Fashioning the Intangible: the conceptual clothing of Ying Gao, featuring the work of the renowned fashion designer and innovator, to open at the Textile Museum of Canada

The Textile Museum of Canada is pleased to present Fashioning the Intangible: the conceptual clothing of Ying Gao from May 7 to September 1, 2014, featuring work by Ying Gao, the leading designer and artist who explores new directions in fashion through multimedia and materials, textiles and technology. Questioning assumptions about clothing, the Beijing-born and Swiss-educated innovator bridges fashion, architecture and urban design, using sensory technologies to produce garments that are playful and interactive.

Highlights of the exhibition include Playtime and Living Pod, light-activated garments that “come alive,” moving as though breathing when prompted by visitors. Many of the works also integrate unexpected creative materials such as translucent medical grade latex, silver-coated medical cotton and a newly-engineered super organza from Japan – the lightest fabric in the world. Gao says of her experimental designs, “My idea is to create a mysterious dialogue between the spectator and the garments – an experience that can tell you something about yourself.”

Recognized worldwide, Gao’s designs have been shown internationally in museums and galleries as well as on fashion runways and in publications such as Vogue China, Wired, Time and Interview Magazine. A professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) in the École Supérieure de Mode de Montréal for over 10 years, Ying Gao was recently appointed Head of the Design Mode, Bijou et Accessoires section of the Haute école d’art et de design in Geneva, Switzerland. She is also a recent recipient of the prestigious Phyllis Lambert Design Montréal Grant.

Fashioning the Intangible is curated by Renee Baert and circulated by Cargo Curatorial Group. Please join us for the opening reception on Wednesday May 7 at 6:30 pm; the exhibition’s curator as well as Gao’s technical collaborator Simon Laroche and studio assistant Marie-Éve Lecavalier will be in attendance.

More information: http://www.textilemuseum.ca/