EMPHATICS: Avant-Garde Fashion, 1963-2013
Exhibition Design
Interiors + Graphics
8,825 sf
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix Art Museum
Emphatics showcases a rare archive of avant-garde contemporary fashions and ephemera collected by James and Karin Legato who owned and operated Emphatics, an exclusive fashion boutique in Pittsburgh. This comprehensive archive features fashions and accessories by renowned designers such as Alexander McQueen, Issey Miyake, Thierry Mugler, John Galliano, Romeo Gigli, Alaia, and Jean Paul Gaultier with original runway show invitations, videos and other materials and accessories.
The exhibition design is inspired by Parisian nightlife and runway shows, both central to avant-garde fashion of the era. Cool, blue light cast gradients on the undulating gallery walls and platforms, reminiscent of Parisian nightclubs. The blue light also brings beautiful detail and unique distinction to the predominantly black palette of avant-garde fashion. The platforms, projecting into the gallery, intermix the viewers with the objects to animate to the experience. Double sided panels suspended in the center of the gallery are projected with original videos of the designer’s runway shows to bring life to the objects and emulate the runway experience.
