Jeanne Vicerial exhibits Baroque silhouettes that investigate haute couture

French designer, researcher and seamstress, Jeanne Vicerial presents her exhibition, ‘Présences’ at the Templon Gallery in Brussels, Belgium. A textile artist, decorated scholar and having finished her residency at the world-renowned Villa Medici Académie de France à Rome, Italy in 2020, Vicerial is the first French female, under the age of 30 to hold a Ph.D. and work in the world of fashion design. Présences is a series of sculptures that take on Vicerial’s understanding of the textiles and fashion, portraying the work to act as a static fashion show. With each piece exploring the ecology of fast fashion, Présences investigates the polarities between high-end haute couture and the use and throw culture fast fashion brings. The textiles are draped on faceless mannequins, creating a series of intriguing bodies scattered across the gallery space. Présences is on display until the 23rd of April, having gone on display earlier this month on 10 March 2022 at the Templon Gallery in Brussels, Belgium.

Jeanne Vicerial has turned the gallery into a fashion show, one where models seem to be frozen on the ramp, allowing viewers to come close and inspect the clothing better. Vicerial has created her works from a single black thread that is several kilometres long, imitating the human anatomy’s muscle fibres. Présences redefines the relationship between the human body and clothing, mixing in different contemporary techniques from design, crafts, art and science. Vicerial creates haunting pieces that create interesting baroque silhouettes that are engrossing and perturbing.

Jeanne Vicerial was born in Paris and from a young age, she developed a passion for clothing and fashion. Having studied at the Paris École des Arts Décoratifs and done an art residency at Villa Medici Académie de France à Rome, Vicerial has had a highly coveted career in a short span. While holding a P.h.D. in Science, Arts, Creation and Research, Vicerial has taken her research further by developing a patented technology that uses robotic processes to make made-to-measure clothing with zero waste. Vicerial has collaborated with photographers, sculptors, performers, choreographers, musicians and perfumers; growing from these experiences she founded her own studio, Clinique Vestimentaire which focuses on creating alternate concepts for the contemporary textile industry.