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Kunsthaus Graz
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Karin Wintscher-Zinganel's design for the visitor service of the Kunsthaus Graz follows a design method already found in her kay double U collection: an outfit that can be individually changed by the wearer and adapted to the evolving needs and functions.
Further information
Label: kay double U
Designerin: Karin Wintscher-Zinganel
A multitude of variations can be created from double-sided fabric panels, black and patterned, with zips: cape, waistcoat, skirt, trousers, dress - unisex.
The design thus emancipates itself from conventional workwear in the museum sector, which is not very varied and gives the wearer little room for manoeuvre. Nevertheless, the garment provides orientation for visitors and creates a recognisable affiliation to the Kunsthaus.
In 2018, the Kunsthaus invited fashion designer Karin Wintscher-Zinganel to propose a new outfit for the Kunsthaus visitor service. She is at the start of a project in which various Styrian fashion labels will develop specific outfits in consultation and collaboration with the staff. In each case, one designer enters into a process with one person from the supervisory team to jointly consider what such an item of clothing could look like for employees. The process is only completed when both parties have reached agreement on the respective "look". Dressed uniformly - in the case of the Kunsthaus, previously in black - supervisors tend to blend discreetly into the background. Now they and their appearance are taking centre stage.
The fact that fashion designers dress the service staff of art institutions is a comparatively recent development. Fashion designers have been designing workwear for airlines since the 1960s: Emilio Pucci designed the futuristic-looking uniforms for Braniff International Airways in 1966 and 1971. Commissions from famous fashion designers then increased significantly in the 1990s. Marketing professionals recognised that a uniform appearance creates better identification with the respective (corporate) brand. Clothing was now seen in terms of its advertising impact and employees were used as brand ambassadors. Giorgio Armani outfitted Alitalia in 1991, Christian Lacroix Air France in 2005 and Vivian Westwood Virgin Airlines in 2013, followed by designs for Olympic teams, hotel and bar staff. For example, the Novotel hotel chain commissioned Peter Morrissey in 2009 and Sophie Theallet designed clothes for the staff of the Gramercy Park Hotel Rose Bar, New York, in 2012.
In the art world, Naoki Takizawa's (Miyake Design Studio) outfits for the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, 2004-14, and the MoMA, New York, 2014, or Christopher Raeburn's outfits for the V&A Museum, London, at the end of 2017, caused a sensation. In all of these cases, these are uniforms that clearly show the function of their wearers and their affiliation to an organisation, but are intended to be clearly different from the stiffness of the "museum attendant uniform" of past decades. This fits in with general developments in the museum sector. Since the late 1980s, they have increasingly been developed into "brands", turning the uniforms into "living advertising". The museum attendants were transformed into service personnel and advertising media.
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