When you hear names such as Luis Barragán, Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid you would not probably associate them with high-fashion podiums, however, new collections from brands like Chloé and Stella Jean are taking their inspiration from these iconic architects. Architectural Digest magazine interviewed nine fashion designers from different world-famous labels to reveal which architecture works have served as an inspiration point for their fashion collections. Don’t wait more and check the architecture inspiration of these 9 fashion designers!
Yasutoshi Ezumi
Yasutoshi Ezumi is Tokyo-based fashion designer who throughout his work path had always been deriving his inspiration from different architectural frontrunners such as Frank Gehry, Eames, and Gordon Matta-Clark. He even used a recording of Gehry speaking about his own inspirations as the runway show’s soundtrack for the Spring/Summer 2016 collection. He explained that this idea came after doing some research.
“I watched the documentary Sketch of Frank Gehry. He was really freely making structures of paper architecture models; it was just like fashion draping, so I did the same design for the collection.”, revealed Ezumi.
Phillip Lim
Phillip Lim is well known for a combination of asymmetrical shapes and courageous colors into strict but elegant apparel. He found his inspiration in another color enthusiast – Mexican architect Luis Barragán.
“I am always drawn to images of his amazingly beautiful home in the suburbs of Mexico City. The house encompasses a perfect mix of precision, light, color, and shadow. This balance evokes a naive modernism that is timeless. I can feel the soul, the hands. Nothing is perfect, but it is precise.”
Maison Kitsuné
Maison Kitsuné has released his third Japanese dedicated collection, designed in the style of a luxury hotel in the heart of Tokyo – Hotel Okura. To make a great celebration dedicated to the hotel opening, Maison Kitsuné is introducing a special collection that acknowledges the importance of saint Japanese roots and the hotel with 1960s-style design elements and modernist geometric themes.
Milly
Michelle Smith world-famous women wear fashion designer admitted that she is hypnotized with architect Zaha Hadid.
“There is something mesmerizing about her work. It’s forward-thinking but organic, with a certain sexiness. There is a clean and sculptural fluidity to Hadid’s work that mirrors the way I design,” says Smith.
Milly‘s Spring/Summer 2016 collection used thick cotton fabric to give the full-shape oversize sleeves support while preserving a smoothness, imitating the perfect equilibrium that can also be noticed in so much of Hadid’s architectural works.
Chloé
Arabesque architecture which consists of aesthetics of intertwining seemingly infinite patterns that is most common in the Middle East has influenced Chloé a lot. Inspired by its shapes she created special collection main theme of which was a contrast of hard and soft. Strong influence can be seen in lacework and repeating motifs.
“In my Summer 2016 collection, I created a series of pieces made up of elements of exaggerated details from Arabesque architecture, working the proportions on a larger scale and piecing them together to create edges and straps and to frame dresses and tops.”
Delpozo
Josep Font’s Fall/Winter 2016 runway show offered a beautiful geometric set. The designer admits that main inspiration for both his clothing and set The Art Deco was expressionist architecture in the 1927 film Metropolis.
“In some of the looks, there is a very literal inspiration—the color palette, the metallic feel—and in other cases, more abstract influence such as the volume on sleeves and tops.”, he says.
Rosie Assoulin
Rosie Assoulin is known for her feminine structured garments, was inspired for her Fall/Winter 2015 collection by an unusual place: a cemetery.
“We were inspired by the Brion Cemetery by Italian architect Carlo Scarpa near Treviso, Italy. The incredible angles and lines, triangles, squares, and rectangles, all blending together somehow harmoniously. I find something new every time I look at it.”, Assoulin says.
William Okpo
Lizzy and Darlene Okpo, the sisters behind William Okpo were deeply influenced by a trip to Portugal. Everything from stunning architecture to narrow stone-paved streets became a great inspiration for sisters. The Church of São Francisco, Chapel of Souls, and Sá da Bandeira, which are located in the heart of Porto, were the main references for inspiration.
“The entire Church São Francisco is designed in gold and has an abundance of detailing in every biblical sculpture. The church felt infinite, as though it required a great deal of time to actually see all that was done with the human eye.”, says Lizzy.
William Okpo’s Fall/Winter 2016 collection was all about black-and-white pattern over organza silk that reminded themes from tiled church floors.
Stella Jean
Stella Jean has an interesting origin mix – the Italian-Haitian. Designer regularly refers to her roots, citing Haiti’s gingerbread houses, lively colors, and intricate wood facades as sources of architectural inspiration. But it isn’t just about their aesthetics:
“I’m particularly inspired by these amazing structures, which are not only architecturally significant but bear in mind the Caribbean climate and its living conditions,” she says.
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