For Björk, healing is a gate through which the rest of your life can blossom. The enigmatic Icelandic musician’s 2017 single, The Gate , is accompanied by an otherworldly music video where this private universe comes to life: a world of dazzling colours and ethereal visions with Björk the centre of it all, moving like water in striking costumes. One of those dresses was designed by Alessandro Michele for Gucci.
The high-necked, beaded white gown, which has luminous PVC pleats and wings, took more than 500 hours to design, and a further 300 hours to embroider – that’s 33 days of non-stop labour. Björk’s white orchid dress from The Gate music video being prepped for display at ACMI. Credit: Simon Schluter It comes to Melbourne as a part of ACMI’s new exhibition, The Future and Other Fictions , with an accompanying headpiece by Björk’s long-time collaborator, the artist James Merry.
The dress is one of the highlights of the exhibition, which will explore imaginations of the future through screen culture. Other items on show include costumes from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever , miniature sets from Blade Runner 2049 , concept art from video games and original First Nations commissions. Bringing such an elaborate dress to life in a museum setting is a labour of love that involves weeks on end of dedicated work.
The dress, which travelled to Melbourne from Björk’s record label in London, comes in many separate parts. ACMI’s team of costume and fashion expe.