Breaking the Mode

Hussein Chalayan, Dress from the "Medea" Collection, spring/ summer 2002

A number of fashion exhibitions are taking place in the US outside of New York’s confines. "Breaking the Mode: Contemporary Fashion from the Permanent Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art" is opening March 16th at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, where it will be on view through June 1st.

The exhibition, which includes iconic pieces from a number of contemporary designers (for the most part Europeans and Japanese) attest to the LACMA's thorough collecting policy. The exhibit sets out to examine "designers who have challenged the canons of the body’s fashionable silhouette, revolutionized methods of garment construction, rejected the formulaic use of materials and techniques, and exploited new technology in textile production. Among the more than 40 international designers whose work will be exhibited are Jean-Paul Gaultier, Rei Kawakubo, Martin Margiela, Issey Miyake, Thierry Mugler and Yohiji Yamamoto, with historical examples by Gilbert Adrian, Christian Dior and Charles James."

Francesca

Without

Lika Volkova of SANS demonstrates their knit hats with embedded sunglass lenses, perfect for a sunny winter day.

The other night Fashion Projects stopped by the SANS home base to check out their most recent designs. Instead of a full line, for Fall 2008 duo Lika Volkova and Alessandro DeVito offered a precisely edited collection of knit sweaters and hats. The tops were multi-layered, with a finely tuned textile foundation supporting their cerebral shapes. Squares, rectangles and arcs formed the basis for SANS' polymorphic garments – each item (made from supple yarns) can be worn any number of ways, allowing the wearer to claim ownership of their look. The designers mentioned they had actually created many new garments, but had held off on showing them until the time was right. This low-key approach was a restrained, but successful design exercise focusing on the perfection of a single wardrobe element.

After chatting a bit about the gross prevalence of retailers and designers jumping on the green-washing wagon, it became apparent that SANS is not primarily about sustainability. Rather, Volkova and DeVito craft thoughtful and high-quality designs through their own unique synergy – Volkova’s creative eccentricities mesh well with DeVito’s textile knowledge and sourcing skills. SANS should not be considered as eco-design merely because it uses ethical textiles like organic or reclaimed wool, recycled polyester, or peace silk; in practice, SANS is sustainable because it resides outside the trend-driven fashion system, with each garment a conjoined effort of vision and substance.

Sarah Scaturro

Taste and Chintz

Thomas Voorn, "Coming Home, Spring/Summer 2008

I had been meaning to write about Osvomode—the duo of Thomas Voorn and Jeanette Osterrie, that produces organic experimental wear. But the label is currently on hiatus, as the two explore their individual projects. Osterrie is busy producing collections of organic and recycled knits, while Voorn explores the borders of bad taste in his new collection of Hawaiian/chintz inspired shirts, which are photographed against equally “flowery” wallpaper backgrounds. For more information on this collection and his other projects, visit Voorn’s recently launched site.

Francesca

A look from Osvomode most recent collection.

Social Fabrics

Teresa Almeida, Modes for Urban Moods.

If in Dallas for the CAA Meeting this February, don't miss Social Fabrics. A time-based exhibition on the relation between Wearables, Media and Interconnectivity, it is curated by Susan Ryan and Patrick Lichty and developed around the trope of the fashion show. Supported by the Leonardo Education Forum, it includes an impressive array of practioners from the design and art fields. Above is one the pieces included: An inflatable garment designed as "a coping mechanism" by Teresa Almeida, it has been worn by the artist in performances in crodwed public spaces, in order to explore the borders between public and private space.

Social Fabrics will take place at the Adam's Mark Hotel (400 North Olive Street, Dallas) on February 22, 2008 - 4:30 PM.

Ann-Sofie Back, Fall 2008

Ann-Sofie Back, AW 2008, Over-sized Boyfriend Blazer and Shredded Black Thong Gown.

If public banality is the cornerstone of celebrity culture, then the French situationist, Guy Debord got it right in his critique of the media-dominated western society when he described the celebrity as “the spectacular representation of a living human being”. Kick starting London’s Fashion Week, Ann-Sofie Back’s A/W 08 collection pays homage to an unlikely source—-the pervasive presence of celebrity culture in our every day lives. Drawing inspiration from her three muses, Britney, Paris, and Kate, she re-imagines the spectacle by reworking silk lace drawn from thongs as decorative motifs on the shoulders, hem lines and knees of tops and camisoles, classically cut gowns, and tights.

Asymmetrical 1930s bias cut satin gowns, reminiscent of the Kate Moss v. Courtney Love fashion mishap at the V&A gala last year, are paired with an equally exaggerated asymmetric motorcycle jacket or tempered by an oversized grey peacoat. Back brings a slice of the voyeuristic world of tabloid culture in the pixelated prints of the OK! Magazine and Heat logos on t-shirts, dresses, and gloves, as well as in the accoutrements of piercings, à la Ms. Hilton, found on dresses and shoes. While the line was loaded with a dissonance of fantastic shapes, particularly with the over-sized boyfriend blazer teamed with a shredded black thong gown, there was also an element of the predictable…in the appearance of the cringe inducing, light stone washed jeans (go back to the 1990s!), raw hemmed tailored trousers, and strapless dresses. All in all though, Back infallibly delivers on making the sensational, a commercially appealing success.

Patty Chang

Ann-Sofie Back, AW 2008, Pixelated Shirt & Skirt

Ann-Sofie Back, AW 2008, Deconstructed Thongs Shirt