Dear iDEALS, you might remember a while ago, when young choreographer Harry Koushos, asked me to design the costumes for his coming performance, MAN II, the third and final part of a trilogy for which the first two parts have been already presented in Cyprus.
Here are some of the snaps I did, focusing mostly on the faces of each monster. If you haven't yet visited, well, you need to do so! Its just fantastic!
FILEP MOTWARY / MARIA MASTORI "THE FOREST CAN HIDE US" in MARCH issue of FRENCH VOGUE. Photography by Thanassis Krikis. Text by Pierre Groppo Thank you Michail Pelet for sending. The garment and jewellery are part of MONSTERS IN FASHION exhibition at La Gaite Lyrique in Paris, by ATOPOS
Dear iDEALS, choreographer/performer Harry Koushos, asked me to design two costumes for his forthcoming performance which will be presented in a few days in Cyprus and later in Corfu, Greece.
Just two hours ago, I asked my friend Andreas if he would like to wear them for a few snapshots. Avgerinos and Caterina Ttakka welcomed me in their backyard to photograph my newborn babies...
Arrrgh follows Rrrrip.
“Arrrgh – Monsters in Fashion”, a fashion exhibition featuring the clothes of Bernhard Willhelm, Walter Van Beirendonck, Rick Owens, Filep Motwary & Maria Mastori, Maison Martin Margiela, Hyères graduates Jean Paul Lespagnard, Mareunrol and Mads Dinesen, and a 360 degree film installation from Bart Hess, is now opening at the Gaîté Lyrique digital center in Paris.
“Arrrgh” follows in the footsteps of “Rrrrip – Paper Fashion”, another internationally touring exhibit by Greek collective Atopos, whose founding member and curator, Vassilis Zidianakis, we met before the exhibit opening. Conversation and photographs courtesy of The Stimuleye.
Antoine Asseraf: What was the starting point for this exhibit ?
Vassilis Zidianakis: In Hyères in 2006, where I was in the fashion jury. One of the designers, Amandine Labidoire, had a sketchbook with characters that started something in my head.
Then I asked Pictoplasma to write a text on character design, they saw my research on the subject and instead proposed to do a whole book about that idea, which became NOT A TOY, and then led to this exhibit.
AA: When does this phenomenon start, in the 90′s with Leigh Bowery, Margiela, Walter Van Beirendonck… ?
VZ: Internet is the real starting point – avatars, different identities. People don’t show their face and instead create a character.
In fashion, you could say it started with Comme Des Garçons for the shape, and Margiela for the face – because when you hide the face you create a monster. But Schiaparelli, who was close to the surrealists, had already tried that, and you find it a lot in ethnographic clothing: each civilization has costumes to dress up and become someone else. Today, it’s become a bit like Halloween, and clothes that are not meant to be worn on the street, but to go to parties, take pictures, it’s very marketing associated.
Character design as a whole comes from marketing, in the US and Japan – products talk to you, like yogurt, clothes, Michelin…
You also have to see the evolution of what we consider “monstrous”. For example, hoop dresses from the 18th century which are too wide to fit through a door – don’t you find that monstrous ?
AA: Besides the rise of internet, the 90′s are also a decade of video games becoming mainstream, the emergence of adult animation…
VZ: It’s the idea we wanted to explore with NOT A TOY, which led to this exhibition. If you read vinyl objects, it says “THIS IS NOT A TOY”, it’s for grown-ups.
Ultimately I’m very happy to show this outside of a fashion context, in a place like Gaîté Lyrique which is more technology related. The exhibit isn’t directly linked to technology, but shows the influence of technology on our bodies.
AA: What is different about this exhibit than what was shown in Athens ?
VZ: After 3 years of research, we made a show at the Benaki Museum in Athens. Since then, a lot of new things have been produced around the idea, so for the Gaîté Lyrique we doubled the number of exhibited pieces on display.
We also commissioned Bart Hess a video for the 360º room, a special costume from Craig Green which serves as visual identity for the exhibition,
and the fashion show of Jean-Paul Lespagnard which will be part of the parallel program.
AA: Tell me more about the ancient Greek notion of “monster”…
VZ: Today “monster” has a negative connotation. But the original Greek word, “teras” (which gave “teratogen” and “teratology”) indicates a physical phenomenon in need of an explanation. So for example, to the ancient Greeks, a rainbow was a “monster”.
AA: A bit like a UFO ?
VZ: Yes, unidentified, and needing to be explained by us.
the theme of the monster is really about difference, about what we’re capable of accepting, because we’re attracted to strange things, but don’t know how to communicate with them.ARRRGH!
A story featuring many of Maria Mastori's jewellery, for Schon! Magazine
Photographer / Thanassis Krikis Fashion Editor / Nicholas Georgiou Make Up / Stellar @ D-Tales Hair / Christos Kallaniotis @ Terrie Tanaka, for Pantene Pro V Model / Laragh McCann @ Women NY Photography Assistant / Nicos Koustenis Fashion Assistants / Elena Psalti & Marcos Andriotis
Dear iDEALS, this February ATOPOS cvc will be presenting its ARRRGH! Monsters in Fashion exhibition at La Gaîté Lyrique. The craziest, sexiest and most radical monstrous creatures are invading Paris!
Based on an original idea by Vassilis Zidianakis, ARRRGH! Monsters in Fashion is the first international exhibition on character design in fashion and art. Characters are abstract, reduced figures with a strong anthropomorphic appeal and bold graphical silhouette. Participating designers and artists reshape the human body and reveal a new universe full of dreams, nightmares and hybrid creatures.
Henrik
Vibskov, ‘The Solar Donkey Experiment’ collection, S/S 2010, photo: Shoji
Fujii.
Participating designers & artists:
Alexander Mcqueen UK, Alex Mattsson SE, Alexis Themistocleous CY, Andrea Ayala Closa ES, Andrea Cammarosano IT, Andrea Crews FR, Bart Hess NL, Bas Kosters NL, Bernhard Willhelm DE, Boris Hoppek DE, Bronwen Marshall UK, Cassette Playa & Gary Card UK, Charlie Le Mindu FR, Chi He CN, Claire Michel FR, Craig Green UK, David Curtis-Ring UK, Digitaria GR, Dr Noki’s NHS UK, Erika Mizuno JP, Freeka Tet FR, Filep Motwary & Maria Mastori CY & GR, George Tourlas GR, Helen Price UK, Henrik Vibskov DK, Hideki Seo JP, Isabel Mastache Martinez ES, Issey Miyake & Dai Fujiwara JP, Jean-Paul Lespagnard BE, Josefin Arnell SE, Kim Traeger DK, Leutton Postle UK, Luis Lopez Smith UK, Mads Dinesen DK, Maison Martin Margiela BE, Manon Kündig CH, Mareunrol’s LV, On Aura Tout Vu FR, Pernilla Winberg SE, Paul Graves US, Pictoplasma DE, Pierre-Antoine Vettorello FR, Piers Atkinson UK, Rejina Pyo KR, Rick Owens US, Rozalb De Mura RO, Shin Murayama JP, Sotiris Bakagiannis GR, Takashi Nishiyama JP, The Brainstorm Design GR, Tracy Widdess CA, Toma Stenko RU, Urban Camouflage DE, Walter Van Beirendonck BE
I found these two pictures, featuring Josephine (I think she was Dutch) wearing two of my pieces from my SS2007 collection with Maria Mastori in Greece... They were shot in our studio in Kolonaki during a fitting. Though Josephine never made it to the show, I will never forget her.
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