Italian artists from the 1900s seem to have become an inspiration for a few S/S 19 collections. As seen in a previous post, Josep Font moved for his new collection at Delpozo from Fulvio Bianconi's glass pieces; ceramics by Fausto Melotti were instead the starting point for the new collection by Arthur Arbesser, showcased during Milan Fashion Week.
A friend and contemporary of Lucio Fontana and Gio Ponti, the artist is known for his sculptures, ceramic figures, vases and bowls often inspired by musical abstractions.
Melotti is actually rather trendy at the moment as there is an exhibition dedicated to him at Hauser & Wirth in New York (until 27th October).
The opening looks in the collection were literal interpretations of the main inspiration as they featured prints of Melotti's 1950s glazed ceramic pieces representing a minimalist giraffe.
The latter appeared on dresses and skirts, but soon the Melotti reference became an abstraction: Arbesser reworked indeed the textures, swirls and surfaces of Melotti's ceramic vases and bowls in jacquard textiles used for jackets, coats, skirts and tops or tried to create Melotti's irregular three-dimensional effects by scattering sequins on fabrics.
Arbesser also layered different patterns together, from the argyle to the check pattern, a trick he learnt how to master collection after collection.
At times he looked at one of his favourite references – the Vienna Secession (Arbesser is Austrian) – via geometric prints, coming up with Klimt-like moments in a long dress with a green-and-white check, while a final ample kaftan matched with a black and white checked body suit was probably a homage to the style of Klimt's lover and muse, Emilie Louise Flöge.
The protagonist of Arbesser's fashion story was a woman, an artist working in her studio, getting her hands dirty with clay, so the designer also included simple rough jute workwear-evoking designs that added an arty neutral element to the collection.
The ceramic reference returned at the very end with two disharmonious designs that seemed to reproduce in their distorted silhouette the shapes of Melotti's vases.
There were some references to Melotti in the accessories (the long earrings seemed to be a tribute to Melotti's vertical brass and metal sculptures), even though the focus was on the clothes. In a way that was a shame as Melotti also produced a few ceramic jewels and it would have been intriguing to see where the inspiration may have led Arbesser had he transferred it also to necklaces or bangles.
Arbesser has a great knowledge when it comes to art and art movements as proved also in previous collections: his designs are the result of an intellectual fashion process and could be considered as creations for self-confident women with a passion for layering multi-patterned pieces together.
That said, Arbesser must find a way to balance the arty and the commercial in one collection: at the moment he is also the creative director of outerwear label Fay and seems to have decided to design wearable pieces for this label, restricting his arty and eccentric influences to the collections released under his name.
Melotti's ceramic vases were often so delicate and fragile that you couldn't even use them for a flower and Arbesser risks of turning his clothes into arty but unwearable garments if he doesn't strip them of their conceptualism.
The greatest lesson Arbesser should have indeed learnt from Melotti does not regard the texture and shapes of his ceramic pieces, but it should have definitely been about lightness and weightlessness.
Comments