fashion at its most groundbreaking pioneered by the likes of Guccis Alessandro Michele， who was behind the gown and tailored jacket worn by Harry Styles on the cover of American Vogue. He has said: Fashion should be genderless; how people perceive the idea of beauty can vary from one to another， so let us continue this enquiry. --Tatler

About the Author

Rosalind McKever is the curator of paintings and drawings at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Claire Wilcox is the senior curator in the department of furniture， textiles， and fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum and a professor in fashion curation at University of the Arts Londons London College of Fashion.
Marta Franceschini is an exhibition research assistant at the Victoria and Albert Museum.