M°BA 13: FETISHISM IN FASHION Exhibition

June 8 – July 21, 2013
Arnhem, the Netherlands
www.moba.nu
www.fetishisminfashion.com
main venue open 11:00 – 18:00 daily
(until 21:00 Thursdays)

Trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort is the curator of the fifth edition of M°BA (Mode Biënnale Arnhem). In response to the newest undercurrents in society and style, Edelkoort has chosen to explore the world of fashion through a fetishistic lens. M°BA 13: FETISHISM IN FASHION is a festival of exhibitions and events that highlight the obsessive and ritualistic bonds we have with fashion and accessories. Arnhem is Hollandʼs fashion capital and home to the famous ArtEZ Institute of the Arts where Edelkoort studied and whose Fashion Department will celebrate anniversary in 2013. The biennale will be held in different locations around the city, spanning several exhibitions, seminars, a film festival, dance and pop-up installations.

The FETISHISM IN FASHION main exhibition will take shape through 13 thematic rooms that illustrate fascinating and expansive definitions of fetishism. The true scope and nature of fetishism will come to life through the display of garments, accessories, photography, film and mixed media. Shamanism, infantilism, legendism, nudism and nomadism are just some of the intriguing keywords at the core of this never before Edelkoort describes how the process started: “As an avid lover of fashion and textiles, I have decided to analyse and to decrypt our collective obsession with fashion through the idea of fetishism. This study has unveiled the most outlandish and creative expressions of clothing, uncovering new and outsider talent from the four corners of the globe – ranging from our fundamental need to cover ourselves to the eccentric extremes to which our desires can take us on the quest for beauty; whether it be the intimate links that exist between a garment and ourselves, the passion that a pair of shoes can generate, the elation the tactility of textiles can bring, or our profound relationship with a particular designer.”