Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Contemporary fashion Hussein Chalayan


Hussein Chalayan holds a special place in my heart as he is one of the first designers I enjoyed when discovering ’serious’ fashion. His exquisite tailoring, innovative pattern cutting, and thoughtful approach make him a strong contender as one of the most important designers of contemporary fashion.
I was pleased to read that he will have his first cumulative solo show in the UK at London’s Design Museum starting Jan 22. The exhibition will reflect on the past fifteen years of Chalayan’s oeuvre. He is no stranger to the art world – Chalayan has had numerous clothing and film installations throughout his career. His works have been displayed at the Venice Biennale (2005), the V&A’s Radical Fashion (1997), the Met’s Anglomania (2001), and . While enthusiasts would perhaps like to see as many outfits as possible, Chalayan and co-curators Mark Wilson and Donna Loveday have whittled the presentation down to a ‘mere’ 37 looks. To assist viewers be enveloped into Chalayan’s world, each will be accompanied by details of his thought process and inspirations.
If you can’t make it to the exhibition itself, I highly recommend Chalayan’s website to fully explore the beauty of his clothes.




                                                                                  


The Great Circus of Ruth Hogben


Ruth Hogben wanted to be a photographer at first, and she had the luck to become the assistant of one of the contemporary top dogs of this art, the famous Nick Knight. One day, while the master was shooting model Lily Donaldson, Hogben decided to use the photoshoot to make a short video. Interested, Knight decided to encourage his pupil in the way of fashion video, and they repeated the experience, within the framework of the website SHOWstudio.


The duo have then worked for all the rising stars of fashion and design industry : Alexander McQueen, Lady Gaga, Phillipe Starck ... While Knight was shooting designers Rick Owens for magazine Arena Homme (2009), or Martin Margiela's strange hair clothes ( Make up your mind, 2008), his assistant built an impressive self career of fashion filmmaker.







Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Dynamic Bloom by Nick Knight

Colliding contemporary dance, abstract blooms and fashion, Nick Knight and Alister Mackie transformed contemporary fashion into strong modern flowers for AnOther magazine’s Spring/Summer 2011 issue. Alongside Knight’s editorial, a unique fashion film created by Tell No One brings the incredible fashion and inspirations behind the shoot to life.





Monday, December 12, 2011

Contemporary Architecture, the Lourenço family


                

             The first collection presented at the last Fashion Week of Paris has been quite a revelation for many fashion critics. Indeed, they were first skeptic, they thought they were going to see another teenage designer. But Pedro Lourenço, 19 years old only, forced them to change their mind in just one show. It was not a complete challenge : the young Brazilian designer is definitely not a novice. His Parisian show was already his tenth one, as he has presented his very first collection at the age of 13. That sounds young.


       
  Pedro is a very serious boy, talking with ease of both the commercial and the artistic aspects of his work. Down to earth, he favours quality to an unbridled creativity, but he is aware that his clienthood is attracted by his most futuristic pieces. So, for Paris, he has developped a very matured line, constituted of architectural and military strict dresses, structured with black leather lined with neoprene and geometrical effects which have been described as venetian-blinds.