DECONSTRUCTED XIMONLEE
XIMONLEE Editorial
YahRock Bates stars in the XIMONLEE editorial exclusive for F****** Young! Online. The model is captured by photographer Masha Demianova's lens while posing in pieces from designer XIMONLEE‘s BA graduate collection. The collection pieces embody a vanguard visual aesthetic that is inspired by the attire of Russian street youth. After a recent visit to Russia, the designer took his style inspiration from the nation's youth who often layered together mismatched clothing items in order to keep warm in cold winter months.
The result is a collection of deconstructed silhouettes and repurposed thrift shop garments that resemble the garb of Russia's underprivileged teens. These fashion-forward pieces from XIMONLEE also mimic discarded cardboard packages and other elements one may typically find in Russian slums.
Source: https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ximonlee
I admire Lee's completely driven and well thought-out theme, especially in this editorial, as not only a silhouette and draping manner was brought out of it, but it is reflected in the overall mood through his carefully chosen fabrics, colours and lighting. All of the fabrics used were deconstructed from the charity shop The Salvation Army, yet the results are still completely professional in the way that they are composed together. And instead of just taking inspiration from the kids and their typical clothing, he takes inspiration from the environment around him, such as the cardboard boxes found around the slums. A clearly dark and pessimistic mood is conveyed through the editorial, however the specific theme is not directly conveyed, which I like because when you read about it, it makes sense.
The use of a very niche theme is something I would like to incorporate into my own work not just for this project, but in the future as well. I have always found it easier to create work from a small focus as it doesn't let you stray away from a broader topic, where you can easily get lost, and then nothing makes sense.
DECONSTRUCTED Yohji Yamamoto
Yohji Yamamoto SS18
Source: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2018-menswear/yohji-yamamoto
The deconstructive techniques presented by Yamamoto show the differences in moods that can be created from re-arranging the same fabrics, or similar types. Throughout the entire runway, there is repetition in the use of buttons and buckled straps, but the way in which they connect pieces of fabric differ, or the way in which they distort the silhouette of the body. Yamamoto also cleverly switches the base materials of each look whilst still combining them with the frequently used ones, e.g. sheer netting, for a more sensual mood. Instead of a typical draping method, Yamamoto assembles each material together through a row of buttons. I think this brings together the whole look, rather than it just seeming like a bunch of fabric was just thrown onto a model, which I would like to try and incorporate into my own work, showing thorough thinking before beginning to arrange the deconstructed components.
I think the overall visual image of Yamamoto's use of formal attire which is then deconstructed, relates to the image in my work as I began with a similar type of garment, and I naturally used extra white material which was also sheer in order to counteract the heaviness of my jacket. I also experimented with my zips to take on the form of straps, as there wasn't a lot of components that came out of my jacket, which I could have used for different things.
DECONSTRUCTED Xander Xhou
Xander Xhou AW15 menswear
Source: https://www.vogue.co.uk/shows/autumn-winter-2015-menswear/xander-zhou/collection
DECONSTRUCTED Adjoah Armah
Adjoah Armah
The cultivators Exploring utilitarian costume in the 1930's American west, Rural Romania, and North Africa: this collection is an exploration of textiles traditions and pattern cutting within these cultural and historical contexts. It rethinks the clothing of those who live off the land.
DECONSTRUCTED Dr Noki
Dr Noki
Why did you start creating ‘T-shirt magazines’?
I started making magazines to parody the point of sale and how we are being fed concepts of consumerism. I would sew two t-shirts together, pile them up as if they were a big thick magazine and then I would tear double paged spreads out and give them to my friends to wear to the clubs.
The t-shirts would get loads of attention but they weren’t really saying Adidas they were saying aids, or ellesse had been changed to sexless. People would connect to this familiar typography but would be reading something new. It wasn’t about printing on new like in the 80s, it was about using the second hand textile that had already been printed because from the 80s-90s a myriad of t-shirts had been printed to facilitate the rave.
Four New Horses of the Mini Apocalypse
Source: http://www.therevivalcollective.com/dr-noki/
This particular piece by Dr Noki stood out to me through the violent and seemingly spontaneous tears. the tears are paired with a considerably violent image too, and this gripped my attention instantly. it almost seems as if Dr Noki conveys his anger towards consumerism through the physical aesthetics and dimensions of his work. he then mockingly contrasts the image of zombies to the head of Minnie Mouse on a Ralph Lauren horse. The use of contradiction after contradiction doesn't allow the viewers eyes to rest, staying alert and following the aggression of Dr Noki himself.
although i'm not trying to convey the sort of emotion that Dr Noki does, i admire the way in which he knows how to keep eyes on his work, almost frantically in order to figure out every hidden clue he dots around. i think that i could try to portray this in my work by having such a sharp shape which is out of place, or something in the image that forcibly conveys an idea, but you're not really sure what that idea is, and you dont have to be.