Hussein Chalayan S/S 07 Paris

[laika]

Here's the text of the interview:

"My inspiration was, let's say, last hundred & eleven years. but I couldn't be literal with it. I tried to be literal with it but.. I didn't like it.
So I thought I could be abstract and also have within it my own history. You know, I feel like I've got some kind of a graphic language that I wanted to tap into either the past and redo again. And a lot of ideas that I've actually touched on before. And it was a means for me to take them further, really, as well.
I was looking at different shapes througout the eras, and I wanted to somehow demonstrate a change, and ultimately I'd like to produce clothes that change shape, with some kind of technology company. I think these are almost prototypes, or ideas, for the future for me. But you have to collaborate with people to do them.
I wanted to, say, even if I made a retro reference I wanted it to be very personal. I think it wasn't really about taking bits and putting them together, it was much more about 'I have my own language - how can I look at the past in my own way?'
I thought the aspect of change, and the idea that something could also change according to occasion, was very exciting for me. And I thought the main thing in the future would be to be able to have clothes that change depending on location."

 

[laika]

This is the most exciting and beautiful thing I've seen come down the runway in a long time.
I mean, "the main thing in the future would be to have clothes that change shape depending on location." Yes, please!!! I'll take that over a suit of armor any day.
I've watched the video over and over again, and it still takes my breath away. He managed to fuse art, concept and design and still produce actual clothing--clothing that can be worn!
I love that he said, "I couldn't be literal with it. I tried to be literal with it, but I didn't like it." NG should take a cue from this.
Also, "even if I made a retro reference, I wanted it to be personal.....I have my own language--how can I look at the past my own way?"
I love this about Chalayan--he looks to the future, but his clothes retain the intimacy of history, and of the body, in a completely original way (in other words, without becoming post-modern quotations of the past)
Beautiful, intelligent, and perfect.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

he looks to the future, but his clothes retain the intimacy of history, and of the body, in a completely original way (in other words, without becoming post-modern quotations of the past)
Beautiful, intelligent, and perfect.

word

 

[laika]

Apologies if this has been posted before, but you can watch a high-quality video of the entire show here. (just discovered it )

http://www.swarovskisparkles.tv/?event=PARIS%202006&show=9

 

[droogist]

When he does things like this, for a moment I forget the existence of every other designer. Rei who...?

 

[susie_bubble]

^Ditto....

 

[Zazie]

I finally watched the video. He is quite possibly the most underrated designer alive - this is what the big designer houses like Dior and LV SHOULD be doing, not that Marie Antoinette crap! Why hasn't Chloe, the princess of prettiness, evolved to this level of youthful aesthetic and intelligence??? And what impeccable tailoring and jaw-dropping layering of geometrics, what vindication of non-colours and how they should be worn without drowning us all in beige. These are some of the most beautiful clothes I've seen down the runway, proving that modern can be fragile, delicate and pretty, much more than those Little Bo-Peep frills and Victorian frocks all over the other runways. Hopefully, more people will see this and get themselves weaned off the stale, dated stuff. I don't see this collection as being "futuristic" in that, seriously, nobody (with hands) will be wearing a curtain that rises to reveal a naked body or sit in that 5th Element bubble dress. We will be doing the usual mundane stuff like throwing our dresses on and off. It's immensely enjoyable fantasy couture, the mesmerising moment being the few seconds the clothes move, marrying animatronics technology with fashion. It's gimmicky, but such beautifully spellbindingly enacted gimmicks, much like his retractable table skirts, which also make us pause, be transported, and above all, think. I am speechless with admiration, but then all these thoughts just kept rolling in, what a genius! With this collection, he deserves his own big-name house and go head to head right up there with NG, Elbaz and Miuccia Prada.

 

[Zazie]

I also don't get the negative comparison between Balenciaga and HC - they presented very different collections, the former is all glitz, power-dressing, optical graphic and high-octane glamour, this collection is delicate, fragile, detailed, pretty with a highly refined geometrical aesthetic - they're like yin and yang. Both collections showed gimmicky fantasies after their own fashion, both have stunning, completely wearable pieces suited to characters that are perhaps polar opposites. They belong beautifully together.

 

[holiday]

This is definitly the most beautiful show and clothes I've ever seen. I've really liked Hussein Chalayan before, but this make any other designer look boring.

 

[xmodel citizen]

I finally watched the video. He is quite possibly the most underrated designer alive - this is what the big designer houses like Dior and LV SHOULD be doing, not that Marie Antoinette crap! Why hasn't Chloe, the princess of prettiness, evolved to this level of youthful aesthetic and intelligence??? And what impeccable tailoring and jaw-dropping layering of geometrics, what vindication of non-colours and how they should be worn without drowning us all in beige. These are some of the most beautiful clothes I've seen down the runway, proving that modern can be fragile, delicate and pretty, much more than those Little Bo-Peep frills and Victorian frocks all over the other runways. Hopefully, more people will see this and get themselves weaned off the stale, dated stuff. I don't see this collection as being "futuristic" in that, seriously, nobody (with hands) will be wearing a curtain that rises to reveal a naked body or sit in that 5th Element bubble dress. We will be doing the usual mundane stuff like throwing our dresses on and off. It's immensely enjoyable fantasy couture, the mesmerising moment being the few seconds the clothes move, marrying animatronics technology with fashion. It's gimmicky, but such beautifully spellbindingly enacted gimmicks, much like his retractable table skirts, which also make us pause, be transported, and above all, think. I am speechless with admiration, but then all these thoughts just kept rolling in, what a genius! With this collection, he deserves his own big-name house and go head to head right up there with NG, Elbaz and Miuccia Prada.

Yes! Please remove MJ and replace him with Hussein. Seriously, he should get his own design house! What about Celine?

 

[static]

Hussein seems to have found the perfect balance of avant-garde showmanship (the mechanical dresses) and total wearability (the gorgeous organza numbers). This show is beyond what any of the major houses did this season.

 

[Alexandra8715]

I absolutely love what he's done with this collection. It's really artistic and refreshing and not just about keeping up with the latest trends.

 

[Alexandra8715]

oh and i just watched the video on vogue.co.uk (thanks for whoever posted the link) and like someone else mentioned on the previous page you really do have to watch it to understand what he's doing in this collection!

 

[mnis]

Models @ Hussein Chalayan show [Paris Fashion Week], 4 Oct. 2006

hollywoodsbest.net

 

[dannyboy0828]

i FINALLY just watched the whole video and

the pictures really dont do this justice, the music and technology really add a lot to the collection

 

[Colette_B]

now that i've seen this collection in its entirety, and read other people's comments on it (positive ones), i'm beginning to understand and see the beauty in the clothes. before i thought it ill fitting and ugly, but looking at it again, i've found some really beautiful, conceptual, and wearble pieces (something chalayan is the master of, imo). there is an intelligence and feminine aspect of his garments that i find aesthetically pleasing and modern (even more so than in prada, which so many editors, etc. claim). def. one of my favorites from paris, now.

 

[softgrey]

Yes! Please remove MJ and replace him with Hussein. Seriously, he should get his own design house! What about Celine?

he HAS his OWN house...
he just need the MAJOR funding that the corporate houses have...
he DESERVES to have his OWN name on the label!!!...imo...

celine??...bah!......

 

[citytolove]

I love this collection and how it refers to the future without being so blatant. Chalayan is a genius!

 

[xmodel citizen]

he HAS his OWN house...
he just need the MAJOR funding that the corporate houses have...
he DESERVES to have his OWN name on the label!!!...imo...

celine??...bah!......

Yes, but heading a corporate house could give him the exposure needed to boost his own label. Marc Jacobs and Karl Lagerfeld both handle it well, and Hussein probably could too. And hey, who better to revive a fledgling house like Celine?

 

[laika]

I also don't get the negative comparison between Balenciaga and HC - they presented very different collections, the former is all glitz, power-dressing, optical graphic and high-octane glamour, this collection is delicate, fragile, detailed, pretty with a highly refined geometrical aesthetic - they're like yin and yang. Both collections showed gimmicky fantasies after their own fashion, both have stunning, completely wearable pieces suited to characters that are perhaps polar opposites. They belong beautifully together.

I don't want to repeat what I and others have said in the Balenciaga thread, nor do I want to rag on Ghesquiere. What I meant with my comment is captured very well by Chalayan's words. Both of these collections are interpretations of history (although only partially so in HC's case). IMHO, Ghesquiere's interpretation falls flat compared to this, because it's a heavy-handed and literal appropriation of the past. I always have this problem with him--not just picking on this one collection, honest.

After seeing this show, I don't really see any unique ground for comparing the two collections--you could just as well compare Chalayan and Lanvin or Ghesquiere and Prada. I mean, everyone is a "futurist" now, according to the media.
But I have to respectfully disagree with calling this show "gimmicky." Using microchip technology to transform, in real time, the shape of clothing, in order to create a "prototype" (Chayalan's word) for future clothing is not remotely the same thing as gluing metallic panels to a model's legs. I don't believe that this is a fantasy--it's just the future.