Tucked inside a nondescript building in SoHo sits one of the city’s most interesting interactive exhibits, brought to you just in time for New York Fashion Week. This is A. Human.
You may have noticed the recent trend of interactive “museums,” whether you favor the Museum of Ice Cream or our recent visit to The Color Factory.
A. Human follows in this trend but appears nothing like its predecessors. It combines a futuristic experience with high fashion to create something truly unforgettable. The exhibition seems almost grotesque, visually spectacular, and downright mesmerizing.
What to expect from A. Human
Dezeen dubbed the exhibit “nightmarish” and Paper Mag trends it towards “body horror.” However, the show starts as anything but. You step into a lobby with a number of other guests and wait for a video to begin. That video welcomes you into the space, and tells you that you’ll be seeing the brand new collection from A. Human. Its intent is to set up the world we’re about to see. The video is both futuristic and a touch sinister. The wall that housed that video projection then opens up via 2 doors and you walk into the exhibition space.
From there, you’ll see what you may have already got glimpses of on Instagram or via celebrity guests. Fashion that exists in the form of body morphing, whether that’s a heel designed into an actual foot or a collar into the skin on one’s neck. The exhibit uses real models to showcase the art, as they blink and make micro-movements that add to the creepy feel. As you walk through the darkened space, you move towards a lighted exhibit where more “fashion” is on display, before dipping off to the periphery for mirrored, ominous fitting rooms.
As you walk towards the back of the space, you’re welcomed to more open areas. These include a yellow space with hanging flowers and a Rapunzel-esque Instagram vignette. This area feels custom tailored for you to take that next best Instagram photo and is lighted just for that.
A. Human marks a collaboration between many esteemed artists, from makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench to Nicola Formichetti, to A. Human creator Simon Huck. Tickets are currently available through September 30th, so book yours here.
