Introduction
Architecture and Fashion have been inter-related in many aspects. The involvement of fashion in architectural projects is an intriguing topic proved by many. Recently many architects have moved to creating their own fashion products or rather products of their own with fashion and architectural concepts. Interestingly they have all created a mark and showed how interesting this blend can be. This expose aims to explore creations by designers inspired by architectural structures.
It will talk about various personalities in the architecture and fashion fields who have proved themselves and their perception of art. The essay will contain factual account of collections by designers and architects who have taken inspiration from monument or architectural structures. “Both fashion and architecture express ideas of personal, social and cultural identity, reflecting the concerns of the user and the ambition of the age. Their relationship is a symbiotic one, and throughout history clothing and buildings have echoed each other in form and appearance.
This seems only natural, as they not only share the primary function of providing shelter and protection for the body, but also because they both create space and volume out of flat, two-dimensional materials. While they have much in common, they are also intrinsically different. Both address the human scale, but the proportions, sizes and shapes differ enormously. And while fashion is, by its very nature, ephemeral or ‘of the moment’, architecture traditionally has a more solid, monumental and permanent presence. ”(Somerset house 2008)
Literature Review
Architecture (Latin architectura, from the Greek arkhitekton) in simple terms is the process of planning, designing and executing an idea for a structure. (Oxforddictionaries. com 2013). It can be defined as an artistic approach to a construction of a monument or a building. Architecture has evolved throughout the years proving that there is no defined rule or formula to be followed. The concepts and methodologies of architecture have changed over the years breaking all rules. An Architect is a person who is skilled to plan and execute a design for a monument or a structure with a finished vision in mind.
The similarity of the initial plan/idea and the finished product, rates the success of the architect’s work. “Architecture is generally considered an art but is differentiated by it in one respect: function. Regardless, defining architecture is almost, if not as, difficult as defining art. To define architecture is to set parameters, standards by which anything applied to these criteria will either fit the definition or not. The definition must take certain conditions into account that must be present in order for something to be considered architecture.
Some of these may include, in reference to a candidate for a piece of architecture: it must be material, it must transcend mere function, it must be aesthetic and an architect must design it. These are some criteria that are generally agreed upon by the public and most architects as necessary traits of architecture. ” (Archidose. org 2000) Fashion is a style that is accepted by the mass. Creating fashion through a product or a garment is a process involving planning, designing and executing just like architecture, called fashion design. “Fashion design is a form of art dedicated to the creation of clothing and other lifestyle accessories”. Fibre2fashion. com 2009) Fashion is a loop.
It moves in a circle and is recurring. It is art in the form or clothes or accessories. Fashion is also one of the most lucrative professions currently. Fashion designers belong to one of the wealthiest groups. This has encouraged many to follow this profession and make a mark in this field. The relationship between architecture and fashion is rather oblique. It cannot be judged or defined precisely. They both involve in creating aesthetically beautiful objects or structures.
The process of beautification is involved equally in both. Fashion and architecture are more than casual acquaintances. Both disciplines entail filling voids with contours, swoops, and planes, albeit on markedly different scales. Sometimes, however, the cross-pollination of concepts is intentional. As fashion terms like “draping,” “weaving,” and “pleating” propagate throughout the architectural world, and methods of building construction incorporate themselves into garment-making, the relationship between the two grows more intimate by the day. ” (Ecouterre. com 2013) Fashion and Architecture cover two basic necessities of man.
They both provide shelter in two different ways at the same time proving a person’s taste in art. They both follow a similar path to creating. It covers comfort, style and aesthetics and creates a prefect piece of art. The cycle of fashion and architecture has also proved to be similar. The cyclical path of fashion has been seen in the field of architecture as well. Fashion moves in a circle and have been repetitions or inspirations from the past style or trend. This goes for architecture as well. The current pattern of architecture or the latest style followed by architects is the same that existed in the earlier days.
Traditional and cultural architectural designs are repeated or inspired by the latest ones. (Pierandrea Angius to Tara, 2013) Similarly architecture and fashion have few differences as well. Fashion is short lived and architecture is considered a piece for eternity or atleast a period equal to eternity in a person’s life. Architecture is forming shape to the space around someone. It should complement, beautify and [provide comfort and shelter to a person or many. It should therefore concentrate on sustainability, quality and wholeness rather than the temporality of fashion.
Fashion designers are looking to architecture for ways and inspirations to construct or engineer garments, which explore new and provocative areas and ideas about volume and structure, and in many cases also draw on the intellectual principles and concepts inherent in architecture. The exhibition on the relationship between these two unique art forms, SKIN AND BONES played a rather interesting role in the research of this topic. The exhibition showed the various aspects from 1980 to 2008(year of the exhibition) and the many interesting relations between the two.
But the book talks about how the term “fashion” is being incorporated in the world of architecture. It does not include the various creations or designs, which are part of this creative combination. ARCHITECTURAL INSPIRATIONS IN? FASHION DESIGN by Prof. Dr. Halime Paksoy and Instr. Sema Yalc›n of Cukurova University, Turkey provided a few findings related on this topic. The study assessed the inspirations and adaptations of designers and the monuments or structures that inspired them, till 2005. Although this covers a few notable adaptations it does not look deep into this topic.
This study can be related as a connection or rather a continuation to the study by Prof. Dr. Halime Paksoy and Instr. Sema Yalc›n of Cukurova University. Here, the more modern approach of architects and the interesting replication and adaptation of these into designer garments and accessories.
Methodology
The primary research for this study was conducted through personal interviews. Interviewing various personalities in the two departments have played an important role in understanding the topic. Architects and students from AA college, London helped in observing the practical side of Architecture and fashion.
Various art fairs and exhibitions were visited and the artists were interviewed for this study. The different opinions and views of all the personalities gave an interesting path for this study. It helped understand very detailed or minute representations of fashion and Architecture in their respective fields.
Findings
Important personalities who have proved themselves in this interesting relationship between fashion and Architecture Zaha Hadid Zaha Hadid is the founder and chief designer of Zaha Hadid Architects. She is internationally known for her excellence in both theatrical and academic work.
Her dynamic, innovative and modern form of creativity has donated many masterpieces to the field of architecture and fashion. “Hadid’s interest lies in the rigorous interface between architecture, landscape and geology and her practice integrates natural topography and human-made systems, leading to experimentation with cutting edge technologies. ” (Zaha-hadid. com 2011) Maison Martin Margiela A Belgian fashion designer, Maison Martin Margiela first worked as an assistant to Jean Paul Gaultier and staged his first collection in 1988. He started his company along with Jenny Meirens, the same year. In 1997 he started working for Hermes.
He is a proven personality in the field of art and innovation. His creations have shown his different perceptions of art and its elements. (Contemporaryfashion . net 2009) Boudicca Boudicca is Brian Kirkby and Zowie Broach, a British fashion design duo who are inspired by historical referencing and its adaptations in fashion. Their creative approach to fashion has been depicted in a very filmy or artistic way through their collections. Yohji Yamamoto Yohji Yamamoto is a Tokyo based designer who started his own company in 1972. his first designer collection was showcase in Japan in 1976. In 1970, he launched his line Y’s in Japan.
His garments portrayed a wrap-like feature in garments, which were unstructured, loose and voluminous. He made his mark by breaking the rules of contemporary fashion and showing the world how it can be done differently. ( fashionmodeldirectory. com 2009) J. Meejin Yoon J. Meejin Yoon is a designer and an architect. She is the founder of MY Studio and has taught at Graduate Level Architecture Design Studios at MIT for 10 years. She wrote and published Expanded Practice: Projects by Howeler + Yoon, Unsolicited Small Projects for the Big Dig, a World Trade Center Memorial artist book and many other books and articles.
The designer created her Mobius strip inspired garment and showed her interest in conceptual and concrete features of design. Her designs are alterable and can be converted or replicated into large-scale realizable projects or structures. (Architecture. mit. edu 2010) Hussein Chalayan Hussein Chalayan is a Turkish Cypriot who showed interested in elements that were not associated with fashion. The designer’s interest in aircraft and related materials have inspired him to adapt its definitions and portray it on garments.
Since graduating from Central Saint Martins in 1993, he explored the various sectors of fashion by contradicting science and technology and the body and architecture and the way they can define a human body through garments. (Somersethouse 2008)
Fashion Collections Inspired By Architectures
The Hearst tower of New York City is a striking piece made of blocks and shapes. The tower is a combination of culture or modern architecture. The structure is standing on a base, which is the lobby of the building and shows a floating image. The glass structure shows a weightless impression on the base with diamond cut designs.
Gareth Pugh’s SS 2009 collection had a very evident touch of style inspired by the Hearst tower. The monochromatic collection looked crisp and well paneled like the tower. The designer incorporated few designs in the collection that spoke loudly about the structure and architect Norman fosters design concepts.
The structure is 197 feet tall and has a unique design with over lapping petal/shell like formation. Ozezen was inspired by this structure mainly concentrating on the overlapping design feature. The garments showed a high resemblance to the petal or shell shaped elements of the opera house. Few of the garments have been coloured blue to show the reflection of the clear blue water on the opera house. The over lapping sleeves show a clear resemblance to the structure’s most prominent feature (Paksoy and Yalc›n 2005).
Safranbolu Houses are Turkish masterpiece designs that have attracted many over the years. Many were inspired by the simple yet striking designs of these houses situated in the district on Safranbolu. The place is filled with many unique styles buildings and monuments and was hence declared a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE site in 1994 (unesco. com 1994). The well maintained houses and architectural masterpieces of this small land have attracted many tourists from around the world (Paksoy and Yalc›n 2005).
The houses have long narrow windows and symmetrical doors. Architects have combined proportion and tradition in a very peculiar method to create these wonderful structures. The Turkish structures have also become an inspiration to designers like ‹Daye. The symmetry and elements of the houses was a dominating feature of the collection. The windows and panels have been used to panel the garments. Wooden doorknobs and other small details have been emphasized on the garment to make it the point of attraction. The garments show a deep connection to the interesting architecture of the houses and monuments.
An Indian king in memory of his beloved wife constructed this mausoleum. it is a combination of Hindu and Islamic architectural methods that existed in India in the 17th century. This beautiful palace is made entirely of marble and studded with precious stones. The monument was constructed in a peculiar way that it changes colour when sunlight falls on it through the day. The colour change and the reflections on the building at dawn and dusk speak a thousand words about its architectural allurement (Paksoy and Yalc›n 2005). Designer Maruldal made his inspiration quite obvious through his designs.
The building is a spectacular creation by the architect and questions all the concepts and rules of architecture. The structure is metallic and has a streamline shape with curved edges. The cut pattern on the outer layer gives the building a unique look. The structure is in a spiral-like formation with a centrifugal field that forms the outline. The architect claims to have used dune landscapes and glacier field that is sculpted and beautifully polished by nature, for her inspiration (zaha-hadid. com 2009).
The architect designed a remarkable piece of garment to raise money for the World Wildlife Foundation and was inspired by her own creation (wwwf. org 2012). The flowing mesh dress is named Frozen Aura and has followed the dynamism of the architect’s original creation. Thought the garment silhouette is simple and stylish, the mesh that goes around the neck has the cut-design of the building. The mesh itself shows the resemblance between the garment and the building. The fact that the garment was created for a rather generous cause adds more originality to the architect’s creation.
The tatlin’s tower (1917) is a monument designed by Russian architect Vladmir Tatlin. The design was never implemented or rather the monument was never built. It was planned to be at St. Petersburg, Russia. The architect designed the structure to be built with industrial materials like glass, iron and steel. The design had a twin helix in a spiral shape. The spiral shape was to be used a transportation path to take visitors for a tour around this piece of art. Though it is a shame that this astonishing piece of art was not built, designer Jean Paul Gaultier took inspiration from this for his unique creation.
The garment is a white textured one with a headgear that portrays the designer’s interest in the architectural design. The headgear has a spiral design with circular rings that seems to keep the structure together. It is attached to a strap on which allows the model to comfortable wear it around her neck (refer figure). The long pipe-like material goes all the way from the head to the end of the garment, which shows the resemblance of the piece with the building design. The Bach pavilion is yet another unique creation by Zaha Hadid and her team.
It is her transformation of a simple exhibition space to an acoustically and aesthetically astonishing hall. The space is for music performances and the architect has designed it into a piece of modern art. A representative of the Manchester art gallery was quoted as saying, “The aim is to create a near-perfect visual and sonic environment for the audience to experience some of the world’s most beautiful chamber music. A union of two true originals, three centuries apart. ”(Guardian. com 2009) Armani’s SS 2010 collection had a clear impression of fluid forms and curvaceous elements.
The Mobius strip library is also a culture or convention centre in Astana, Kazakhstan. This astonishing beauty is Named Nursultan Nazarbayev after the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This library is also a space for many conventions and musical performance (Inhabitat. com 2009). The building is created in the shape of a Mobius strip with the representation of the twist, which is the interior of the building. The Mobius strip is replicated with the rotunda, the yurt and the arch elements.
Meejin Yoon is an architect and a designer and designed her Mobius dress with a clear Mobius theme. The garment wraps the body and twists it inside out halfway. The dress does not have a surface and is made out of felt material, which has no warp and weft. This makes the dress change shape according to the body form and has no power over its own silhouette. (Designerparty. com 2011)
The design was part of a limited edition and was only available in 1000nos. The design created using fluid dynamic grids, which will wrap itself around the foot to expand and contract according to specific measurements. The designer connects these features to that of a shoe created with fine calf leather because of its ability to expand and contract to fit each foot shape (Zaha-hadid. com 2009).
The structure is tall and has many architectural detailing to tithe building is mounted on a support structure. Designer Yuksek has designed various garments inspired by the kongresshalle. The arch design of the building is give a lot of attention in his collection. The arch has been used on a mini skirt that contours the body. The arch or the hat shaped feature of the erection was used to create shapes and curves on a garment that supports the ultra modern design sense of the architect.
Conclusion
Through detailed analysis and comprehensive research this exposition shows various designers and artists who have paid respect to the union of fashion and architecture, through their unique creations. The creations of designers have proved how their artistic expressiveness was inspired by architectural compositions. Containing factual list of collections, this essay looks further into modern architecture and their influence on fashion and its adaptations.
Though this essays analyses from a design perspective, types of adaptations and replications is a continuing topic that can be further researched on. This essay serves as a launch for further examination and exploration of the various technical details that are involved in this aspect of designing.
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