Margarita Robertson

3.33.12

18 March 2016 - 17 April 2016

Margarita Robertson: 3.33.12 celebrates the personal style of Margarita Robertson with a curated display of 12 looks drawn from her private wardrobe.

As an international buyer and designer Margarita Robertson has, for 33 years, played an integral part in influencing what fashion-literate, well-dressed men and women in the South Island of New Zealand wear.

This exhibition focuses on 12 key fashion choices she has made personally over this period, elevating them by way of a scaffold-like structure in the centre of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery’s McMillan Gallery.

The bare framed nature of this arrangement gives viewers the opportunity to observe the garments from every angle, as well as through them to a display of three films presented on the gallery’s rear wall.

These large-scale projections depict elements of three cities that have been an inspiration to Margarita in both her working and private life: Paris, Tokyo and Dunedin.

The footage creates a stimulating backdrop to the exhibition and was created for it by film makers Max Bellamy, Richard Shaw and Laurent Soler.

The 12 looks affirm Robertson’s remarkable ability to ‘be there’ when major fashion moments occur – the revolutionary early COMME des GARÇONS collections, the joyous and celebratory presentations of Jean Paul Gaultier, Maison Martin Margiela’s fashion-show-meets-art-happenings, Rick Owens’ extraordinary performance pieces and more recently the cult vision of Paris based collective Vetements.

To further enhance the experience, a sound-scape of recordings has been designed to emulate the mood of an international fashion show, giving the viewer an auditory taste of life both backstage and front row in the fashion world.

Margarita Robertson: 3.33.12 offers a glimpse of 3 cities, 33 years and 12 looks from the wardrobe of Margarita Robertson.

Download the exhibition guide

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