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Share With Me The Sun (and The Bright Shades): Rachael Sansom and Chelsea Levinson (Academy of Art University Special – Part 5)

The Academy of Art University Special continues today with a collection by a graduate duo, Rachael Sansom and Chelsea Levinson. This interview was originally done for Zoot Magazine. 

Painter David Hockney is famous for his realistic style and vibrant colours that often infuse a sense of optimism and joy in his work.

Inspired by his work portraying life in Los Angeles in the '60s and the '70s, Rachael Sansom, BFA Fashion and Textile Design, came up with a sun-drenched collection in which eye-popping colours - from electric blue to bright orange, yellow and green -  borrowed from paintings such as “Large Interior” prevail.

Sansom's collection was completed by elaborate knits by Chelsea Levinson, BFA Knitwear Designer, that added dimension and texture to the collection.

Can you tell us more about your background?
Rachael Sansom: I am from Folsom, CA, in Sacramento County and I attended community colleges there for two years before I came to the Academy. It was a great experience because my teachers were amazing artists and my classmates were very inspiring. I played violin in orchestras growing up and during college, and ran cross country in high school which helped shape me for what was to come.
Chelsea Levinson: Originally I’m from Las Vegas, Nevada. I always loved making things but never seriously considered it as a career path. After applying to several colleges, I realised that I wanted to go into fashion design. Unfortunately at that time it was too late to apply for any of the New York schools, but it all worked out because I ended up at AAU and it's been really great. I discovered knitwear design, which I found out could be my major! I love the more hands-on approach to design that comes with creating the actual textile in addition to the garment itself. Also, I love San Francisco so much and I’m glad to be so close to home.

Who has been the greatest influence on your career choices?
Rachael Sansom: The greatest influence on my career choice was walking around the mall looking for an obligatory prom dress and realising that I hated everything and had a certain point of view that was not being represented, even though at that time I did not necessarily know what it was and didn't care about prom dresses in the first place. The desire to shed these feelings of negativity and frustration at the banality and stagnation that is apparent in so many places was strong at the time and it's still strong now. It makes me want to have a career that changes this environment while being surrounded by other people who aspire to do the same. Christian Lacroix is my favorite designer, and without seeing his work years ago I do not think I would know of the magical potential that fashion can have. Hussein Chalayan and Alexander McQueen were also early influences on me because their passion radiated from everything they did, and were full of innovation and exquisite ideas.
Chelsea Levinson: I really admire independent designers such as Annie Larsen of ALL Knitwear. I’ve always imagined myself starting a business of some kind and I love how Annie found her niche (colorful jacquard sweaters in many variations) and ran with it. If I don’t find a job right away, I’m going to start making and selling sweaters and/or accessories. The greatest influence on my choices, though, is definitely my family and friends who are so endlessly supportive of any idea I have.

Can you tell us more about your creative process?
Rachael Sansom: My creative process is an exploration into how to make something that is really inspiring me at the moment into something tangible, different and exciting. It usually begins with me being obsessed with something, and ends with having been able to minimize my distractions about other new obsessions in order to finish the project on time. I become pretty reclusive during this process, especially when working at school, for I just like to concentrate on what I am making, everything that is inspiring me at the moment, and not a lot of extra things.
Chelsea Levinson: One major thing I love about knitwear is working with yarn. I spend a substantial amount of time at the beginning of any project first working out the colour concept and then finding the right yarns. Usually I pick way too many and they naturally get edited down during swatch development, which is the next step. I do visual research - this step actually comes before the yarn selection - which enables me to envision textiles when I look at the images. Then I spend days or weeks or months, depending on deadlines, in front of a knitting machine developing swatches. From there I begin to design garments. Sometimes I have a garment in mind before making the swatches but usually I let the textiles inspire the garments.

How did you feel at showcasing your collection at the Academy of the Arts fashion show?
Rachael Sansom: It was really exciting and inspiring to show my collection at the fashion show because the annual event is always really professional and thorough. I got a lot of positive feedback after the collection from my family, peers and underclassmen that I work with, so that was great. One of my favorite teachers, John, told me how much he liked it and that meant a lot to me. People liked the colours a lot, which is something I will always use because they make one feel happy and alive, if not a little jolted. I'm hoping to send a sort of package of imagery and illustration of the collection after we get it shot to my favorite band, Portugal. The Man. Their most recent album, specifically the song "Share With Me The Sun", was really inspiring to me while making it and had a creative impact on the collection, so hopefully they will like it!
Chelsea Levinson: I was so happy and proud to be picked for the show. It’s something I’ve been working towards for the past five years. During the show I was so nervous and excited. I was having heart palpitations until after our collection walked. Since the show, I got so much positive feedback from family and friends and even from people I haven’t met before. People keep asking me to make them things, which is really flattering.

What inspired your collection?
Rachael Sansom: This collection is predominantly inspired by topiary gardens, which I have always been fascinated with. I had just gotten back from visiting the Met in New York City over summer and a David Hockney painting there really moved me, so I became enamored with him and his work. The two fit together because a lot of his work from the '60s and '70s features landscapes and garden foliage, along with interesting characters. So, this story kind of formed about a bunch of my favorite, underdog artists like Hockney, John Waters, Kurt Cobain, and Tyler, the Creator hanging out together at a really cool, vivid garden party, if they wore women's clothes of course!
Chelsea Levinson: I used Rachael’s collection as a starting point for designing the knits. There was already somewhat of an idea of which garments from her collection would be knit so I used her printed textiles to inspire some jacquards and did my own research on gardens also.

Did you find any stages of your collaboration difficult or challenging?
Rachael Sansom: We came about to collaborating together after Week 7 of the Fall semester, during Pre-Collection judging. The fashion directors thought that the direction my collection was going in would greatly benefit from having knitwear, as it was already very textiles-oriented. I am so happy they did, because I really enjoy knitwear, along with the addition of texture and pattern it brings. There were definitely challenging stages of the collaboration, because we operate in two totally different worlds, both technically and aesthetically, but luckily there was enough overlap to make it work. Plus, I think our differences made the garments stronger in the end because they created balance and brought new techniques to the collection. What I learnt most from senior collection came from this process of working in a partnership or team, especially when separate skill sets are involved. I learnt that there can never be enough communication, and compromise has to happen or else you will go insane and risk not finishing.
Chelsea Levinson: I had submitted my own collection around October and, after reviewing everyone’s work, the directors of the department put us together, I think because of the different patterns/textures we both used in our collections. The thing I found most challenging about this was coming into the project after so much had already been planned. I was able to design the knits but there was already an idea of which garments I would be making. It was also really difficult to find yarns bright enough for Rachael’s colour story. I don’t usually use such saturated colors so it was a challenge at first but I ended up becoming obsessed with bright orange. Now everything looks super desaturated to me, even when it’s actually bright for normal standards. Overall, working with Rachael on this collection was a really enjoyable experience.

What kind of materials did you use for your collection?
Rachael Sansom: I used all cotton fabrics, including organic cotton twill, poplin, and voile and cotton pimatex. I also used water-based pigments for my silkscreened prints, and a chemical mixture for the discharge printing that removed the red dye from the striped fabric.
Chelsea Levinson: I used whatever yarns I could find in the colors I needed. I mainly employed cotton and bamboo. Everything was ordered from New York or found in the yarn closet at school except the neon pink Lurex which was ordered from France.

What are your future plans?
Rachael Sansom: My future plans include going to Paris in the Fall to study at L'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne for a year, for I was fortunate enough to be chosen for one of the Sister Cities scholarships at my school. I hope to intern at Jean Charles de Castelbajac or Kenzo while I'm there, and my dream is to work for Henrik Vibskov within the next couple of years, as he is multi-talented and represents everything I think fashion should be. It would also be amazing to study in Antwerp, but as much as I love being in school, I am at the point in my life where I just want to step out into the real world and learn from everyone, everywhere.
Chelsea Levinson: I hope to find a job as a design assistant. However, if that doesn’t work out immediately, I plan to sell items I create both online and in local boutiques. Eventually, I would like to get my Master’s degree. Of course, I will always continue studying knit techniques to further my knowledge of the craft.

All images by Randy Brooke

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Over-Embellished Graphics: Jacqueline Rabot and Julie Seltzer (Academy of Art University Special – Part 4)

The Academy of Art University Special that started on Monday continues. Today we will be looking at a duo of graduates, Jacqueline Rabot and Julie Seltzer. This interview was originally done for Zoot Magazine. 

It is a great feeling to be able to work on your graduate collection for a fashion student as that marks the end of your studies and the beginning of an entirely different period of your professional life.

Yet it is even greater for two students from different disciplines to team up and work together on their final project, exchanging ideas and inspirations.

This is what happened to Jacqueline Rabot, BFA Fashion Design, and Julie Seltzer, BFA Textile Design. Rabot mixed in her designs vintage fabrics, graphic patterns and 3D textures that, paired with textiles by Julie Seltzer created with Art Deco shapes in mind, resulted in a grey collection in which colours burst and exploded like bright fireworks on leaden skies.    

Can you tell us more about your backgrounds?
Jacqueline Rabot: I was born in North Tarrytown, NY, and grew up in New Jersey. I've studied with the American University in Rome, Italy, and finished my degree in Fashion Design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA.
Julie Seltzer: I'm from Tucson, AZ. I attended a private college prep high school with a curriculum that had a huge emphasis in the arts. I wanted to attend art school and study fashion since I was six years old and made my own dress for my birthday.

Who has been the greatest influence on your career choices? 
Jacqueline Rabot: The successful people that have been my greatest influences are my teachers, previous bosses and friends. They showed me that with hard work, determination and creativity one can do whatever they have set their mind to.
Julie Seltzer: I think it really ranges, you can go through so many different phases in your life and your tastes in aesthetics change. When I was 8-12 I thought that Donatella Versace, Karl Lagerfeld, and Oscar de la Renta were the height of glamour, then I started college and became obsessed with Jonathan Saunders, Proenza Schouler, Rodarte, Jil Sander, and Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, but right now I think my biggest idols are Miuccia Prada and Marni's Consuelo Castiglioni. They continue to define the smart, chic woman, and they infuse a sense of intelligence and academia into their work that inspires me to continue to develop my mind as well as my skill in Textile Design.

Can you tell us more about your creative processes?
Jacqueline Rabot: I love the inspiration and concept process. My creativity is aroused by my travels and the people I meet. I then look at vintage clothing, fashion magazines and online blogs for further inspiration. My creative process is then a mix of sketching, draping and sewing.
Julie Seltzer: I find almost all my inspirations in contemporary art. I've become enamored with minimalism and geometry, like in the works of conceptual artists Sol Lewitt and Richard Serra. In terms of my design process for our collection, the colour was the most important thing, and I spent a month and a half testing and taking meticulous notes on every step of colour I mixed. After that, the designing was all about simplifying and subtracting. I'm a staunch advocate of the idea of "the artist's hand" being evident in designing, as computers have taken over our industry. I probably made a lot of the design work harder on myself since I refused to design anything (save for the horizontal linear design on two of the skirts) on the computer, but in the end you can see the imperfections, and those happy accidents are what make these garments so special and so important. Mistakes don't always subtract from the sophistication of a design, they can add character, interest, and become more fun to marvel at.

How did you feel at showcasing your collection at the Academy of the Art fashion show?
Jacqueline Rabot: It was definitely exhilarating seeing my past months of work walking down the runway. That one night and the amazing runway shots of my pieces make everything worthwhile.
Julie Seltzer: It was one of the best experiences in my life. You get a high watching something you've been pouring your soul into for months come to fruition. The show's production was so magnificent, and it was the perfect stage for our garments to parade through. We made a truly beautiful, thoughtful, and awe-inspiring (in my opinion, of course) collection, and it was the most wonderful feeling in the world to see it displayed in such a grand manner. We've received an overwhelming reception: Jacqueline and I were mentioned in the New York Times Sunday Style section as one of the "standout presentations" by fashion editor Cathy Horyn and one of our garments was pictured most recently in the San Francisco Chronicle. It's been a whirlwind, and I've never felt such a huge sense of accomplishment. I feel so blessed to have been paired with one of the most creative, hardest working designers in our department, and I think our collaboration was perfect.

What's the theme behind your collection?
Jacqueline Rabot: My collection can be summed up as "over-embellished". The sequined cotton voile and leather were printed and then vintage sequins were embellished on top to create a three-dimensional effect. I was inspired mainly by chandeliers, graphic shapes and vintage fabrics.
Julie Seltzer: Jacqueline came to me with some pieces of vintage fabric and some sourced sequins that were really working for her. The biggest thing for both of us, though, with this collection, was the colour. It was originally going to be very washed out, very faded in beiges and sky blues, but I guess I just can't help but infuse my bright colour addiction into everything I do, so it evolved into this wonderful, zany, amalgam of so many different inspirations. The main idea behind our works is "over embellishment": we had printed fabrics that were pleated and then sequined; we sequined fabrics that were printed and then sequined again and we had leather that was printed and sequined on top of that. The last few weeks of work were just beading, beading and beading. I looked a lot at Art Deco motifs and geometric structures, but in the end we used them as simple prints (vertical lines, horizontal lines, triangles, mini paisleys on the leather), but it was the process in printing them that was the real challenge and back-breaker, as we used the heat transfer technique for everything but the leather.

How did you come about to collaborate together in this collection?
Jacqueline Rabot: I was paired with Julie to establish my vision entirely. I wanted extreme surface textures and using graphic prints would make my designs really pop.
Julie Seltzer: We were paired up by our department directors, Simon Ungless and Rhona MacKenzie. People are paired up for collaboration based on work ethic and aesthetics, but as the months progressed we discovered that we were really brought together based on our personalities more than anything. I was really pleased to be working with someone who works as hard and as tirelessly as I do, but Jacqueline was so wonderful because not once did she complain that she "had so much work to do" or was "so tired". She had a smile on her face throughout the entire process, and it was truly beyond a pleasure to work with her!

What kind of materials did you use for your collection?
Jacqueline Rabot: I used leather, sequined cotton voile, georgette and crepe-back satin. All the sequins I used to decorate the garments were vintage from France and Germany.
Julie Seltzer: We used a cotton voile-backed sequined fabric, and the technique I used to print it was heat transfer, in which you paint sublimation dyes onto a thick paper, let it dry and lay it face down atop a synthetic fabric. You then place the paper and fabric into a heat press (basically two giant steel super-heated plates) and the dyes transfer from the paper to the fabric. The sequins sucked up the color, but the cotton, as it is a natural fibre did not. So, to give it some character, I tea dyed the fabric first before printing. I repeated the heat transfer process on all of the skirts, on the georgette pieces I cut up hundreds on 1/2 inch strips and laid them flat on the skirts, heat pressed them and they were then pleated. There are two skirts in the collection, one short in beige crepe backed satin, the other in grayish green crepe, that we pleated first, and then I printed on them. This process gave them this wonderful quality since, when the skirts are worn, the pleats open and close the printed parts and you see the negative space on the inside of the folds. This added a dynamism and dimension that we really, really liked. I also printed a tiny paisley, with regular screen printing ink onto huge leather skins, some lambskin and some pig, for the jacket and two tops. It was by far the easiest process, but it was strange working with the leather. The lambskin in particular was so soft, and it made it kind of weird to mess with it so much in the printing process. We then sequined everything, using vintage metal sequins from Germany and vintage gelatin sequins that were painted. I like tedious processes so I didn't mind, but, after six hours of sewing individual sequins onto a skirt, it became a little grating, yet it was totally worth it. I love how the garments sparkle and have so much added texture.

What are your future plans?
Jacqueline Rabot: I will be moving to Columbus, Ohio, to work as an Assistant Designer at Abercrombie and Fitch.
Julie Seltzer: I won't graduate until this Fall. I have an internship for textile design at BCBG Max Azria in LA, and I won first place in the trend forecasting company Stylesight's Student Print/Graphics contest in which I was awarded an internship in London. So, after the fall semester, I will be heading to London with Stylesight for a couple of months, and hopefully after that I can either find a way to stay in Europe to work as I want to eventually make my way down to Milan, or return to the US to work in New York. I love the Bay Area and have loved living here for the past five years very much, but there is very few opportunities for textile designers here. I wish I could stay, but I will miss it intensely. Onward and upward!

All images by Randy Brooke

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The Sculptural Way: Zhangchi Wang (Academy of Art University Special – Part 3)

Let's continue the Academy of Art University thread that started on Monday by looking today at the work of another graduate, Zhangchi Wang. This interview was originally done for Zoot Magazine. 

At first glance the grey palette of the collection designed by Academy of Art University BFA graduate Zhangchi Wang may call to mind the shades and consistency of industrial materials such as concrete.

Yet, by looking a bit better at the rigidly linear silhouettes behind the collection, you soon realise that the main inspiration actually comes from somewhere else, sculpture, and in particular traditional Chinese stone carvings and a work of art, "The Dream of China" by Wang Jin (View this photo), a contemporary mixed-media piece embroidered with fishing line.

At times Wang's sculptural clothes look as if they were encasing the body into an oversized shape, cocooning it into a concrete cage.

Together with his colleague Maria Romero, Zhangchi Wang was offered in May an interneship at McQueen's fashion house by its Creative Director, Sarah Burton. Wang also received a scholarship to study at Studio Berçot in Paris, France.

Can you tell us more about your background?
Zhangchi Wang‏: I was born and raised in China in a city near Hong Kong named Shenzhen. I have been studying sketching and painting since the age of ten. After I graduated from high school, I came to the United States.

Who has been the greatest influence on your career choices?
Zhangchi Wang‏: My tutor introduced me to the world of art. I have always been greatly fascinated by all kinds of art. However, it was a book my father gave me when I was thirteen years old that introduced me to the concept of "fashion." The book was Fashion Illustration Skills by A. L. Arnold. I fell in love with the drawings. Then, during my second semester in Fashion Design at the Academy of Art University, I saw the 2009 Fall/Winter collection by Maison Martin Margiela and was so surprised and inspired as I didn't know fashion could be done in such a way. I told myself then that there are so many possibilities in the world of fashion.

Can you tell us more about your creative process: do you sketch or create on the dummy?
Zhangchi Wang‏: The first stage of my creative process is always the image research. From my inspiration I create several fabric manipulations. I may go back and do more image research at this point, but usually I look at fashion history that parallels the artwork that I use as inspiration. I sketch as soon as I have ideas, and continue sketching throughout the whole process.

Your collection is all gray with minimalist and rigid shapes, what inspired the colour palette and the silhouettes?
Zhangchi Wang‏: The colour is supposed to imitate stone, since I was inspired by Chinese stone carving. Classic menswear inspired me in terms of silhouettes and patterns and I played with the proportion to create a broader shoulder and hidden neck. The theme for this collection would be "walking sculpture."

What kind of materials did you use to make your designs?
Zhangchi Wang‏: Wool knit and wool coating were used in the quilting in order to create the texture.

What are your future plans?
Zhangchi Wang‏: I feel so lucky I was offered an internship by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen in London and I am looking forward to working at the fashion house and learning from her and her team!

All images by Randy Brooke

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Doll Tales: Maria Romero (Academy of Art University Special – Part 2)

Let's continue today the Academy of Art University thread that I started yesterday by looking at another graduate, Maria Romero. This interview was originally done for Zoot Magazine. 

In May Sarah Burton, creative director at Alexander McQueen's, was invited to the Academy of Arts University.

After the BFA graduation show she congratulated all of the students for their shows and then offered two of them - Maria Romero and Zhangchi Wang - an internship.

Rather than presenting a proper catwalk show, Romero came up with a film featuring rag dolls dressed up in her darkly elegant gowns. While the film and the setting were meant to be romantic, the mood was nostalgic and harked back to childhood memories and to a world of delicate beauty lost forever.  

Can you tell us more about your background?
Maria Romero: I was born in Santa Barbara, but was raised in a small village called Miramar, Mexico. I stayed there till I was 13, my dad worked the corn fields, my mom was a seamstress and I went to school. Both my grandmothers and their daughters were also seamstresses who crocheted, knitted, sew and embroidered. I always loved sitting with them while they embroidered on Sunday afternoons. I went to school in Mexico until I came to the States. I went to High School in Carpinteria CA, and when I became a senior I already knew I wanted to go into fashion.

Who has been the greatest influence on your career choices?
Maria Romero: My mum has been the biggest inspiration; I grew up watching her make my school uniforms, my clothes and my aunt’s graduation gown. I made my dolls and their dresses, and later on I made my little sisters’ dolls and Halloween outfits. By the time I was a senior in High School, I knew I wanted to go to fashion school and I found the Academy of Art. At the Academy I learnt a lot about the fashion world but one designer who really impressed me was the late Alexander McQueen, and, ever since I saw his shows online, I dreamt of one day working for the house of McQueen.

How did you come up with the idea of the dolls?
Maria Romero: For my creative process I was inspired by my childhood memories of nativity scene ceremonies where a small bag of candy is given to each person at the end, “Reliquias”. The textures and colours of the traditional Mexican candies and nativity scenes were really appealing to me. The memories of a happy child enjoying the time with her loved ones was something I kept thinking about while making my dolls and doing fabric manipulations. The idea of the film came about after showing my teacher, Simon Ungless, a series of draped dresses on a rag doll for my design class. He really liked what I showed him and we agreed on doing something different. The dolls seemed romantic and unique so they needed to come alive. When the movie played on that large LCD screen at the graduation show my heart stopped. I felt so honoured and happy I had the opportunity to showcase my work on such a scale, it was very emotional. I was really thrilled to hear all the positive feedback I was getting after people had seen the film.

Do you feel the dresses are imbued with a sense of nostalgia given the main theme of the collection?
Maria Romero: The dresses are a happy and innocent memory. The textures and the colours are meant to evoke the shades I remember from a long time ago. They are all a combination of a romantic interpretation of the memories of a child during Christmas time.

Was it challenging to make the video?
Maria Romero: Making the video was defiantly challenging, I could not have done it without my team. I admire their skills and hard work and I will forever be grateful for that!

What are your future plans?
Maria Romero: My goal was getting a McQueen internship. I am so excited I'm going to be working in the house of McQueen with Sarah Burton who is such an inspiration to me. I’m just looking forward to seeing where life takes me!  
 
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Twisted Horror Perspectives, Distorted Silhouettes: Mina Fadaie and Renata Lindroos (Academy of Art University Special – Part 1)

New York Fashion Week will soon be upon us, so, as a warm up, I'm republishing interviews I originally did for Zoot Magazine with the Academy of University BFA graduates who showcased their creations in May.

The Academy of Arts University is definitely among the American institutions that, season after season, has gone from strength to strength, producing interesting fashion graduates.

The latest fashion event held in May at the AAU was particularly exciting not only because Sarah Burton, creative director at Alexander McQueen's, and milliner Philip Treacy were given Honorary Doctorates, but because the new batch of graduates were particularly intriguing.

Inspirations came once again from all over the place, from fictional characters and films to the Flemish masters, spirituality, psychedelia and even protein synthesis.

Mina Fadaie, BFA Textile Design, and Renata Lindroos, BFA Fashion Design, chose a terrific – excuse the pun – theme, horror films. The duo perfectly managed to reproduce in the distorted shapes and silhouettes of their pieces the skewed perspectives of the horror movies of their choice.

Can you tell us more about your background?
Mina Fadaie: After a lot of moving around the Bay Area, I ended up in Los Gatos, California, where I went to Los Gatos High School. I took art and fashion design classes there which led me straight into the Academy of Art once I graduated. I started off at AAU studying fashion design and, once I took my first textiles class, I switched my major immediately. I was obsessed with the freedom of the medium.  
Renata Lindroos: I spent most of my life moving around California and lived the longest in Mission Viejo, a city in the suburbs of Southern California. I went to school at Mission Viejo High School and was part of the International Baccalaureate program and of the Academic Decathlon. After I graduated, I started at the Academy of Art University.
 
Who has been the greatest influence on your career choices?
Mina Fadaie: I would say my first textiles teacher, who literally looked me in the eye and said 'You have a lot of imagery in your head ready to come out, you should do textiles'. Simple as that. I believed her, I believed in my work, and I haven't looked back since. As far as designers go, my obsessions are constantly evolving, there isn't any designer that I look to. I'm all over the place.
Renata Lindroos: A girl in middle school noticed I was always drawing clothing or costumes and asked if I wanted to be a fashion designer. The thought never occurred to me despite the piles of sketchbooks that littered my room. I was curious, though, and started learning as much as possible, an effort that was aided immensely by my godmother Eva, the one person I could talk with that knew about different designers and fashion history.

Can you tell us more about how you came up to collaborating together for this collection?
Mina Fadaie: The department heads chose me to work on Renata's collection based on my portfolio and how well it matched the mood she had planned out. We had known each other before just from being in classes together, but the minute I walked into that first meeting it was an instant match. She showed me her inspiration for the collection, I showed her some similar work I had done, and we were in perfect sync throughout.
Renata Lindroos: When I started this collection there was a specific mood I wanted from the garments and I felt that by collaborating with a textile designer we could better achieve this sort of eerie feeling. So, I mentioned my interest in a textile collaboration and after that the heads of our departments decided to partner Mina and I up. It's been magic since our first meeting when I found out her own work had not only the same colours, but the right mood as well. We've been so in sync and it's been such a fantastic experience.

Can you tell us more about the main theme behind your collection?
Mina Fadaie: Renata presented me with her idea of doing a collection based on twisted horror films from the '60s and '70s, but not for their obvious gruesome qualities. It was more the melodrama and exaggerated tension that really caught our attention. I took that inspiration and blended it with the techniques of photographic and silkscreen artists Gerhard Richter and Robert Rauschenberg by taking the movie stills themselves and strategically covering them in different textures of ink. This loose, painterly method amplified the already very dramatic screen shots to create the mood we were after.
Renata Lindroos: The '60s/'70s horror films gave us another kind of antagonist, it wasn't the monster under your bed, but your family, neighbour, or even yourself. It started with Rosemary's Baby by Roman Polanski and kept going with films like Polanski's Repulsion, Georges Franju's Les Yeux Sans Visage, Ingmar Bergman's Hour of the Wolf, Michael Powell's Peeping Tom, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, and so on. There was more uncertainty in these films that created tension and unease for the audience and there was also a distorted perception of the events unfolding. It was that feeling that I wanted to recreate in shape, movement, and in the general mood.

What fascinates you about horror films?
Mina Fadaie: Ironically, I am actually terrified of horror films. I would print in the lab alone late at night and get scared just looking at the textiles. Through this collection, though, I've learned to love them for the fact that, aside from all those classic shocking scenes, they have the most beautifully emotive imagery. These twisted characters, with their eerie demeanour, hold so much power in their simple expressions.
Renata Lindroos: I enjoy getting lost in film and there is something so enigmatic about horror films; I'll sit, terrified, but with eyes transfixed on the screen waiting and watching as I'm begging the protagonist not to enter a room. Everyone remembers an encounter with a truly horrifying film. It just sort of sticks with you and constantly replays in your head as you're turning off the lights and trying to go to bed. I think there is something powerful about that.

What kind of materials did you use to make the collection?
Mina Fadaie: We went through a myriad of fabrics before finally landing on painters' canvas actually from the art store. It had the proper grit to showcase the grainy quality of the photos, and was lightweight enough to be mounted on the buckram material underneath for structure. Each garment was entirely engineered, which means I silkscreen printed every single pattern piece on its own through a mostly blank screen, to get all the ink to blend in and out in just the right spots.
Renata Lindroos: Canvas is the main material for every garment in the collection. Under that is a non-fusible buckram-like plastic that was mounted to the canvas after Mina printed on it. Once mounted the seams were sewn up and then hammered down (pressing wouldn't work for it) and cross-stitched down to keep them in place. A lot of handwork went into this collection and we always joked that it was like building a house!

Would you ever create the costumes for a film?
Mina Fadaie: Oh yes, I think it would be really interesting to see how these garments might look in a horror film all of their own.
Renata Lindroos: Yes! I'd love to create costumes for a science fiction or fantasy film. I'm not sure what kind of director, though, I think it would be a lot of fun to work with someone like Terry Gilliam.

How did you feel at showcasing your collection at the Academy of the Arts  fashion show?
Mina Fadaie: It was so overwhelming. The whole process was so exquisitely demanding that to finally see it on the runway was almost hard to believe. The feedback was amazing: friends, family, classmates, press, everyone was supportive. 
Renata Lindroos: It was unbelievably bizarre and wonderful. After working for months on this collection it was such a rush to be able to fully and finally step back and see it glide by. There was so much fantastic feedback from so many lovely people. I feel so grateful for the experience and it makes me happy to know people enjoyed the collection.

What are your future plans?
Mina Fadaie: I am ready to work. We are lucky enough to be in an ever-changing field where we will be learning forever, so I am ready to jump in as soon as I can!
Renata Lindroos: I'm not entirely sure yet, for now I'll just be working on some other projects and sending out resumes for internships.

All images by Randy Brooke 

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Fashion Postcards from the Moon (for Neil Armstrong)

Three years ago I wrote about the anniversary of the lunar landing and the impact it had on fashion.

Since then I explored further connections between fashion, space discoveries, Apollo missions and inspiring early sci-fi film costumes.

Yesterday Neil Armstrong - US astronaut, Apollo 11 commander and the first man to set foot on the moon on 20 July 1969 - died at 82, so a further tribute to space (and space age fashion...) is due.

Born in 1930, Armstrong was fascinated by aviation from a very young age. He served as a Navy pilot, completed his studies in aerospace engineering and, in the mid-'50s, became a civilian research pilot at the Lewis research centre of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (Naca; later on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or Nasa).

Armstrong worked as a test pilot on high-speed aircrafts and was then chosen by Nasa for its astronaut-training programme. He entered history with the Apollo 11 lunar module mission during which many pictures of the moon were taken together with samples of lunar soil and rocks.

Upon landing Armstrong pronounced a statement that became instantly famous:  "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Fashion designers found space missions very inspiring in the '60s as they opened up new futuristic possibilities regarding shapes, silhouettes and materials.

As a postcard to the late Armstrong I'm posting here some pictures showing three space age looks from the '60s: Irene Galitzine's jumpsuit in quilted vinyl matched with a squarish helmet; Fabiani's scarf-cum-plastic visor (that was supposed to act as a substitute for the classic veiled hat...) and a final futuristic look for any woman landing on the moon by Pierre Cardin.

Armstrong's family issued a statement saying he was "a reluctant American hero who always believed he was just doing his job", highlighting that they hoped he would be "an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves." Maybe that's the real lesson we shouldn't be forgetting about Armstrong: indeed, if all of us would remember it, that would truly be "one giant leap for mankind".

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Pinocchio Was a Punk

The last few posts explored more intense themes, so let's have a break today and make something fun for the weekend.

Fashion has favoured for a long time spikes and studs appliqued on both clothes and accessories. While in some cases they look perfectly fine, in others they seem to be completely out of place, as if a bored designer had sprinkled them on the clothes because they didn't know what else to do.

I started thinking about something to take the piss out of this trend and the first thing that came to my mind was Pinocchio for his spike-like nose and for the fact that his rebellious tendencies make him a punk and an anarchist. This necklace is what came out of this somewhat bizarre but fun inspiration. Have a fun weekend!   

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Elementary Geometry in Art (and Fashion)

A few students got in touch via email after reading yesterday's post to ask further information about some of the artists mentioned and enquiry which of them in my opinion could be used as inspiration for fashion collections.

Well, you could virtually move from any of the artists mentioned in that post since they are all equally exciting, but there is one of them that would lead to interesting experiments, Edoardo Landi.

Born in 1937, he graduated in architecture, but also studied industrial design.

He became part of the Gruppo N collective in 1959 and started supporting the international group called Nuova Tendenza (New Trend).

He is well-known for his use of elementary geometric forms suspended between optical and kinetic art.  

Among his best examples there are Spherical variable reflection (1968) in aluminium, plastic and wood, and his modern reinterpretations of his original optical works in two tones (black/white or red/green) such as Virtual Cube (2004).

I'm sure that Landi's works could lead to exciting experiments on a print level, but also for what regards the choice of materials to employ for both clothes and accessories.

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Programming Art. Olivetti and the Cinetic Neo-vanguards

The Olivetti shop in Venice's Piazza San Marco 101 will get an "old" new look soon. Commissioned in 1957 by Adriano Olivetti and designed by Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa (well known for his Brion Cemetery in San Vito d'Altivole), the shop - opened in 1958 as a showroom for Olivetti typewriters - will host from next week an exhibition entitled "Programmare l’arte. Olivetti e le Neoavanguardie cinetiche" (Programming Art. Olivetti and the Cinetic Neo-vanguards; from 30th August to 14th October 2012).

The event - part of the Collateral Venice Architecture Biennale programme - is aimed at rediscovering the materials presented during an exhibition held in 1962 at the Milan and the Venice-based Olivetti shops that was curated by Bruno Munari, with texts by Umberto Eco and featuring the experimental artists of Gruppo T (Giovanni Anceschi, Davide Boriani, Gianni Colombo, Gabriele De Vecchi, Grazia Varisco) and Gruppo N (Alberto Biasi, Ennio Chiggio, Toni Costa, Edoardo Landi, Manfredo Massironi), alongside Munari, Enzo Mari, Paul Bury and Getulio Alviani.

All the artists presented at the time new works of art characterised by kinetic, electromagnetic and mechanical qualities, creating innovative mobile and variable structures.    

The new event at the Olivetti shop will include 13 works of art, original publicity material by Enzo Mari produced by Olivetti for the 1962 exhibition, alongside an original film shot at the same time with esclusive interviews with the artists and intelllectuals involved, plus original photographs taken by Mario Dondero in 1962, and a documentary about the first mainframe computer produced by Olivetti, the Elea 9000, directed by Nelo Risi. "Programming Art" is highly recommended to all the Munari fans on the lookout for some interesting inspirations and to the admirers of Carlo Scarpa who would like to re-explore the shop. 

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Project for an Architecture and Fashion Event

In a recently published article, the New York Times lamented the fact that the "Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations" exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art wasn't a blockbuster as the McQueen event (according to the article, attendance at Schiap/Prada hit 339,838 against 661,509 viewers – though the McQueen event was extended twice and also received more publicity for obvious reasons).

But the main point when you're organising an exhibition is not numbers or quantity, but quality and the way an event can inspire and engage visitors. Quite a few fashion exhibitions organised in the last few years apart from focusing on one fashion house or designer (less expensive choice, in a way, since you only have to look for specific materials in specific collections and you don't borrow from different collectors/museums) were based on the principle of attracting a lot of visitors and hitting record-breaking numbers. Yet, while interesting or exciting, they didn't manage to actively stimulate visitors beyond the "let me take a picture of this display with my mobile phone for a cool tweet and then we can go"-stage.

I think the time has come to go back to more complex exhibitions that look at different aspects of different designers/fashion houses or that mix at least two disciplines together (by the way, the image illustrating this post shows a piece from Gianfranco Ferré's Autumn/Winter 1984-85, showcased during the '80s in New York at an exhibition exploring creativity in Italian design).      

My choice - but I'm biased here - would be to relaunch a major exhibition looking at fashion and architecture and tackling issues such as shapes, construction and materials. The latest event along these lines was organised in 2008 at London's Somerset House and, since then, a lot of interesting and exciting developments have taken place in these two fields.

As inspiration, I'm posting here one of the first official videos (it's in Italian but the main interview with Chipperfield is in English) about the Venice Architecture Biennale opening next week, please check out the comments of this year's director, David Chipperfield about the main theme of this year's Biennale, "Common Ground" (around 2:29) and the search for something people have in common and share among themselves (guess there are plenty of things we could share between different disciplines such as architecture, fashion and design...). 

   

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