ANTI by malakhammouda

anti ANTI

JUNE 2020 ISSUE 001

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ad ANN DEMEULMEESTER

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Table

of Contents letter from the editor what is anti fashion history of issey miyake runway review: yohji yamamoto remembering alexander mcqueen who is iris van herpen runway review: iris van herpen fredrick tjaerdsen introducing: ludovic saint sernin into the void power of psyche contributions

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Letter from editor

Welcome to the very first issue of ANTI, a magazine focused on anti fashion. I hope to bring this counter style to the masses and introduce others renowned and upcoming designers of this historical fashion counterculture. This issue mainly focuses on the main fashion houses who has put themselves on the map by offering an alternative style to the Gucciâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Pradaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. It is important to me as well to give a historical background of this movement, its origins and where it stands now. As the mainstream fashion becomes more and more flashy, anti fashion brings out the essentials and plays with the shape of the body to fight against the norm. From 70s punk to 90s minimalism, we will take a look at major heads such as Alexander McQueen, Iris Van Herpen and Yohji Yamamoto; and look at up and coming designers such as Ludovic Saint Sernin and Dilara Findikoglu who are emboding the modern countermovenet. Sit back, relax and enter the void.

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FASHION

W H AT IS ANTI

In the late 1960s, “deconstructionism” was the brainchild of French philosopher Jacques Derrida who named the process of breaking down established forms. The term is normally applied to text but also describes breaking down conventions and normal boundaries. His idea was to contradict, challenge and destabilise the universal truth.His work is also largely referred as explicit influence in architecture (in the form of deconstructivism), music and arts, with many artists and art critics, continually referring explicitly his influence on their work. So, what is deconstruction fashion? It’s a fashion item that looks unfinished and the designer is still in the midst of experimenting with the product. Normally, the fashion item has exposed seams, raw edges, displacement of certain component and some sort of treatment to make it look distressed. Deconstruction fashion is meant to challenge the traditional perception of beauty. At the same time, it aims to destabilise fashion with impeccable garment finishing. In “Deconstruction Fashion: The Making of Unfinished, Decomposing and Re-Assembled Clothes,” Alison Gill uses the idea of decontruction borrowed from Jacques Derrida philosophy. Gill suggests the fashion style of deconstruction, called “Le Destroy,” by the French, is an intentional effort at unfinished forms that are coming apart, recycled or transparent. Rei Kawakubo, Karl Lagerfeld, Martin Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester and Dries Van Noten are the designers in this category. The basis of all decontructioned clothing is aestheticized nonfunctionality that amounts to anti-fashion.

ANTI In philosophy, deconstruction reveals the instability of meaning of words and phrases. The deconstuction of style was first observed in communication design in the Cranbrook Acadmey. A 1988 exhibition at MOMA about deconstructivist architecture brought the term into larger consciousness. Gill suggests that Martin Margiela is an example of deconstruction architecture of the body. His clothing is composed of parts of other clothes, linings, zippers or fixtures from many places with transparent assembly. “Margiela literally brings the secrets to the surface.” Deconstruction is also a living critique of the fashion system. Decontructivist designers reveal fashion’s charms – ornament, glamour, spectacle, illusion, fantasy, and exclusion. Importantly however, the designer is not just not destoying. It is instead a simultaneous “forming and deforming, constructing and destroying, making and undoing clothes.” The design and anti-design are equally essential.

A period of anti-fashion took place in the 1950s with the advent of rock and roll, especially with young adolescent women. Many young women wore jeans and plaid shirts, simple plain T shirts, and surplus military clothes in rebellion against the feminine gender roles and societal norms of the time. These fashions were the root of many modern anti-fashion trends, such as punk and grunge, decades later. The word grunge originated in the mid1960s. Punk fashion arrived later in Great Britain in the 1970s with fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. It was quickly adopted by disillusioned, discontented teenagers. A shop named SEX run by Malcolm McLaren sold clothes with a fetish focus; leather bondage pants, offensive jewelry and T-shirts, and jeans that were ripped and defaced; other materials used to invoke fetishism were rubber and PVC plastic.

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Punk clothing was often studded and slashed, and adorned with chains and safety pins. This antifashion was adopted in response to the fashionconsciousness exhibited by the fans of bands such as the Sex Pistols.[4] Both Westwood and McLaren led the Punk movement which was short-lived, but newsworthy in the fashion press. It was easy to recognize those who followed the punk community with their spiky brightly-colored Mohawk haircuts, exotic makeup, tattoos, and body piercings. According to Worsley, .

“Punk style showed how fashion could challenge stereotypes of gender and beauty” By the 1980s, punk influences could be seen around Europe and America, although these blatant and provocative styles fell out of favor by the end of the decade, to be replaced by the anti-styles of the grunge movement. With the emergence of counter-mainstream consciousness, a punk style that catered to people’s thoughts emerged in this context. Punk has a great impact on fashion. The well-known designer Vivienne Westwood, who is known as the mother of punk, started her fashion career with punk. The clothes she designed not only have punk’s iconic fetish fashion, restraint elements, pins, chains and other punk elements, but also incorporate traditional designs such as Scottish plaid and court ballet. The multi-wavy skirts, ruffled piping, pirate hats, and boots with romantic pirate styles published by Vivienne in her early days immediately pushed her to the stage of international popularity and gained attention. By the mid-1980s, Vivienne began to explore classical and British traditions. By the 1990s Vivienne designed irregular, exaggerated and complicated structures by contrasting and matching different materials and colours, which have become Vivienne’s unique style.

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Another example, this time from the early 20th century, was promoted by the legendary designer Gabrielle Chanel – a “poor girl” woman’s style where rich ladies could look like regular women while still dressing in clothes that showed their quality under close inspection. The dress sense of Charles, Prince of Wales has been described as anti fashion, in that it reflects indifference to current fashion in favor of traditional style.[citation needed] Anti-fashion has also been used to describe simple fashion adopted by hardcore punks in the 1980s. At its strictest, it consists of a plain white T-shirt, black trousers or plain jeans and black boots, with the hair cut short. In the exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons Art of the In-Between, fashion/anti-fashion was one of the thematic fashion pairings which was examined.

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Besides Vivienne in Europe, three eastern designers from Japan invaded the European fashion scene during the 1980s. Issey Miyake is a strong representative of Asian anti-era designers. The clothes he designs have a distinctive style and are extremely individual, giving the clothing a new aesthetic connotation with unbridled expression. Issey Miyake released his first fashion show in 1971 with great success, and he has since entered the design career of a fashion master.

In the 1990s, a minimalist style described as anti-fashion emerged on both sides of the Atlantic in which young people would typically wear simple clothes such as black jeans and white T-shirts without a visible brand name. At this time, grunge was considered street style, a departure from the emphasis on designer labels and ostentatious looks in the 1980s, seen, for example, in the exaggerated shoulder lines of the tops worn by both sexes. Soon, though, designers such as Donna Karan, Anna Sui, Marc Jacobs, Perry Ellis, Ralph Lauren and others in America and abroad began to take inspiration from fashions on the streets and incorporate those trends into their own designer lines. The fad expired as quickly as it began and the designers looked in other directions for inspiration.

Rei Kawakubo is good at using low-chroma fabrics to design clothes. Many of them are designed in the same piece with the same colour of black, which can be said it is Kawakubo’s representative colour. In 1981, Rei Kawakubo held her first press conference at the Paris Fashion Show, where she began to attract the attention of the global fashion industry. Then in the following year, her clothing had a simple nickname: the beggar’s outfit; leading to a designing trend of loose, deliberate threedimensional, broken, asymmetric, and not revealing the shape of the body. For Yohji Yamamoto, the most basic concept of anti-fashion is not to follow the trend. Yohji Yamamoto’s designing style has always been unconventional and gender-neutral, such as designing women’s clothing according to the concept of men’s clothing. He likes to cover women’s body shapes with exaggerated proportions, bringing out the androgynous, asexual aesthetic concept. This new dress concept, which runs counter to the European mainstream, has not only established itself in the fashion industry but has also influenced European designers.

ANTI In addition, designers such as Ann Demeulemeester, Maison Martin Margielaand Raf Simons are all anti-fashion pioneers. During the 1990s, the anti-fashion movement was at its peak; more designers were willing to put themselves out there to question the idealistic beauty and traditional fashion style. One of the original Antwerp six Ann Demeulemeester debuted her first catwalk show in Paris in 1991, and she was famous for her asymmetry and unbalanced style. Maison Martin Margiela debuted his Salvation Armycollection in 1992; it was a sarcastic reaction towards the overflowing meaningless clothes in the fashion industry. Raf Simons debuted his first menswear collection in 1997 to showcase a sense of rave and the opposite example of traditional menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fashion. The 1990s is a continuation of the 1980s anti-fashion movement but expanded into different aspects and perspectives.

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HISTORY OF ISSEY MIYAKE Issey Miyake, original name Miyake Kazumaru, (born April 22, 1938, Hiroshima, Japan), Japanese fashion designer who was known for combining Eastern and Western elements in his work. He also had a popular line of fragrances that included L’Eau d’Issey.

Miyake studied graphic design at Tokyo’s Tama Art University, and after graduation he moved in 1965 to Paris, where he enrolled at the renowned tailoring and dressmaking school École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. He began his career in 1966, working behind the scenes for four years in ateliers operated by a trio of 20th-century fashion legends; French couturiers Guy Laroche and Hubert de Givenchy as well as the meticulous American designer Geoffrey Beene. In 1973, three years after he established a Tokyo studio, Miyake displayed his own independent collection in a Paris group fashion show and developed the layered and wrapped look that became his trademark.

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Soon the New York department store Bloomingdale’s devoted a section to selling Miyake’s “East meets West” look—mostly T-shirts dyed with Japanese tattoo designs as well as coats featuring the sashiko technique, a Japanese embroidery that strengthens fabric and was typically incorporated into labourers’ clothing. Miyake became an internationally recognized name in the 1980s together with Japanese designers Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto, who presented their avant-garde creations alongside his fresh, boldly coloured work during the Paris ready-to-wear collections. In 2005 the Japan Arts Association awarded Miyake a Praemium Imperiale for outstanding achievement in the arts. In 2006 he became the first fashion designer to receive the Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy for lifetime achievement, awarded by the Inamori Foundation in Japan; the prize included a diploma, a 20-karat-gold prize medal, and 50 million yen (about $446,000). The organization singled out as seminal the clothing line Miyake developed in 1993 called Pleats Please, which,

“allows unrestricted body movement while enabling the fabric to maintain its form,” and A-POC (“A Piece of Cloth”), which was made from a single thread with the aid of an industrial knitting or weaving machine programmed by a computer. Miyake had begun experimenting on A-POC more than 10 years earlier with textile expert Dai Fujiwara before launching it commercially in 1999. Insisting that A-POC was an ensemble piece, he refused to imprint his name on that collection. He sold it simply as a long tube of jersey, and it was then up to the customer to cut and shape it. In addition to his clothing, Issey Miyake was known for his collection of collection of perfumes and colognes. L’Eau d’Issey was launched in 1992 and became an international best seller. The light scent, which was inspired by water, was hugely influential, helping to popularize oceanic perfumes. Two years later Miyake debuted a men’s version, and other fragrances followed. In 2016 the National Art Center in Tokyo staged the most comprehensive exhibition of Miyake’s career.

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From the very beginning to this day, Issey Miyake’s design has focused on the concept of “a piece of cloth.” ISSEY MIYAKE broke the boundaries between East and West and pursued “the body, the fabric covering it and a comfortable relationship between the two” as a fundamental concept, both shocking and resonating with people the world over. ISSEY MIYAKE has grown to include a vast number of creative personnel and innovative new techniques, but its core design style - creating clothes from original materials starting with the research of a single thread - has transcended generations. The brand has been led by designer Yoshiyuki Miyamae and his team since the SPRING SUMMER 2012 collection. The team continues to create innovative clothes that combine Japan’s technological strength with new contemporary technology. Miyake’s unwavering approach to creation is the freedom to have ideas, unconstrained by any preexisting rules or framework, and to be able to make them realities through a tenacious process of research and experimentation. Miyake works in a manner that not only advances his own ideas but also cultivates skills in the people around him, constantly pushing both the tradition and the evolution of design.

Miyake’s first encounter with design was in his home-town of Hiroshima in which were two bridges: to live and to die, situated near the epicenter where the Atomic Bomb hit. (Built in 1952, and later renamed: to Create and to Go.) Walking over the bridges, watcxhing them, was his first encounter with a design’s ability to inspire powerful emotional responses; and hope.

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These collaborations and research attempts led to the development of his trademark concept, “ one piece of cloth.” An overview of his work during this period is available via the compilation ISSEY MIYAKE : East Meets West, published 1978 (Heibonsha). It was the first monograph of a living fashion designer to be published in the world. A multitude of dynamic photographs and essays by artists from different mediums explored Miyake’s interpretations of “one piece of cloth” with art direction by Ikko Tanaka and editing by Kazuko Koike. There is a founding principal that has always informed Miyake’s relentless search for new and more advanced designs to serve and enhance the 21st century: Making ideas, making things that have never been made before; making new realities.

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RUNWAY REVIEW

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ME NS

WE A R SPRING 2020 by Mimosa Spencer

Photos of a Yohji Yamamoto lineup never capture the degree of details—printed words, artistic embellishment—that you will discover on the clothes up close.

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Only when poking around backstage after today’s show did the text “I hold you, you hold me” reveal itself on a loosely fitting shirt. The designer, too, usually doles out his thoughts judiciously, as though being forced to explain himself not only demystifies the process but goes against the interpretative aspect of what he creates. Today, he reiterated his fear of an impending climate crisis, as well as his view that gender distinctions in menswear and womenswear have all but evaporated. These talking points manifested as ultra-relaxed ensembles, some bearing nearnonexistent landscapes. Masculine workwear jackets superimposed on suiting were interspersed with more ambiguous silhouettes, namely a dashing duo of fulllength windbreakers in deep blue and yellow, worn like dresses. One of the two shirts styled overtop was marked up with the words mother f . . . well, you get the idea. Compared with the humble raw cotton and signature black gabardine, a black velvet grouping introduced a certain grandeur—especially those pieces covered in pseudo-historical heraldic emblems. Yamamoto said he experimented with these purely because he wanted to—an aesthetic indulgence, essentially. Inv that vein, some pieces could have been spared the myriad zippered vents and excess bands. If nothing more, they were a reminder that he is not a minimalist. Yamamoto’s approach seemed less conceptual this season, and his commentary was correspondingly direct. “The earth is going to be crazy, really crazy,” he said. “I’m afraid the earth is going to die.” Did he think he would see this in his lifetime? “No, maybe our children and grandchildren.” And yet this wasn’t necessarily an exercise in fatalism. The pair of hands on the side of a garment—were they signaling some sort of diplomatic handshake or a more affectionate clasp? “Both,” he replied.

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The designer sent his models slowly down the runway, many with disheveled hair, to his contemplative, soporific singing, with the layered, all-black looks that are his signature.Yohji Yamamoto might have been in a brooding mood, but there was a certain lightness and breeziness to his men’s spring collection. The designer sent his models slowly down the runway, many with disheveled hair, to his contemplative, soporific singing, with the layered, all-black looks that are his signature. Yamamoto shared his thoughts backstage after the show. Growing up, he was wary of society — people are unfair, he said. And he doesn’t expect the world to last — he was certain it wouldn’t be snuffed out in his lifetime, but rather that of the kids, or grandchildren. Yamamoto explores Faded Photographs and Dense Layers. The Japanese master further expands upon his signature black palette.

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Spring/Summer 2020 sees Yohji-Yamamoto developing his menswear line in a direction plied to great effect in recent seasons, introducing more photograph prints and color-saturated prints atop his classic black outerwear and trousers. Though the Paris Fashion Week presentation wasn’t a dramatic departure from his recent work, it did highlight some subtle shifts in application, applied to some of the designer’s signature silhouettes.

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Though Yamamoto recently debuted a new line with adidas, the only collaborative items on hand at the SS20 show were sporty running shoes and rubber-toed sneakers that hearkened back to classic military trainers. These effortless footwear options complemented the all-black boots and sandals that abetted the draping coats, longline jackets and extended-length shirting that appeared throughout the range. A military influence resurfaced by way of cargo pocket shirts and coats bolstered by a multitude of dangling straps, while classic wool gabardine overcoats offered more illustrative imagery, swirling paint doodles and faded photographic prints reminiscent of recent Yamamoto offerings. Aside from intentionally-jarring tonal blue and yellow looks, the majority of the goods on display were executed in the designerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s preferred black shade, emphasizing the graphic accents and distinctive proportions. Flowing pants were juxtaposed against culotte-style shorts in striped, patterned and tapered iterations, a suitable complement to the more dramatic layers above. These included velvet shirts, washed silk outerwear and hybrid wool coats that offered zippered closure at double riderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s length and a single contrasting velvet sleeve.

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R 2020 READY INTOG WEAR In the usual post-show huddle around Yohji Yamamoto, one journalist suggested that the designer seemed particularly poetic this go-round, to which he instantly replied, “Poetic? I was born to be poetic!” It’s a description that gets tossed around a little too liberally in the context of clothes; yet Yamamoto has spent nearly 40 years constructing and deconstructing with nuanced intensity and beautiful abstraction. True, there were oversize chapeaux reminiscent of museum portraits; wire hemlines on dresses and skirts that curled around as though suspended mid-gust; looks that appeared

ANTI eccentrically stitched together from old slips and bedsheets; and patterns of cut-outs that deserved to be psychoanalyzed. But to the extent that the feisty septuagenarian usually indulges his dark Baudelairian tendencies, the sum of these impressively executed parts actually felt less profoundly melancholic, more palpably enchanting. This came through in the seductive bias cut and drape of certain otherwise minimalist dresses, and the maximalist monochromatic embroideries that turned the final looks into couture-like creations. And Yamamoto’s creative impulses were in full effect; see the two tangled-volume looks whereby the models’ bodies were engulfed in a riot of rainbow doodles, or else the gorgeous game of geometry he played against the skin so that loosely strung shapes created Cubist breaks within his typical black tailoring (note also the foamy blocks protruding from shoulders). For all the experiments in artful exposure these past few weeks, this grouping of coats and dresses would make a fantastic statement for any art fair–related event. Hats with brims that zipped away or were shaped like single-size umbrellas and sneakers with staggered striped soles transferred these Surrealist whims to more accessible accessories. Of course, the oft-repeated irony with Yamamoto is his expression through clothes cannot be adequately expressed with words. But those who have attended show after show regardless of his perceived relevance—and let’s just say he’s been attracting an increasingly cachet crowd once again (as he should)—can attest that he still finds new and inspiring ways to speak his idiosyncratic language. In his memoir, My Dear Bomb, he noted that people have an inherent desire to be understood. Cue the final question of the night: Does this apply to him, too? “Being misunderstood is good,” Yamamoto answered, coyly. “Misunderstanding is understanding.”

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M E NS W R EA

FALL 2020 The language of Yohji Yamamoto is like none other. It comprises his fashion language built upon dark and poetic draping and deconstruction. It comprises his musical language of wistful electricguitar improvisations and highly personal lyrics. It comprises his actual language, which is obviously Japanese but has come to include French and Englishâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;all delivered with extreme economy of words and drawn-out contemplation.

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ANTI Given, however, that his language has never been aggressive, the biggest threat he poses might simply be that he reaches new relevance over and over again without any propping up from the industry’s behemoths. The designer is now 76; just imagine every designer today under 40 suddenly deciding to operate in a similar manner. Whether dressed in veritably humble togs or a high-end fraying sweater that gives the verisimilitude of humbleness, a partisan remains engaged. But does Yamamoto still want to be doing this? “I’m putting the same question to myself every day,” he revealed, adding that the answer eludes him. “No answer is terrible.” Or the saving grace for all those who hope he continues designing— and sharing his language with us—for as long as possible. It is a language of multitudes that one longs to understand in its entirety, not in guesswork. But with each new collection, his language doesn’t become more knowable. For even when a few moments are spent in conversation with the designer backstage, the real takeaway is that this is a language of feeling. And Yamamoto is feeling tired. It’s not the first time he has expressed as much. It’s concerning on an empathetic level, and yet there was nothing about today’s show that betrayed exhaustion and no portion that could be deemed monotonous. Looks were layered with highly considered indifference and were imbued with certain dissident details. Officer coats with atypically imperfect embellishments, unmatched patterns unevenly patchworked, sprays of assorted chains fulfilling no function, and too many berets to ignore all kept the eye in a satisfied state of stimulation. Inexplicable swaths of printed silk floating alongside a few silhouettes were demonstrably soothing. Certainly a coat adorned with Naughty Yohji in dimensional lettering does not give the impression of a designer pulling back. If anything, his idea to develop these figures as “Partisans” sends the message that he remains a true nonconformist. “I used to explain my spirit as anti-trend, anti-fashion. I kept saying I’m an outsider. Now the vocabulary is not enough. And I’m angry about what’s going on in fashion, so I have become partisan.” It’s a word that people today assume is political. “Or dangerous,” Yamamoto offered.

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REMEMBER

Portrait of Lee Alexander Mcqueen Taken from Getty images

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ALEXANDER

QUEEN 2020 marks 10 years since designer, Lee Alexander McQueen has taken his own life. Even though he is gone, the mark that he has left in fashion is still left in fashion world. McQueen was born on 17 March 1969 in London to Scottish parents. His career in fashion began in 1985 when received an O-level in art and continued on to do a tailoring course at Newham College and an apprenticeship with Savile Row, Gieves & Hawke and lastly, costumiers Angels and Bermans at age 16. These apprenticeship helped the young designer gain a reputation as an impeccable tailor across the fashion world. His work at Angels and Bermans furthered allowed him to explore the dramatic style which would then become his style of clothing in his brand later on.

At the meantime, Mcqueen was attending Rosetta Art Centre and with a glowing reference letter from his tutor, Yvonne Humble which made him go straight to the Fashion Design Master course at Central Saint Martins. Due to the strength of his portfolio, he was immediately admitted into the renowned university. His aunt paid for his schooling due to not being able for him nor his familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial situation. His graduation collection was entirely inspired by Jack the Ripper and was bought by an influential stylist called, Isabella Blow which subsequently launched his fashion career.

ANTI After graduation, Alexander McQueen launched his brand of women’s clothing. He was met with major success when he introduced the bumster pants. It gained notoriety due to its low waistline. In 1996, four years after obtaining his masters degree, he was named Chief Designer for French house couture house, Givenchy. During Mcqueen’s time at Givenchy, it was the most tumult time in his life. From 1996 2001, despite presenting the unexpected and performances on the runway, he did not feel his best. Even though, he had an amputee model walking down the runway with craved wooden legs, he felt that he was being held back by the prestigious house. He only saw money and couldn’t see his vision coming live. He wanted to change the identity of Givenchy so it could match his own but they would not simply allow it. Despite his limitations, Alexander McQueen won British Designer of the Year in 1996, 1997, and 2001.

In the beginning of the new millennium, the Italian fashion house, Gucci bought 51 percent take in the McQueen’s eponymous brand. This would allow him to expand his business and leave Givenchy soon after. With Gucci’s investment, the designer became more successful than ever before as he created more interesting spectacles which continued to push the boundaries of fashion. In 2003, he was named “International Designer of the Year” by the CFDA, the Council of Fashion Designers of America and another British Designer of the Year award. He had also earned a CBE by the Queen of England. It was also during this time, Alexander McQueen had stores opening in Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, and in major fashion capitals, New York, Milan, and London.

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JOAN ANTI

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Having explored the element of water, Alexander McQueen moved onto fire, closing his Fall ’98 show with a model trapped in a ring of flames. Dubbing the show Joan, in reference to the Catholic martyr, the designer made use of metal mesh; and he layered tragedy on top of tragedy, printing the portraits of the Romanov children on dresses and tops. Adding to the drama was the hair, or lack of it, and the red contact lenses. A hint of salvation was offered by Diana Ross, whose words “You’re gonna make it, you’re gonna make it,” were played at the fiery finale. Inspired by the murders of Joan of Arc and of the Romanov family, Alexander McQueen’s Fall 1998 show took on a dark, sinister feeling. Models had peroxide

blonde hair worn in medieval-inspired styles (sans eyebrows), and sported blood-red contact lenses. The collection itself was very tough; tailored, sequined, patterned with prints of the Romanov children. In keeping with the Joan of Arc theme, several models wore dresses of chainmail, and the color palette featured blood red, black, and silver. His signature tartan was present, and the red lace dress covering the face was worn by Lady Gaga at the MTV awards a decade later. There were even pieces of armor, as shown above in the fourth figure. It was the finale of the

show, however, that would garner the most attention. The final model, wearing a beaded red dress that covered her face, was encircled in a ring of fire (a direct reference to Joan of Arc, who was burned a the stake).

She writhed and moved around as the fire grew.

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taxi driver 46

The bumster trousers began the low rise jeans trend that took over the early new millenium

ANTI Alexander McQueen’s “Bumster” design debuted in trouser form in his first collection, and continued to feature in varied guises over the years.

“That part of the body not so much the buttocks, but the bottom of the spine that’s the most erotic part of anyone’s body, man or woman” What? McQueen’s first collection, entitled “Taxi Driver” was presented on a clothes rail at the Ritz in 1993 – quite different from the large-scale productions McQueen would become known for later in his career. McQueen kickstarted a trend in the denim world, and the low-rise jean (although never as low as McQueen’s original design) was a popular style throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Why? There were thoughts that McQueen originally got his inspiration from the socalled “builder’s bum” – when trousers are worn accidentally too low – yet the designer later said it was about elongating the female form. “It wasn’t about showing the bum... To me, that part of the body – not so much the buttocks, but the bottom of the spine – that’s the most erotic part of anyone’s body, man or woman,” the late McQueen told The Guardian after his first collection. A season later came another interesting chapter in bottom history, with Rei Kawakubo’s “Dress Meets Body, Body Meets Dress” collection for Comme des Garcons, commonly referred to as the “lumps and bumps” collection because of the bulbous padding incorporated into the designs (hips, backs, shoulders and bottoms). Whilst the bottom wasn’t Kawkubo’s focus, the designs created an arresting silhouette, provoking a variety of responses with some likening the contusions to tumours, and others choosing to see it as a modern interpretation of the late 19th century silhouette, formed by bustles and crinolines. Placing the two collections side by side provoke an interesting comparison – Kawkakubo’s shapes emphasis the bottom with padding and fabric, yet McQueen chose to expose the region (bum cleavage included), with clever tailoring.

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No.13 It wasn’t a fashion show. It was performance art. The models at __Alexander McQueen’__s Spring 1999 outing navigated two robotic contraptions in clothes that felt decidedly lighter and more sensual than his previous work, albeit every bit as fetishistic. Only when Shalom Harlow emerged in a strapless broderie anglaise dress cinched across the bust with a leather belt did the robots come to life. As she spun around on a circular platform, the robots, which were typically used to paint cars, sprayed her in a carefully choreographed dance. When it was over, Harlow practically stumbled into the audience. Potent stuff. Shalom Harlow’s wearing one of McQueen’s modernized cutaway frock coats—nothing underneath—and a pair of his signature bumsters, which barely graze her lower hips. Little did people guess that they had 10 minutes to go until they’d be jolted half out of their skins by the sight of Harlow—on again, in a white paper multi-layered dress—under sudden violent attack from a pair of car paint–spraying robots. It’s a McQueen performance, a coup de théâtre that has made ever-living history, surely up there among the top 10 fashion show thrills of all time. No matter how many times you play it on video, the rawness and shock of it never diminishes: Harlow standing on a wooden turntable, flailing her beautiful arms above her head, protecting herself as the programmed machinery goes in, gunning at her with black and neon yellow paint. Around and around, woman against machine. It’s poignant, but it’s sexual too. Harlow was a ballet dancer; you see it in her. “She did exactly what she wanted to do,” says Sam Gainsbury, who produced the show with her partner Anna Whiting. “We couldn’t rehearse it. She knew how to keep her center on the turntable because she was a dancer. She didn’t flinch when they came near her face. It was completely spontaneous.” She was mythic: a modern Leda and the Swan. In the pictures, everyone is leaning forward, hands clutching faces. Isabella Blow is there; McQueen’s mother, Joyce; Philip Treacy; his closest people, as swept up as everyone else in watching Harlow’s virginal dress becoming a piece of graffiti action art. In these new days, when “experiential” and “immersive” are the current aspirations of all fashion houses, brands, and designers— the drive to make us feel something—looking again at what McQueen did in the ’90s is still heart-stoppingly inspirational.

Finale Dress of no.13

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La dame First, what must be said: Alexander McQueen’s Spring collection was a tribute to the late Isabella Blow, the woman who discovered him, famously propelled his career from a student rack to a couture house, and faithfully wore his clothes—and Philip Treacy’s hats—in their most extreme manifestations. Second, though: All terrible emotions apart, McQueen, like every other designer, can only be judged in the unsparing light of the general arena of fashion. To put it bluntly, this collection—after an off season last time—was going to stand or fall based on whether his clothes were any good.

It stood. McQueen mustered the clarity to dispense with smoke and mirrors and show his capabilities in cut, drape, and feathered flourish to an audience near enough to inspect every detail. He stepped up to the plate by running through all his archived knowledge—Savile Row tailoring in Prince of Wales menswear check jackets and strict, strong-shouldered suiting, combined with the legacy of his couture experience in fan-pleated chiffon, goddess-y drape, and hand-crafted drama. The theme of birds—particularly symbolic of Blow—held the show together through a reprise of all the

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Photo of Isabella Blow (L) and Alexander McQueen

Bleuse highlights of McQueen’s career. The moldedhip silhouette of a jacket and dusty, twisted georgette gowns came from his Barry Lyndon show; the floating bird-of-paradise prints, from his “shipwreck” season; the ombré-printed vast-shouldered kimonos, from his Japanese couture collection for Givenchy; the trapezoid shapes, transposed from the tricorne hats of his “highwayman” moment; the lace stockings, reprised from his They Shoot Horses… performance. And so on. But this isn’t really the point. McQueen has indulged in self-referential wallows in the past before, but this, for the

most part, avoided that feeling. If some of his carapace-stiff shapes are as unviable as they ever were, the airy rainbow-bird-wing-printed pleating, an Art Nouveau-patterned blouse, and his romantic fairy-goddess chiffons put him back in the game of current trend (though they’d have been better without the fierce waist-cinching belts that looked like a hangover from winter). In all, McQueen honored his mentor by striving to bring out the best in himself. Unfortunately, it was the beginning of the end for Mcqueen.

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Plato’s Atlantis It could be that Alexander McQueen—oh, and Lady Gaga, remotely—crashed through a whole new frontier in the projection of fashion shows as worldwide live entertainment Tuesday night. McQueen’s collection, Plato’s Atlantis, was live-streamed on Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio. com, intercut with the photographer’s premade video footage. That was the plan anyway, until 30 minutes before the show, Gaga Twittered that McQueen was about to premiere her new single. She has a million followers. Inevitably, before the crashing of the frontier could quite come about, SHOWstudio itself crashed. Which may have replicated, in a whole new audience, the sensation of a young hopeful stuck outside a McQueen presentation, waving a standing ticket and being unable to get in. Seen from on the spot, it was a big-budget production, for sure. There was a sparkling, illuminated runway in which two sinister, robotic movie cameras on gigantic black booms ran back and forth, while a screen played Knight’s video of Raquel Zimmermann, lying on sand, naked, with snakes writhing across her body. Then the models came out, dressed in short, reptile-patterned, digitally printed dresses, their gangly legs sunk in grotesque shoes that looked like the armored heads of a fantastical breed of antediluvian sea monster. McQueen, according to an internal logic detailed in a press release, was casting an apocalyptic forecast of the future ecological meltdown of the world: Humankind is made up of creatures that evolved from the sea, and we may be heading back to an underwater future as the ice cap dissolves.

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The consequences, in fashion terms? Well, it was a onenote, unmissable formula of the kind several other designers have decided is the way to communicate this season. McQueen’s message throughout was essentially sunk into the short dress—a steady development of his engineered sea-reptile prints, worked into a nipped-waist, belled-skirt silhouette. The colors—first green and brown, moving to aqua and blue—were exceptionally executed and swagged, and molded across panniered structures. Each dress was a work of computer-generated art crossbred with McQueen’s couture-based signature cut. In a section in which it looked as if McQueen was envisaging a biological hybridization of women with sea mammals, there were trousers whose bulbous flanks mimicked the skin of sharks or dolphins. A reminder of his taste in Savile Row tailoring came via a few looks in which formfitting gray men’s fabric was cut away to reveal “portholes” filled with turquoise (an effect akin to the view from a glass-bottomed boat). Finally, then? Although there was nothing to show McQueen breaking out from his set design mold, the way he’s embracing new computer technologies and the drama of the moving image puts him at the leading edge of change.

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Angels ALEXANDER MCQUEEN took his own life before his collection was released. When his mother passed away, it was proven too difficult for McQueen to handle as he dealt with his drug addictions and past trauma. The death of Isabella Blow and his mother pushed him to the edge. A moment of poignancy that it is difficult to put into words, the presentation of Alexander McQueenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s final collection in Paris today will remain one of the resounding fashion memories of the editors who had gathered in the PPR headquarters to see it.

An extraordinary display of his incredible talent, the looks we were presented with could have been created as a museum piece in homage to him.

mohicans that were sprayed stiff with gold and black paint. Their bodies were tightly encased in red or nude fabric that was brought into gentle relief by gold foil embroidery, their short skirts gathered as a curtain encircling their hips. Every piece was exquisite. Crocodile skin ankle boots were laced above ornate metallic gold floral lattice platforms, the heels of which were golden cherubs entwined with ivy and broken skulls. Some had angel wings of gold leather reaching up the ankle. The paintings of Heironymus Bosch, Botticelli and Hugo van der Goes could be glimpsed as digitally printed silk bodices that were wound around the body in religious references, which made this experience all the more emotive.

They likely will be in the future and it was inconceivable as we watched them that the designer could have done so fine a job in creating them and yet not be here to see them appreciated by his many devoted fans. From the first moment, for all its melancholy and great sadness, this show was absolutely McQueen. The modelsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; heads had been bandaged and moulded with leaf or feathered

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and demons To a backdrop of classical music, models appeared in expertly embroidered jacquards and vintage brocades, with bullet pleats and stiff drapes playing out their shoulders and hips into medieval proportions. One stiff skirt was raised on one side to reveal an underskirt of stiffened, individually dyed feathers, another gold frock coat with a raised collar was made entirely of the same feathers, the dress beneath it bursting into a layered tulle skirt, its top layer skimmed with fine gold embroidery.

Every piece was exquisite and entirely original; every detail – from the jewelled and latticed bodice of a light layered grey chiffon dress to the metallic gold sequins clustered noisily over the skirt of a red duchesse satin robe – was painstakingly precise. “All the patterns in this collection were cut on the stand by Lee Alexander McQueen,” we were told.

Dresses cut from a single bolt of fabric had trumpet sleeves and featured embroidery that looked like original versions of the Byzantine art that had inspired them, their regal status perfectly reflected in the ornate gold surrounds of this building on Rue Francois 1er.

“Each piece is unique, as was he.”

Perhaps most awe-inspiring of all were grey-ongrey layered chiffon dresses with deep V-necklines on either side of which were sculptural prints of saints with their hands raised giving benediction, their angel wings in subtle print on the back and sides of heavy silk cloaks.

The impact of McQueen could still be felt across the Fashion World. Many new designers try to immulate and honour the late designer. There’s always a question if we could ever find another designer as theatric and impactful as him but we know there will never be anyone who is McQueen.

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RICK OWENS

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FW 2019

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WHO IS IRI S VAN HERPEN Iris van Herpen is a Dutch fashion designer and couturier renowned for her futuristic, darkly fantastical aesthetic, which she has shown during Couture Week in Paris.

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Van Herpen’s designs are hypnotic garments based on multilayered kinetic sculptures. Her early adoption of 3D printing technologies placed her in the vanguard of the technology’s introduction into fashion, favoured by the likes of Lady Gaga, Björk and Tilda Swindon. Growing up in the small town Wamel, the dutch fashion designer creatively expressed herself through painting, dance and playing the violin, before she was introduced to the transformative power of fashion upon entering high school. Van Herpen learned to sew, cut patterns and embroider, a discovery that led her to study Fashion Design at Artez Institute of the Arts Arnhem and intern at Alexander McQueen in London and Claudy Jongstra in Amsterdam, where Van Herpen polished her handiwork. The dutch designer eventually opened her own label in 2007. Drawn to traditional craftsmanship in fashion Van Herpen began laser cutting and printing her detailed designs that would soon evolve into haute couture gowns.

Nanine Linning, visual artist Bart Hess, Philip Beesley, Stephen Jones and Irene Bussemaker, shoe brand United Nude, filmmaker Zach Gold, and jewellery designer Heaven Tanudiredja, along with director and filmmaker Joost Vandebrug. For her latest collections, Van Herpen partnered with artists such as Anthony Howe and architect Neri Oxmann, making a name for herself with her unconventional material use, including transparent acrylic, silicone, microfiber fabric and polyester film lace. Since 2011, the designer has showed at Paris Fashion Week, under the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture.

Her first collection in 2007, featured the brass ribs of 700 umbrellas reassembled to fashion her garments, an unprecedented move that caught the attention of The Groninger Museum, that offered to buy some of the collection. Van Herpen collaborates with the Belgian company Materialise NV for the printing of her designs and has partnered with a number of artists from various disciplines, often on a recurring basis, including choreographer and dancer

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With its sculptural and architectural nature, Van Herpen’s designs are exhibited in various museums, including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Royal Museum in Toronto and the Groninger Museum. Van Herpen’s scientific inclination has also led to collaborations with CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 2011, Van Herpen’s 3D printed garments were included in Time Magazine’s list of 50 Best Inventions of that year, while she was also awarded the ANDAM Gran Prix Award in 2014, The European Commission’s 2016 STARTS Prize, and the Dutch state prize for the arts, the Johanness Vermeer Award in 2017. Van Herpen is often hailed as a pioneer in utilizing 3D printing as a garment construction technique, and as an innovator who is comfortable with using technology as one of the guiding principles in her work because of its sculptural nature and unfamiliar form.

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RUNWAY REVIEW

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IRIS VAN HERPEN

SPRING 2020 HAUTE COUTURE By this point in her career, and with sufficient time for R&D, Iris Van Herpen can evoke

just about any pattern in nature: plant membranes, feathers, fossils, fins, bubbles, sound waves—the current list is long and impressive. For this collection, along

with exploring the branching forms of dendrites and deep-sea hydrozoa organisms, she seemed to be evoking their natural and varied states of movement.

The first model to emerge out of darkness wore a gown featuring an intricate

laser-cut black leather corset. But what caught the eye was when she began gently waving her arms so that the pleated sleeves became billowing extensions of a root structure. Further on, sound waves painted and printed onto organza spheres were layered as a tiered dimensional shape that oscillated as though underwater. Additional designs—each attesting to Van Herpen’s technical and artistic legerdemain—fluttered, flowed, and reverberated in step with the models who,

themselves, swished around the central stage like marine animals. Even an oilpainted depiction of water by Shelee Carruthers streamed softly across a loosely shaped, diaphanous dress. Although we have observed intriguing, quivering movements from her in the past, certain others tended towards stiff.

Today, what rigidity remained was attributable

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Van Herpen, who was a dancer before she was a designer, explained backstage that these movements and gestures represent a long journey towards animating her designs. “Sometimes a fabric feels dead to me,” she said.

“I try to really bring transformation and life into my work and it’s hard because clothes and fabrics aren’t made to live but that’s maybe my ultimate dream.” In the meantime, the dendrite drawings of neuroscientist Santiago Rámon y Cajal and

the hydrozoa organisms provided Van Herpen with “micro and macro worlds that are really unexplored.” There were instances

where she seemed over-stimulated by their potential—from the vaporous bursts of red and blue to the extreme, spine-like contouring and “splashes of living lace.” Yet much the same

way that Leonardo da Vinci (whom Van Herpen

reads) would make parallels between the motions of

the mind, the motions of the body, and the motions of the universe, she says of her work, “it is not really me that I’m looking for, but my connection to

the rest of the world around me.” When her designs appear in the real world, they often

look otherworldly. Or else, as several do here, they imply any number of collisions between

humans and nature, which is what makes her a relevant couturier through the start of this next decade.

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ANN DEMEULEMEESTER

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ANN DEMEULEMEESTER

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Meet the central saint martins student behind that viral balloon collection everyone’s talking about. Fredrik Tjaerandsen’s BA graduate collection blew up the moment it hit the runway.

The inflated piece in front of us forms part of his graduate collection; a hybrid of balloons and clothing that Fredrik presented at the college’s annual BA graduate press show five days ago. The last of 43 fashion graduates to show their work, videos of his collection had gone viral before the last balloon had even left the runway. Instagram feeds were filled with the vast multicoloured structures moving slowly and delicately through

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CSM’s central hall; some pieces remaining inflated, others deflating elegantly into differently shaped draped garments. With every deflation came a round of applause from the audience. Following a standing ovation from some of the audience, Fredrik was presented with the L’Oreal Professional Young Talent Award. Not long after, celebrities were soon getting in touch with Fredrik to congratulate him, from fashion critic Tim Blanks to music icon Erykah Badu. “She DMd me saying she loved it,” Fredrik says, holding up a short back and forth on Instagram filled with multicoloured love hearts and smiley emojis. “I really didn’t think it would be this big. I was shocked after the initial assessment show, because I went from 1000 to 1600 followers. That was already a big deal. Now this happened. It just exploded... last week I had a thousand followers, and now I have 70,000.”

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This mixture of disciplines -- just one of the reasons why the college is so revered -- allowed Fredrik to conceptualise new possibilities in garment making and thus create something so boundary-pushing.

“In “first year I made a lot of clothes. Nicely made pattern-cut clothes. In the second year I started exploring more abstract ideas. What can a garment be? What are the limitations of it?”

He continues: “We have two tutors [on CSM’s BA Fashion Womenswear], one is a visual artist [AnnaNicole Ziesche], the other is a fashion designer [Heather Sproat]. They just really push you creatively. I remember we had this [garment-making] project at the beginning of the second year. It went really well for me, because I know how to make and pattern cut things, and one of my tutors says, ‘Ok we know you can make and pattern cut, but what else can you?’ and that really stuck with me. That’s when I started doing these more abstract things.”

Fredrik grew up in a small town in Norway and came to London to study a foundation at CSM after leaving high school. “I always did art, but then I sort of got into fashion when I was about 15. I liked sewing and pattern cutting, and then I found out about this school,” he says, vgesturing around at the CSM studio we’re sat in. “I had applied for the fashion foundation here, but didn’t get in. I got into diagnostic instead,” referring to the college’s generalised arts foundation course. “They told me I was better suited to it. So I did sculpture, and I was very close to doing sculpture instead of fashion for BA. I’m still trying to keep those elements of sculpture... I’ve always been very multidisciplinary.”

“I always try on every piece,” he explains. “I want to see the function of it.”

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The starting point for the BA collection was “unclear childhood memories,” Fredrik says, flicking between videos and images of their creation on his laptop. “I really wanted to have this idea of capturing that mist... Sometimes there are these images that I can’t really put into a place or a time. It’s just that general feeling of fogginess, mist. The way I work, it’s very ambiguous, full of things that I can’t really explain. But I’m trying to make work that gives you that feeling.” Throughout all these images and videos, Fredrik is inside the outfits.

ANTI His own movements within his designs feel as important as the final product. “We have an exhibition in a couple of weeks, so I’m hoping I can show some of the videos. My work is more about the process... I experiment with material, relating it to the body. “This is one of the bigger bubbles,” he says, pointing to another video of himself inside one of the balloon sculptures. “It didn’t fit in the show. I have like four that have exploded, completely destroyed. In the last show, one of them exploded, so I think I’ve made 12 or 13. The space was limited, so I had to really plan and get people out at the right time. Because some of them didn’t deflate on stage, the green and yellow ones crashed backstage. We tried to push them to the walls so they could pass through, but one just popped in the end. I had to remake that one for the press show and it’s now in orange. I think that looked a bit better.”

Also people kept on touching them. Afterwards I saw videos of people touching them. I thought that was quite nice, because it gives you something different... you just had to touch it! Although, if it had burst, then I would’ve minded,” Luckily, no disaster stuck the night of the press show. “I had so much anxiety about it though. All the models were stood in the staircase in the corner... they were just so close to the corner! All the models were really afraid they were going to burst. Fredrik laughs. Never has the headline, “meet the designer about to blow up” been so apt ;-)

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photo of designer

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INTRODUCING YOUNG NEW FRENCH DESIGNER

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Ludovic de Saint Sernin is a 27 year old French designer who lives and works between Paris and London. He graduated in Fashion Design from l’ ESAA Duperré and was a member of the design team at Balmain before launching his own label in 2017. He has presented two collections during the Paris Men’s Fashion Week (SS18 and AW18), while he presents on male models each collection is designed to be worn by women as well. For his second collection Ludovic collaborated with Repettoon a capsule of ballet inspired shoes, also for men and women. In January 2018 he participated in ANNEX, an exhibition of visual artists at M+B gallery in LA. Paris-based designer Ludovic de Saint Sernin cut his teeth as an embellishment expert at Balmain for two years before founding his namesake label in 2017. After just two seasons, the label was nominated for the 2018 edition of the LVMH prize. Taking inspiration from artists like Robert Mapplethorpe, de Saint Sernin uses clothing to explore facets of gay sexuality. Born in Brussels, de Saint Sernin grew up on the Ivory Coast before moving to Paris at the age of seven. After studying womenswear at École Duperré, he interned at Dior and Saint Laurent before joining Balmain, where he stayed for two years. “I can’t tell you how many eyelets I’ve sewn into garments” he told AnOther, remembering his time at the fashion house.

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ANTI internships at Saint Laurent and Balmain, I got my first job at the Balmain womenswear studio under the creative direction of Olivier Rousteing. Originally, my first collection was womenswear, then I met my fittings model Raphael via Instagram and the inspirations and collection naturally evolved towards menswear. So menswear for me is a new era full of possibilities which are closer to my emotions and my aesthetic. I like the idea of a woman being able to look at one of the boys from the presentation and thinking she could wear that same look. So you could say my vision of fashion is quite personal. For me, this collection is a coming-of-age story. Who is the Ludovic de Saint Sernin man? The freedom of being able to wear whatever you want is vital for me. So the Ludovic de Saint Sernin man is liberated, he knows what he represents and what he wants to express through his look. Who is Ludovic Saint Sernin?

His designs, campaigns and runway shows, applying the ’90s supermodel era to men’s clothing, have positioned Ludovic de Saint Sernin as one of the raciest menswear brands on the market. The brand’s sexiness relies on a careful game of Tom Ford -atGucci-era hide-and-seek — balancing exactly how much to give away and how much to hide. Known for his signature lace-up leather brief, the former Balmain embellishment expert launched his label in 2017 and has captured industry attention for his exploration of sex and sexuality through clothing. Elements of the New York S&M scene in the ‘70s and ‘80s can be seen in his collections, which feature cropped leather tank tops, lavender and pink tailoring, and leather lace-up trousers. Since his Spring/Summer 2018 debut at Paris Fashion Week, the designer’s lace-up eyelet brief has become a signature. The brief has been repeated in different fabrics including leopard and sparkling rhinestones, and now represents almost 40 percent of the brand’s sales. Most recently, de Saint Sernin also ventured into womenswear, creating a small, standalone collection.

There is also a balance between elegance and the expression of recently awakened sexuality.

I was born in Brussels; I grew up in Africa and have lived in Paris since the age of seven. I’m now based in Paris and London and presented my first Spring/Summer 2018 collection during Menswear Fashion Week this June at Villa Rose, a mansion in Paris’ ninth district. Although I showed on male models, the collection is unisex.

Could you describe your work with three inspirations? Three inspirations: pop culture, art and sex. And in three words?

What is your vision of fashion?

Three words: artisanal, subtle and sensual.

Until this year, my primary focus was women. I studied Womenswear at Duperré in Paris and after a few

ANTI Nudity plays a vital role in your work, why is this? Nudity plays a vital role in my work as much as sexuality does. It represents the discovery of a man’s body. My work is largely influenced by Robert Mapplethorpe’s photography, who celebrates the body, sex and gay culture. My first collection comprised 10 looks but what most people didn’t know what that there was an 11 look: a boy wearing only a mesh jockstrap which pays homage to one of Mapplethorpe’s famous penis images. The jockstrap made a small appearance under a coat and only a few curious people noticed it. We took a superb picture at the end of the presentation to immortalize the moment. Tell us about your first collection: If Ludovic de Saint Sernin had to address men with one statement, what would that be? As clichéd as this may seem, I think that the best statement is to be yourself. And that’s exactly what this collection is all about. Self-expression, the search of identity and sexuality are infinite sources of inspiration. And what touches me the most is that as personal as this collection is, it seems to resonate with many people. How do you think you stand out in men’s ready-to-wear? The way I work is very personal and is based on my own life. Each piece tells its own story. For instance in look three, the top is inspired by my first trip to Japan and it takes the form of a material bag I bought in Kyoto, I made it twice the size and I chose to make it in leather because it’s one of my go-to materials. The pants are a reference

to Christina Aguilera’s Stripper album cover which I had on repeat 15 years ago. The material comes from Tokyo and the lacing reminded me of the all-nighters spent putting in eyelets at Balmain. There are also ceramic pieces from looks five and seven that I created in collaboration with a London-based designer, every piece is unique!. What are your feelings about the status and the challenges of being a young designer in 2017? I was discussing this exact topic with an American friend recently, who was telling me that in New York it was very simple and super quick to start up a business. I have the impression that it’s not as easy in Paris. But I think it’s what makes this experience so rich because I’m not just a designer, I have to manage my label and everything that comes with it and I’m learning new things every day. Today for instance I’m sending my first order over to The Webster in New York. I met Clara Cornet in Paris who came to have a look at the collection at my apartment and she fell in love with one of the jackets - she ordered it straight away in exclusive colors for The Webster. Since then, three Japanese boutiques have also

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placed orders. What are you not a fan of in today’s male fashion, what would you like to see evolve? I prefer to focus on the positive, I have the impression that things are evolving and men’s fashion is becoming more and more wide-ranging and interesting. I don’t really look at fashion as being masculine or feminine. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s on a man or a woman until the moment I see something that I like. Who are your fashion icons? Helmut Lang, The Row and Issey Miyake.

What’s your current obsession? Call me by your name! I read the book in California this summer and I’m finally seeing the film in London next week, I’m so pumped! Three Instagram accounts I’m currently inspired by are: @thatbagisfake @oneofakind.archive @beforeyoukillusall Finally, how would you define beauty? I think being natural and authentic reveals

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INTO THE VOID MODEL: FARIDA HAMMOUDA

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Due to recent events happening in the world, people are staying home and isolating themselves. Despite it helping reducinng the curve, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help that sense of anxiety, insignifiance and the craving for the fresh air on our skin. One of the ways some try to cope with our current new life is through fashion as it has always been a medium for many to express themselves and give our lives some meaning. Anti fashion is no exception as it has always been a form where it goes against what is considere the fashion norm.

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RINGS: :LEFT HAND FROM THE GREAT FROG RIGHT HAND: STAATS BALLET TRENCH COAT: YOHJI YAMAMOTO SCARF: 92 SECOND HAND

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SHOES: DOC MARTENS JUMPSUIT : ISSEY MIYAKE

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SHOES: DR. MARTENS DRESS: ACNE STUDIO

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RINGS LEFT FROM RIGHT: The great Frog Small Feather setting Ring Secondhand left ring The great Frog Rose Ring

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power, or psyche. The decorum of the corseted era Dilara Findikoglu loves to reference says that women are supposed to be quiet. They are to be kept busy with their thoughts and their handicrafts, not interfering with matters of philosophy, Findikoglu, if it’s not immediately obvious, is not the type to sit idly by. She is a furious creator who injects cultural commentary into each of her collections, having spoken out about climate change, women’s rights, marriage equality, and gender disparity in recent seasons. For fall 2020, she’s speaking out for herself. Backstage, Findikoglu explained how events in her personal life led her into a deep introspection. She psychoanalyzed herself in this collection, christening her models into two sects: light Dilara and dark Dilara. The division didn’t exactly correlate to a color palette or silhouette but was more about mood. As is her habit, each look was named. Mother was a blooming harness top in fuchsia with a red, slashed-away maxiskirt. Self Destruction was a viciously ruched dress that appeared on the runway on a model holding a snow-white cat. (Findikoglu mentioned the idea of a crazy cat lady as a shorthand for madness.) Borderline was a ruched black bodysuit, Power was a pale blue menswear suit, Insecurity was strips of silver fabric with floral appliqués worn with a bridal veil that came after Future, a similar

ensemble cut out of blood red fabric. Modesty and Overthinking were both miniature poufs, one asparagus green with a Cristóbal-meets-Cardin headpiece, the other with the same headpiece rendered in black and white flowers. The set for these looks was a bombed-out dinner party, bottles of red wine spilled on tables of berries and grapes. Models wore powdered faces, slinking between the tables, ruffling guests’ hair, or reaching down for a quick bite. The theatrics of a Findikoglu experience rival that of designers who have been at this 10 times as long as she and who operate with 10 times her budget. Where she advanced leaps and bounds this season was in her ability to translate her passion into clothing to actually be worn.

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Power was a pale blue menswear suit, Insecurity was strips of silver fabric with floral appliqués worn with a bridal veil that came after Future, a similar ensemble cut out of blood red fabric. These pieces were still hauntingly referential to her ghosts and spirits but with a contemporary twist. See her first look out, a crimson tweedy skirt suit with a logo belt. It was called—quite cheekily—Gabrielle (as in Chanel). Sisterhood 1, a micro-mini iteration of the suit in pale pink, was another salable option. Enfant Terrible, long-sleeved corset top with low-slung skirt, would work nicely for day-job goths, as would Real World, Findikoglu’s version of a business suit with pointed breasts darted into its vest and high-cut briefs stitched into the trouser. The message to decode there won’t be hard to read.

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The best piece, and possibly the most radical was Istanbul. Named after Findikoglu’s home city, the look was a photo print of belly dancing attire on stretch jersey that hugged the body like.

It was the first time she’s made anything that simple, stretchy, and unadorned—and the ensemble that resonated the most with her personal past. People will want to buy it and wear it, and when they do, they’ll be getting a special slice of Dilara.

Look 13: IstanbUL

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The designer’s favourite look from the show, a photo print of belly dancing attire on stretch jersey

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