The book and visual identity for The Costume Institute’s spring 2016 exhibition ‘Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology’. Manus x Machina traces styles of dress from haute couture, created by highly skilled artisans, through the introduction of industrial manufacturing to recent technological advancements applied to high fashion such as 3D printing, laser cutting and computer-generated weaving and patterns. Realised in close collaboration with curator Andrew Bolton and The MET design team led by Susan Sellers.

The design approach celebrates the symbiosis of craft and innovation. At the centre of the identity sits the MxM emblem, a reference to the classic couture house monogram. The book is a hybrid borrowing from both museological and technological influences, including archetypical cataloguing principles and classically set typography with hi-tech printing, finishing and materiality.

Exhibition design by OMA
Book photography by Nicholas Alan Cope

230 x 330 mm, 248pp