Clothing in antiquity had as today a highly societal relevance. The exhibition "DivineXDesign. Das Kleid der Antike" endeavours to stimulate a debate regarding dress in antiquity and our own perceptions of clothing and fashion. In collaboration with the AMD Akademie Mode & Design the State Collections of Antiquities and the Glyptothek in Munich have developed a project which enables ancient clothing and current fashion to enter into a dialogue with one another. Top-class ancient objets d'art and designs especially produced for the exhibition by up-and-coming designers illustrate the exchange between the periods.
Furthermore, the exhibition probes the question of the appearance, function as well as societal value of clothing in ancient Greece and how these perceptions have over the last centuries come down to us since in all societies dress is determined by official and unofficial clothing rules, codes, ciphers and their acceptance as (status-) symbols.
Modern fashion designs in the exhibition provide additional ways of approaching the subject. Based on consideration of mythology or images of the body, but also on formal linkages concerning the handling of drapery, two fashion collections have been produced. They illustrate how fruitful the interaction of such creative work with ancient art can be. The fashion collections exhibit a clear association with the "present" and trigger in combination with the ancient works of art a reconsideration of the sociocultural and historical context. So that which becomes apparent in ancient art concerning the symbolism of dress and its connection to society, can by analogy be identified in contemporary designs in a particularly meaningful manner.
