It is undeniable that, in the last few seasons, the fashion industry has proved there is a general lack of new or of genuinely innovative ideas. Blame it on the pressures of powerful luxury conglomerates; blame it on the relentless doomed fashion habit of calling a specific young designer a genius for two seasons and then abandoning them before letting them grow up a bit and develop their ideas and identities; or maybe blame it on what Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of International Monetary Fund, called a month ago in a speech at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University as "the new mediocre". While Ms Lagarde was referring with this definition to the state of the global economy, it would be perfectly possible to apply this label to the lack of fun, joyful and creative designs that can truly improve people's lives. Yet, while "the new mediocre" is the norm, there are also a few exceptions, such as Dutch designer Antoine Peters.
The designer, who has set himself a rather unusual goal in the fashion business – making people smile through his cheerful and tactile products, collections and installations – is back with a one off project for Eastpak, the Lenticular Backpack.Rather than being inspired by one art movement or by a specific artist, Peters has so far gone for a mix of conceptual, surreal and pop inspirations that prompt the wearers to interact with the space surrounding them and communicate with other people.
This project is directly inspired by the designer's Lenticular Dress 1.0 and Peters stated about it in an official press release, "The lenticular backpack brings a little surprise to the individual and his or her environment. The design has a pattern that changes depending on the viewer's angle of perspective, demanding the viewer to suspend the first judgement."
The bag is part of the Eastpak Artist Studio (EAST) project that involves 16 international designers - including Manolo Blahnik and Jean Paul Gaultier among the others - creating a product for the Designers Against AIDS (DAA) charity.
All the designers were asked to use the classic Padded Pak'r® and re-interpret this backpack in their own style, taste and vision. The exclusive bags created will be sold through an online auction on World Aids Day (1st December 2014) and all proceeds will go to Designers Against Aids.
"I am very honored to participate in this edition of Eastpak Artist Studio," Peters continued, "I think it's great that I can use my creativity and design to contribute to the discussion about such an important issue as fighting HIV/Aids."
Reached via email by Irenebrination Peters explained about his designs and the future of fashion: "Fashion is not just about the garment, but for me the space around the garment is just as important. With my garments I take over these spaces literally, and with my graphics and the lenticular designs I influence the space around it also. Fashion is definitely becoming more and more about the interaction."
While Peters' Lenticular Backpack is a great idea for the Eastpak Artist Studio event, it is a bit sad that there are no plans at the moment for officially releasing this design in a proper Eastpak collection.
Ms Lagarde spoke in her speech about "the new momentum" for the global economy, that is "a better path where bold policies would accelerate growth, increase employment". There is the need for a "new momentum" also in product design/fashion that may reintroduce into the market two key elements - desirability and fun. Hopefully, one day, also major companies will understand it, in the meantime, we're lucky to have a few young designers coming up with bright ideas that can bring back a smile on people's faces.
PS Note for Peters' fans: Peters is working on the 2.0 version of the Lenticular Dress. In the meantime he has integrated his lenticular technique in some of his tops and sweater dresses from his Spring/Summer 2015 collection.
The garments feature sliced dots and stripes, and the collection will be sold in shops from January 2015.
You don't want to wait till then to go "lenticular"? Well, Peters' 3D printed pendant inspired by the optical illusion behind the lenticular dress (from one side you see stripes, from the other it looks like a dot) is already available through online platform TWOL24.
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