fashion designers are control freaks. their working studio’s interior and the choices of furniture are all part of their regulated world. in time, it becomes the inspiration.
hussein chalayan first raised the relationship between furniture and fashion in his fall/winter 2000 ‘afterwords’ collection. the runway was constructed like a room. models were sitting on some chairs to start the show. then others dressed in elaborated outfits walked down the runway and around the chairs and the coffee table in the middle. all of a sudden, the next 2 girls in bare gray slips headed straight to the chairs, unzipped the upholstery and started putting it on. it is a dress!
that is not it. the last girl aimed towards the coffee table, took of the lid in the middle, hopped in, and pulled it up. the table transformed into a skirt!
many designers remember that to this day. and it should not be a surprise to see the influence of furniture in fashion. for example, nederland’s iris van herpen’s spring/summer ’08 chemical crows show-stopping dress reminds us of philippine furniture designer kenneth cobonpue’s pigalle armchair (which is heavily covers in the design magazines). tadashi shoji strapless dress is another version of kenneth’s lolah armchair.
the triangular geometry in kostantin grcic’s chair one for magis reflects nicolas ghesquiere futurism perfectly. and his patent leather coat from fall ’08 is uncannily agreeable to the crystal chair by zara hadid.
the latest spring/summer ’09 inertia collection by hussein chalayan was closed by his fantastic pieces that looked like the dresses were stopped in time. inertia, that is an idea that was exploded by william sawaya in 2001 with his twisst chairs.
fashion is mainly an old world technician. some loves being inspired by the vintage pieces or an ancient period theme. most are proud to use the century-year-old unchanged embroidery and beading methods. on the other spectrum, furniture is about science and tomorrow. bravo to those fashion designers that dare to move on with technology.
(first published on jcreport.com on oct. 29 2008)
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