Prototype
Action Man Prototype, 1966-84
Palitoy
GI Joe and Action Man launched soon after Barbie and Sindy dolls, on the same 1/6 scale, and with similiarly idealised physiques and full wardrobe. Unlike earlier toy soldiers, Action Man had articulated limbs - the mechanism is visible in this prototype. His rugged appearance was completed with a scar on his cheek and flocked facial hair.
[V&A]
Taken in the Exhibition
Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear
(March 2022 to November 2022)
At a moment of unprecedented creativity in men's fashion and reflection on gender, this exhibition explored how designers, tailors and artists – and their clients and sitters – have constructed and performed masculinity, and unpicked it at the seams.
...The exhibition showcases the variety of possible masculinities across the centuries from the Renaissance to the global contemporary: from looks by Gucci, Harris Reed, Grace Wales Bonner and Raf Simons, to paintings by Sofonisba Anguissola and Joshua Reynolds, contemporary artworks by David Hockney and Omar Victor Diop, to an extract from an all-male dance performance by Matthew Bourne's New Adventures.
The exhibition presents around 100 looks alongside 100 artworks, displayed thematically across three galleries, Undressed, Overdressed, and Redressed.
Undressed explores the male body and underwear, looking at how classical European ideals of masculinity have been perpetuated and challenged over the centuries. Plaster casts of the Apollo Belvedere and the Farnese Hermes – which highlight a tradition of depicting idealised male bodies draped in textiles that reveal more than they conceal – will be juxtaposed with fashion by Jean-Paul Gaultier and A-COLD-WALL*, and prints and photography by Lionel Wendt, Zanele Muholi and Isaac Julien.
[V&A]
Prototype
Action Man Prototype, 1966-84
Palitoy
GI Joe and Action Man launched soon after Barbie and Sindy dolls, on the same 1/6 scale, and with similiarly idealised physiques and full wardrobe. Unlike earlier toy soldiers, Action Man had articulated limbs - the mechanism is visible in this prototype. His rugged appearance was completed with a scar on his cheek and flocked facial hair.
[V&A]
Taken in the Exhibition
Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear
(March 2022 to November 2022)
At a moment of unprecedented creativity in men's fashion and reflection on gender, this exhibition explored how designers, tailors and artists – and their clients and sitters – have constructed and performed masculinity, and unpicked it at the seams.
...The exhibition showcases the variety of possible masculinities across the centuries from the Renaissance to the global contemporary: from looks by Gucci, Harris Reed, Grace Wales Bonner and Raf Simons, to paintings by Sofonisba Anguissola and Joshua Reynolds, contemporary artworks by David Hockney and Omar Victor Diop, to an extract from an all-male dance performance by Matthew Bourne's New Adventures.
The exhibition presents around 100 looks alongside 100 artworks, displayed thematically across three galleries, Undressed, Overdressed, and Redressed.
Undressed explores the male body and underwear, looking at how classical European ideals of masculinity have been perpetuated and challenged over the centuries. Plaster casts of the Apollo Belvedere and the Farnese Hermes – which highlight a tradition of depicting idealised male bodies draped in textiles that reveal more than they conceal – will be juxtaposed with fashion by Jean-Paul Gaultier and A-COLD-WALL*, and prints and photography by Lionel Wendt, Zanele Muholi and Isaac Julien.
[V&A]