ABSTRACT
In this chapter, mannequins representing Asian bodies in the exhibitions Couture Korea (Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, 2017) and Items: Is Fashion Modern? (MoMA, NY, 2017) are contrasted with those for Asian or Native American peoples at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). A major costume exhibition, Couture Korea featured more than 120 objects ranging from recreations of garments from the Joseon dynasty to contemporary designs from Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel and Korean fashion pioneer Jin Teok, among others. Because Korean women in the eighteenth century were more petite than their peers, the exhibition design team had to procure smaller mannequins. Items: Is Fashion Modern? featured traditional non-Western clothes such as the North African kaftan and the Chinese cheongsam. Based on interviews with exhibition designers, conservators, and curators at these museums, this chapter analyzes the attitudes toward mannequins in a discussion of racial difference and cultural understanding.
