There is a clear architectural dimension in the works of Mark Manders. The Dutch artist builds situations and atmospheres that envelop his sculptures engaging them with the surrounding spaces. Manders also has a talent for merging disparate materials - such as wood, epoxy resin, plastic, bronze and ceramic - into a single entity.
Recent examples of his works are currently on display in the Dutch Pavilion at the 55th International Venice Art Biennale: at times divided in spaces defined by plastic sheets, membranes that make semi-visible to visitors the works of arts surrounding them, the pavilion, designed by architect Gerrit Rietveld, includes a piece made this year entitled "Working Table" (first image in this post).
In this work a large head is wedged between a series of vertical elements - wood staves, two paintings, newspapers and pieces of fabric - held together by leather bands and supported by working tables.
At the rear of the sculpture there is a small table with a chair, so that the sculpture is a work of art, but it's also a symbol of study and labour.
Manders' works tend to escape historicity and any designation in time, so that often they become more actual when and if they are projected in a future context.
Manders' synthesis of material and form, his attention for vertical compositions and his focus on the future indirectly characterise the menswear collection by fashion designer Ran Bi and accessory designer Alexander Toy, both graduates from the School of Fashion at San Francisco's Academy of Art University.
The collection, presented in May during the school's fashion show, was based on strong architectural lines and revolved around a limited range of tones, while focusing on a wider range of materials, from natural wood that hinted at solid office furniture, to more futuristic plastic that, breaking the temporal barriers of chronology, gave the collection a timeless edge and an enigmatic visual impact.
Can you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Ran Bi: I come from Nantong, China. I studied at the Academy of Fine Arts High School in Hangzhou, China, for three years before moving to AAU. My background was actually quite helpful in developing the process behind my fashion pieces.
Alexander Toy: I was born and raised in San Francisco; both my parents are immigrants, my father comes from China and my mother from Europe.
What's the most important thing you learnt from your years at AAU?
Ran Bi: A lot about practice and taking time to make things at their best, while also getting better and better in making them and managing time as well as you can.
Alexander Toy: It’s hard to say. A lot, for sure. I was fortunate that I was able to take classes that were outside of my major. I started as an animator, then I took a bronze class, which really got me into sculpture. I think maybe the most important thing I learned is to grasp as much as you can. Being able to take so many different classes really opened me to a lot of techniques and skills.
How did you feel at showcasing your collection at the AAU fashion show?
Ran Bi: Excited and nervous. I still had a lot of alteration to do before the show started as my pieces were mainly fitted and the models' measurements didn't match even if we had fitting every week.
Alexander Toy: I didn’t know what to expect at first to be honest. I heard a lot of rumors about collaborations being stressful and tough. When I was asked to do it, I was nervous as I knew it would be hard, but I was also aware that, if I did do it, it would be a great professional experience.
Can you take us through the creative process behind your graduate collection?
Ran Bi: I started this project with architecture in mind and in particular with The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco and Tadao Ando's Koshino House. I looked at how natural lights enters in a room, breaking a silent space, and how it creates layers of shadows as time passes throughout the day. I used vinyl, clear plastic, off-white wool, walnut wood and leather to give the collection an '80s-'90s furniture feel, mixing it with the elegance of a dapper man from 1915 to create a tailored and modern vision.
Alexander Toy: When Ran’s collection was explained to me, I had a pretty good sense of what I wanted my part to be like. When I think of men’s wear, I always think it should be very clean and very functional. At first we thought of making badges and hats, more fashion accessories, but, as the ideas grew, we thought of making practical bags and cases. I wanted to do something new when it came to the cases but I also wanted to do something recognizable. For work reasons I go to the Financial District and on my way I started spending time looking at the business wear of commuters, this is where I got the inspiration for the collection. Each of the cases is based on some type of office container. The four cases are based on an envelope, a file folder, an accordion file, and a suitcase. From there, I tried abstracting them, giving them a modern look to match Ran’s collection. I tried to change the seams and plane breaks to match Ran’s seamwork on the garments.
In which way does architecture inform your futuristic rigid shapes and silhouettes?
Ran Bi: I look at those shapes, at the structure of architectural forms and create my garments accordingly, playing with the seams as if I were designing a building.
Alexander Toy: Architecture heavily influenced the shapes of the cases. I’m lucky to live in San Francisco where there are a lot of buildings to look at. I wanted everything to look very sharp. I knew the wood was going to be very organic with sweeping grains and I wanted to contrast this with very sharp lines.
Do you feel that playing with patterns is the best way to create innovative shapes in menswear?
Ran Bi: I like to imagine 3D structures in my mind to foresee a sort of draft for the patterns. I take a lot time to think about patterns in detail. In the case of this collection I added details to patterns such as pocket made using transparent plastic as I thought it would have been nice to look inside from the outside.
What kind of materials did you use for your accessories?
Alexander Toy: Almost exclusively walnut. We wanted to have a wood that was beautiful without being overwhelming in grain or in color. I opted for walnut as it is one of my favorites, it is also very American, even though, for some reason the smell of it when it's sanded always reminds me of my grandparents. I'm not sure why, but for this reason walnut has always had a very comforting appeal to me.
Did you find any stages of your collaboration challenging?
Ran Bi: It was actually what I expected. We did pretty well with this collaboration. I was really lucky to have Alexander working with me.
Alexander Toy: The beginning was hard. We had to build a collection based on both our styles, but we never met each other before let alone worked together. The first few months were just a lot of brainstorming, and getting a sense of each other's styles to have them mesh better. This was tough for me because, if I design something, I usually stick with the idea until the end. In this project, I not only had to have something that matched with my style, it had to fits Ran’s own style, and the collection as a whole. So in the early stages I spent a lot of time designing, redesigning and prototyping different ideas before I actually got to begin on the finished product.
Is there a designer you particularly like?
Ran Bi: Nicolas Ghesquière. I just like everything what he did for Balenciaga - sophisticated and chic.
Alexander Toy: There are a lot of designers I like but one has really been influential to me, Mark Reynolds. Mark was a teacher I had at the Academy of Art. I took his "Golden Section: Sacred Geometry" class a few years ago and ever since almost every line I draw is inspired by him. I have put into every project I've done what I learned about lines and design from him.
What are your future plans?
Ran Bi: I'm preparing my portfolios to find work or internships in the real fashion industry. I wish to adapt my conceptual point of view to functional and accessible clothing for a variety of markets. My vision is that of an elegant dapper man, well dressed in modern tailored yet slightly casual and sporty garments, so my focus is on minimalist and futuristic shapes styled on classic pieces. I would like to work for different companies to get a total picture about the fashion industry, from development and manufacturing to distribution. Dream companies include Balenciaga, Theory and Jil Sander. After that I hope to develop my own label and sell globally to important retailers.
Alexander Toy: I will just be working in the summer, afterwards I'm not sure. At the moment I’m doing small commission work, nothing too crazy, just to keep me working. In the Fall I plan to have a few more projects going. Ran and I had a really good time working together on this collection and we both want to do another collection together.
Images of Ran Bi and Alexander Toy's collection in this post by Randy Brooke/WireImage
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