Front Back is a fashion show turned inside out; simultaneously image and object.
Showcasing the graduate collections of 13 fashion students, Front Back combines physical garments with virtual reality. The unique format of this show highlights tensions between fashion in its traditional runway form, as a '3D object', and fashion as the '2D imagery' that it has increasingly become in the internet age.
Initially performed for a live audience as part of the Massey University Blow Festival 2012, the event is documented on this website with two videos; 'Front' and 'Back'.
'Back' consists of the live performance that the audience experienced directly. Audience members were able to watch this from right alongside performers, and from an upper viewing platform. 'Front' consists of the virtual, pre-recorded show that was projected in cinematic scale onto an adjacent wall. This show had the illusion of occuring in 'real-time', as models synchronized their exit through a false door, with the opening of the door that appeared on screen. Thus, audience members viewed both 'backstage' and 'front of stage' simultaneously.
Front Back is a collaborative effort, reflecting the new direction of fashion media, contact us at: