It is not rare to stumble upon a collection that conjures up in our minds dreams and visions of super human beings of the kind you find in comic books: you may look at garments that wrap the body like a second-skin, sculpted coats and dynamic shapes, and you immediately start thinking about superheroes and heroines you may find in the most fantastic comic book stories.
Yet, so far, the fashion and comic book collaboration has mainly produced garments and collections characterised by exclusive prints created by this or that comic book artist, it has generated stories with a plot strongly linked with fashion or inspired artists with settings, moods and costumes for their stories. In a nutshell, there haven't been many proper collaborations between fashion designers and comic book artists and illustrators of the kind that may turn into a book or an exhibition in a gallery space. At least there haven't been until now.
A few months ago, while France was going through its first lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic, knitwear designer and artist Xavier Brisoux, a finalist at the 35th Hyères Festival, was preparing a portfolio to showcase his creations during this event. Everything was more or less ready, but the dark times unleashed by the pandemic prompted him to reconsider things. What if he could juxtapose in his portfolio photographs of his works and illustrations by comic book artists reinterpreting his looks?
He started contacting some of the artists he loved and respected the most - Adam Pollina, Frank Quitely, Héctor Barros, Big Zim, DJRK, Maxime Garbarini, David Finch and Pierre Philippe (in order of appearance in the portfolio) - and asked for a collaboration. They accepted the challenge and created for Brisoux paper heroines and goddesses.
Each of them came up with a very different vision: some of the girls in Brisoux's intricate armours and helmets are caught in a moment of peace and quiet, almost in a trance; others may be instead ready to fight with a scepter in their hands that will probably turn into a powerful weapon; one of them is caught up in mid-action, descending from the sky or maybe ascending to the celestial spheres. Modern deities for uncertain times, these benevolent goddesses of tomorrow dispense blessings and hope in a very confusing and chaotic historical moment, ravaged by a pandemic that has dramatically changed our lives.
Why did you decide to come up with a portfolio in collaboration with comic book artists?
Xavier Brisoux: After the first Coronavirus lockdown in France, I felt I had to find a new energy. For some time, I had in mind this project and it finally seemed like the perfect timing to do it. So, I worked up my courage and dared asking my comic book idols to take part in the crazy adventure I was preparing for the Hyères Festival. What was there to lose? I felt the world was suspended in a state of expectation and I decided to act and make some of my dreams come true, rather than passively wait for something to happen. I contacted eight artists I admire - Adam Pollina, Frank Quitely, Héctor Barros, Big Zim, DJRK, Maxime Garbarini, David Finch and Pierre Philippe. Some of them are very well known, others are emerging artists, but they are all dear to me as a comic book reader. France, your homecountry, has got a great tradition when it comes to comic book art, as a child were you always a comic book fan and what kind of comics do you usually read?
Xavier Brisoux: As a child I was completely immersed in mythologies, comics and anime and I wanted to be a superhero! As that wasn't obviously possible, I decided I wanted to become a comic book artist, but my drawings were too poor. So I took up fashion as I wanted to create garments that empower people. I have always been into American comic books and Japanese manga. There are of course a few French artists I'm very fond of, but I won't mention them here as I would like to try and involve some of them into another project of mine.
How did you choose the artists you wanted to collaborate with?
Xavier Brisoux: Well, first of all I contacted a group of artists I have admired for quite a while. The brief I gave them was quite simple: I would have liked them to interpret the designs I created. Each design has the name of a deity, so each outfit represents a legendary character, a narrative knitted with the finest yarns. So the question was "What would your vision be for this character?" Very often in comic books, you have a new story-arc and the series reinvents itself and artists create new outifts for a new team. My process was similar: I created my team of characters, but I wanted my idols to give them life.
Most comic book artists have deadlines to meet and are usually working on specific series, was it difficult to approach them?
Xavier Brisoux: A few artists among the ones I contacted could not take part in the project as I had a tight deadline, but they offered me a collaboration in the future; in other cases, yes, their exclusive contracts made it difficult for them, but the interesting thing is that they told me they were really passionate about fashion and wished they could have done it. The artists who ended up taking part in the project were extremely benevolent, they were approachable and very very involved in the portfolio and they respected it a lot. They supported my idea and created strong and uncompromising artworks.
How did you feel when you started receiving their contributions?
Xavier Brisoux: I really was at a loss for words when I saw the first illustration and then when the others followed. I was totally shocked to get a response from artists I am so fond of. I felt lucky, but also incredibly honoured and humbled and I couldn't believe that this was truly happening. I felt like meeting my idols in my local comic shop in Lille, France - Astro City (thank you, Damien Rameaux!). You know, just like when you are at those signings and you can speak for a few minutes with your idols and ask them to draw your favourite character. People outside of comics circles might think I'm crazy, but these artists deserve as much admiration as figures who are more idolised like singers or fashion designers.
How did you feel when you saw these designs taking a new life in a completely different medium from fashion?
Xavier Brisoux: As a reader and comic book fan, I consider some of these artists my lifetime friends, so it was very emotional for me to see their renditions of my work. These artists genuinely allowed my fashion visions to step into their art and their worlds. What they created is priceless and I will always be indebted to them.
As you said the designs you have created have names, what inspired them?
Xavier Brisoux: The names of the creations are a mix of sounds designed to remind me of the legends and characters I'm passionate about. "Asclépodamie", for example, sounds like "Mésopotamie" (Mesopotamia), an ancient region that had a considerable influence on Greek mythology. There are two names I did not invent: "Umarekawari" is a Japanese word meaning "Reincarnation", a name set to evoke the material employed to make this design - a yarn made out of recycled denim. The other one is "Briksdalsbreen", which is a name of a glacier in Norway: when I climbed on it two summers ago, I really lived an otherworldly experience and I felt I wanted to create the goddess of that glacier. What kind of heroine would one of your deities be if she turned into a comic book character clad in your designs?
Xavier Brisoux: I would say she would be a mix of Penelope, Hephaestus and Marvel characters such as Rachel Summers Summers Grey aka The phoenix and Psylocke. Fragility within apparent invincibility is what interests me the most.
Do you think that these artists gave you a new perspective on your design or that they added something to your collection?
Xavier Brisoux: They have definitely enriched my collection beyond words, elevating it onto another dimension. They have injected a new life and energy into my designs and turned them into real garments for powerful goddesses. The drawings also helped me rethinking the poses of my models during the photoshoot of the collection that were taken by Mathie Drouet at WCCM in Mons, Belgium, and in Valencia, Spain. Photographs and illustrations were combined together in the lookbook I presented at the Hyères Festival in October.
How was your experience at Hyères?
Xavier Brisoux: Hyères is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. It was great to be around so many highly creative minds, all with their own unique vision. We were together for two weeks, and we almost became a family, taking care of each other and living the dream together. It was also very important for me to be able to present my work to such a prestigious panel of people from the fashion world. I was very eager to show them the results of three years of research. It was liberating to finally being able to present the jury, the media and the rest of the world all these projects and designs. I admit it was torture to keep the wonderful illustrations hidden, but it was a joy unveiling them!
Covid-19 transformed the way we conceive and showcase fashion collections, do you think this portfolio represents a new way of promoting a collection? Or does this experiment mark an innovative collaboration between comic artists and fashion designers that may be taken further at comics conventions such as Lucca Comics & Games (that kicked off yesterday in its digital format because of Coronavirus)?
Xavier Brisoux: The press at Hyères found the concept quite new and, if you consider how many presentations have changed with fashion houses turning their attention to the gaming community and launching special collaboration with videogame developers, you can see that there is definitely a strong will to experiment more via different mediums. Maybe the next step is to consider comic books as a way to promote fashion collections and fashion collections to promote comic books?
Would you like to continue this conversation that you started with comics in future?
Xavier Brisoux: Without revealing too much, I would like this project to grow and become a bigger thing so that the artists who have helped me can benefit from it as much as I did. I would for example like to find a way to publish all these works. But don't ask me too much now… Let me work on it!
Image credits for this post
All images in this post courtesy of Xavier Brisoux
1. Photograph by Mathieu Drouet
2. "Umarekawari" by Xavier Brisoux, 35th International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Fashion Accessories - Hyères, October 2020 © Etienne Tordoir @ catwalkpictures.com
3. "Noumadomais" by Xavier Brisoux, 35th International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Fashion Accessories - Hyères, October 2020 © Etienne Tordoir @ catwalkpictures.com
4. "Watalognotte" by Xavier Brisoux, 35th International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Fashion Accessories - Hyères, October 2020 © Etienne Tordoir @ catwalkpictures.com
5 - 12. Illustrations for Xavier Brisoux by Adam Pollina, Frank Quitely, Héctor Barros, Big Zim, DJRK, Maxime Garbarini, David Finch and Pierre Philippe
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