Don’t sound the death knell on paper just yet.

With this week’s debut of the “Paper Afore Press” exhibition, the International Library of Fashion Research explores the chances and conundrums that paper presents to the style industry and a fashion library at this time limit. Beyond considering the environmental ramifications of using paper, the show poses all types of questions but not only in a scholarly or by-the-letter way.

“We actually see this resurfacing interest in paper objects especially amongst young people. It has to do with this being a latest lifeline, a special attention span and pace. Individuals are increasingly enthusiastic about consuming their information in that way whether or not it’s [in relation to] fashion and other disciplines in wider culture,” said ILFR director Elise By Olsen, who created the institution last yr in Oslo.

The library is evaluating modern issues, reminiscent of ongoing societal discussions about news consumption, the shifting media landscape and the perils and pluses of AI — in relation to archiving and collecting digital outputs. Olsen noted how there are numerous file types from the early 2000s which can be not supported on modern devices. “Is the answer to print these items out? I’m undecided. We would wish cassette players, VHS players and a lot tech to do that,” she said.

Developed in collaboration with the National Museum of Norway, the show features multisensory elements from the French audio artist and composer Frédéric Sanches, the Italian artist Alia Mascia and the Dutch artist collective Amsterdam Warehouse.

Working with the National Museum’s textile department and conservators, the ILFR used X-rays, scans and microscopic tools to look at printed objects and ephemera from its collection. State-of-the-art machinery that has been used to conserve and repair dresses from the 1600s and other relics proved eye-opening when applied to the paper products. Olsen said, “It’s very nerdy, but at the identical time it’s visually so beautiful to see these textures and fibers so up close.”

Visitors might be reminded how paper will be regarded as integral to the style system, starting with the undeniable fact that garments and collections stem from paper patterns. Although magazines, books and ephemera may not have the fabric heft that they once relayed, they proceed to have resonance. They “are all intended as a type of assemblage of paper materials through which designers can enter someone’s life in a tangible way,” in keeping with press material for the brand new show.

Key takeaways include the questions, “what’s price cutting down trees for” and “How can we publish more intentionally?” Olsen said. “This is identical thing with textile and material production usually.”

On view through Aug. 20, the show’s themes might be discussed via talks, panel discussions and other special events.

The ILFR’s newly installed head of spatial design Vésma Kontere McQuillan, who’s a practicing architect and a professor at Kristiania University College in Oslo, oversaw the exhibition’s layout. She previously researched the collaboration between OMA/AMO and Prada for her 2020 book, “Fashion Spaces: A Theoretical View,” and Prada sent over the corrugated cardboard front-row seats from its spring 2023 menswear and womenswear fashion shows. The lightweight and removable seating will go to good use within the exhibition and for special events hosted on the Oslo library.

The Rotterdam office of OMA/AMO had designed an area for the show with partitions constructed from rolls of normal white paper that unspooled from the 10-meter ceiling, The corrugated cardboard seats coordinated with the colour of the brown paper that had been used to line the floors.

On Thursday, the fifth edition of the Printing Fashion festival, a gathering of industry leaders organized by Parsons Paris, will address “Resistance” within the practices of criticism, the connection between print and politics, and emerging formats springing from latest challenges in publishing amongst other subjects. That discussion might be livestreamed from the library, where guests will sit within the Prada-donated cardboard seats.

With McQuillan’s appointment, the ILFR plans to increase its collecting beyond printed objects to larger ephemera and objects, like such a furniture. Prada’s offer dovetailed into the show’s paper theme. The irony that “some famous and powerful people were sitting on these form of lousy cardboard boxes for the spring 2023 show” added to the appeal, Olsen said.

One other latest hire is head librarian Ilaria Trame whose graduate thesis at Parsons Paris outpost was “Beyond the Library: A Study of Fashion Documents’ Archival Spaces.” She’s going to develop the library’s collection, interact with students and lead tours amongst other acts of engagement. To rent her, the library received funding from the Norwegian bank DNB’s foundation “Sparebankstiftelsen,” which supports cultural initiatives.