ZERO was a new beginning: What started in Düsseldorf in the late 1950s, soon evolved into one of the most significant avant-garde movements of the 20th century. Yet the influence of the movement founded by Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and Günther Uecker and its network of fellow artist groups across Europe went beyond the art world. Renowned expert Barbara Vinken explores the extraordinary connection between ZERO and fashion, showing that the two were in cahoots, shared a conceptual interest as well as a playful and witty approach to questioning and subverting convention.
From the fashion creations of Lucio Fontana and Yves Klein to the “ZERO dress” worn in the ZERO performances of the 1960s, the affinity between fashion and an emphasis on the performative and ephemeral; objects made of light and movement, mirrors and relief structures becomes evident. Otto Piene himself was a lecturer at the Fashion Institute in Düsseldorf.
This book is the first survey dedicated to this hitherto unexplored connection. Taking an interdisciplinary perspective, Vinken relates the ZERO avant-garde to fashion and its key role in challenging the social norms in the 1950s and 60s.