Upon entering the exhibit you are immediately presented with “purity” on one side of the hall and “wickedness” on the other. The ultimate, traditional signifier of purity, the wedding dress, is represented next to fetish attire, including a constrictive body bag and a leather catsuit from the television show The Avengers. For me, the clothing representing “purity” was boring at best. My eyes sparkled looking at the “wicked” leather straps, D-rings, and spiked boots.

This exhibit has a few distinct categories with well-written cards on the walls accompanied by appropriate dress where needed. Some themes covered are:

Subversion – Clothing is quite possibly the best way to be subversive today. Traditional roles are constantly set spinning by fashion designers, style-tribers, and school children alike. In Moral Fiber, the best example of this subversion is the Royal Canadian Mounted Police uniform constructed in leather. This traditional uniform takes on a new role just by changing one small detail, transforming the hero into a perverse sexual deviant. In Japan, sexually aware girls are dressing as Gothic Lolitas in an effort to be both shocking and alluring. Innocence is no more when a childish uniform is spiced up. Moral Fiber has one Lolita dress, by Baby the Stars Shine Bright, accompanied by sky high black patent leather fetish heels.

Tatters – Today traditional roles are being reversed as fashion designers create “homeless chic”. Moral Fiber takes a look at three high fashion garments manufactured to look like rags. Next to these are a few tattered pairs of jeans worn over a 15-year period. As the exhibit points out “It’s the purity of poverty. This phenomenon if the rich and celebrated dressing as if they were paupers is a fashion trend that recurs in cycles, usually when the rich and celebrated are feeling guilty. Or nervous.” In Moral Fiber you will also see “Japanese Buddhist Monk’s robes, deliberately ‘ruined’ for the sake of humility.” As the ancient monasteries became wealthy with offerings, such as luxurious fabric, the Monks rejected traditional status indicators. Fabric was cut into squares and sewn together in a hodge-podge to destroy the value of the cloth. The Monks did this themselves in an effort to stay pure.

Tight/Loose – The layering of clothing (including outerwear indoors) and the wearing of baggy pants by today’s teens is creating something called the baby boy syndrome. This concealing of the sexual organs is emasculating these young men. While at the same time young girls are revealing more flesh than ever. Bandanna tops, low rise jeans, and thong underwear are now common on girls as young as 11 and 12. These girls now seem to be in the power position. This major reversal of traditional sex roles proves that our current set of Western social values has gotten some mixed signals along the way. The final garment in the exhibit, a Middle Eastern burqa, is right under a plaque describing societies views on sexuality through revealing and non-revealing clothing. Next to this is an image of a model in 60’s inspired revealing clothing. Quite a contrast and quite thought-provoking!

Black & White Morality – At the end of the second portion of the exhibit there is a nice chair available so that one may sit and read the large cards on two walls delving into the history of black clothing. Everything from funerals to beatniks is covered. One very interesting point is that black is the color Christian priests commonly wear. This of course contradicts the standard notion that black is a wicked color. Or does it? The exhibit brochure nicely states that “Outside observers may think Goths are perverted hedonistic bloodsuckers; but inside the scene they’re just, well, beautiful people. In black.” Also stated is “Besides the self-conscious theatricalism, black clothing had (and still retains) its connotations of fatal sexuality”.

Goth – In this exhibit clothing can be seen by Starkers! and Ritual Designs; shoes were provided by The Stranger; and just for good measure a little bit about J-Rock and Gothic Lolita is covered. (The bit about the impossibly feminine looking J-Rock musicians getting all the girls was quite amusing.) The commentary focuses on Cyber-Goth as well as Trad-Goth and the many staple elements of Gothic style. There was one card on corsets that I found fascinating. “The (Goth) silhouette calls to mind the helpless female heroines of yesteryear, held together only by tight lacing. But today the corset has become a sign of stamina and authority.” Currently Goth is getting a lot of press and it was quite refreshing to read honest observations about our subculture in a museum.

Wrapping up the entire exhibit nicely is commentary about Styletribes based on the works of Ted Polhemus. The notion of style as community reinforces the idea that one can find others of their tribe anywhere in the world by observing a few key visual elements. “You are what you look like. More or less.” Pure or wicked.