Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

On Thursday, April 25th, from 6-8pm, several of Madonna’s most iconic fashion items including her infamous Jean Paul Gaultier cone bra corset from her Blonde Ambition Tour, her Reinvention Tour ensemble by Christian Lacroix , her “Like A Virgin” wedding dress, and other legendary pieces will be on display for fans to get a firsthand view of the evolution of Madonna’s fashion. 

The exhibit will take place surrounded by the hugely successful fashion forward Material Girl line that Madonna created exclusively for Macy’s with her daughter, Lola.

Madonna personally handpicked eight of her favorite costumes from a vast archive of tour costumes and her personal collection for the one day pop-up exhibition. Madonna and the Material Girl team went to great efforts to gather these iconic pieces for the exhibition, which marks the first time these items have been displayed together for the public to view.

The cone bustiers were flown in from a Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit in Amsterdam, her “Like A Virgin” wedding dress is on loan from the legendary Hard Rock, while the remaining items are from Madonna’s personal archives.

“The pop-up exhibit at Macy’s perfectly exemplifies the inspiration and spirit of the Material Girl line and will give my fans a great opportunity to see the evolution of my style over the years,” commented Madonna.

Arianne Phillips, Madonna’s longtime collaborator, styled and helped to curate the exhibit. About the “Like A Virgin” wedding dress Madonna wore to the MTV VMA’s in 1984, Phillips commented, “This was one of the most shocking, liberating and influential moments in pop culture/fashion history.” “Fashion has never been the same. Bold and unforgiving, humorous and shocking, we can depend on Madonna to challenge us to rethink fashion. Madonna has taken sacred garments like the wedding dress and religious embellishments, and re-contextualized them,” she added.

“It’s a magical thing to bring all these iconic pieces together in one place,” said Dari Marder chief marketing officer at Iconix Brand Group, Inc. “This will show customers how influential Madonna has been to fashion and how that influences Material Girl today,” she added.

“We are so thrilled to bring this unique experience exclusively to Macy’s customers,” said Martine Reardon, Macy’s chief marketing officer. “An homage to Madonna’s revolutionary style and influence on our Material Girl collection, ‘Madonna’s Fashion Evolution’ pop-up exhibit offers a rare opportunity to see some of her most iconic looks curated together in a never-before-seen display.”

Material Girl is a fast-fashion junior collection inspired and designed in collaboration with Madonna and her daughter Lola. Material Girl launched in 2010 exclusively at Macy’s in the United States.

The Centre for Applied Research Tecnalia Research & Innovation has through its FIK initiative designed Varstiff, a smart textile material that can adopt different shapes; when vacuum is applied to it, it turns rigid once again and achieves hardness equivalent to that of a conventional plastic. The material reverts to its flexible state once the vacuum is released. The first product Varstiff will be used for will be an emergency immobiliser for accident victims.

Thanks to the encouragement and collaboration of Janus Development, this product has been selected by the Botín Foundation as one of the three award-winning projects in the first edition of its programme “Mind the Gap”. To support its launch onto the market a new technology-based enterprise will be set up to operate in the healthcare sector initially, but with plans to expand its activity to other sectors like the automotive or leisure sectors.

The new material designed by Tecnalia can be adapted to any part of the body and in any situation; it can be fitted in its soft, malleable state so that afterwards when vacuum is applied to it, it becomes as stiff as plaster of Paris. This makes it possible in the event of an accident to immediately immobilise parts of the victim’s body that are difficult to access without moving it, like the neck, back or thorax.

The funding of 350,000 euros over two years provided by the Botín Foundation through its “Mind the Gap” programme will enable the development of the first two products to be completed: an immobiliser for emergencies, and a position fixator to improve the life quality of people who have to use wheel chairs. The new enterprise is expected to be up and running by the end of 2013 and is expected to launch its first product onto the market early in 2014. Its headquarters will be located in the Basque Country and it is estimated that it will achieve an accumulated turnover of 2 million euros during the first four years it is operating.

OTHER SOLUTIONS

This revolutionary material also offers solutions in other spheres of healthcare, like orthopaedics, where it has advantages over ordinary solutions that use elastic straps that are closed using Velcro, or inflatable cushions. These solutions apply pressure and therefore exert force on the skin; and apart from lacking the necessary stiffness, they reduce comfort.

The automotive sector, leisure and sports are other fields in which this material can have new uses to ensure the safety and comfort of its users. In the automotive sector this material will contribute greater comfort and personalisation of different items, like seats that can be adjusted to each person, systems for absorbing energy in doors, or flexible luggage racks. In the sphere of sports, it could lead to flexible items for camping like chairs, tables, mats, etc. Likewise, this material could have a pioneering role in the development of high-performance protection textiles, like for example, clothing for extreme sports or for security personnel.

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Fibre2fashion News Desk - India