When art is fashion...

Since the last post I was raving on RTW designs, this time I would like to show some fashion design that are on a different level.

Sometimes fashion is considered a piece of art, which is a concept of the designer that would never became pret-a-porter. Like the stunning show S/S 2007 by Hussein Chalayan, a designer who has a mind of an architect and always put art and concept before wearability.

"Chalayan is the designer who pushes clothes to the point where they become sculpture, furniture or even architecture. While most fashion design seems to be obsessed with glamour, Chalayan's work is conceptual and political." - except from Icon Magazine, UK.

I think it is true that a lot of time fashion is considered as "that piece that Kate Moss/Mischa Barton/Rachel Bilson wore", especially in the states, fashion is lead by celebrities (now even fashion magazine covers are celebrities), designers would give away 10-100K worth of clothings to celebrities just so their designs can appear on the media. It definitely pumps up the brand's image and induce sales, and the phenomenon shows that people are really focus on the business side of fashion, what is sell-able and wearable. Even on Project Runway, Nina "Gaga" and Heidi always have comment on the design by whether they can imagine themselves wearing the garment or not. I mean, there is nothing wrong with fashion being wearable, glamorous or practical, but it should not be settled in as "just that".

Another designer that I recently spotted is Sandra Backlund, to me, this Swedish designer has a perfect sense of art, beauty and fashion. Her design is kind of in between wearable and concept art pieces, I found this intro on her site tells a lot about the designer's concept and work:

"Collage is my passion. In the same way that I like collage in picture form, it is also the way I prefer to work with fashion. I never make a sketch for a garment and then implement the sketch, but improvise from the ideas in my head. I work with a lot of small parts which I turn, twist and attach in different ways to build the shape that I want. The handicraft process and the handmade feeling is very significant. I do experiment a lot with different kinds of material and handicraft methods, but knitting is one technique which I keep returning to. I think it is important that we take responsibility and preserve ancient handicraft techniques which will die out if we do not carry them forward to a new level. Consciously I don´t think much about trends, it is more the feeling of timelessness that fascinates me. For me, fashion will always be the perfect combination of tradition and renewal." - From sandrabacklund.com

while I wouldn't wear anything that is made out of human hair (on far right), I have to say that is an amazingly beautiful top. Her work on volume and proportion with wool (first) and origami (third) are phenomenon. And then there is this knit crochet baby doll dress (second) that I would absolutely love to wear to parties.