Hussein Chalayan

So, I'm pretty in love with the new Hussein Chalayan S/S collection. Though not as good as his F/W as aboslutely nothing ever is and most S/S collections are just fucking crap. This is a LONG photo post and I'm sorry, but Mr. Chlalayan is worth it.





These next five photos are from a film/photo project called Compassion Fatigue. Here is the description from his site:

2006 January-MarchScreened at Garanti Galeri, Istanbul, Turkey

This project explores the ways in which society has transformed nature into increasingly refined utilitarian Objects, E.G., the air conditioner as a means of controlling the flow of air, or the fountain as a way of directing the natural flow of water.

Aesthetic genres such as Art Nouveau and Rococo could also be – with their ornamental stylization of nature – seen as a way of taming nature. These genres, as representatives of a man made image, have themselves been assimilated into the social milieu, thus becoming a new form of nature, they form, over time, part of our natural landscape.

Inhabiting this new environment, however, has had its effect on the human body. By way of assimilation, the body has been contorted into its dimensions in order to better synchronize irself with that space. As a result, it has transformed into a motif of its environment.

By analogy, using spells in the film as the ultimate embodiment of nature, Hussein Chalayan proposes an alternative form of taming reality. The characters dressed in garments echoing the space cast a spell on the central figure. The central figure gets monumentalized as a marble statue further integrating itself into the environment. A voice subtly issuing instructions to the viewer about how they are to read images, accompanies the film, perhaps as a further means of social control.

Now this next set of photos are from the runway, the 2009 S/S collection, so gorgeous.

So many awesome head pieces!

Now, for the absolutely stunning 2008 F/W collection, which I feel is more pertinent anyway, considering winter will be here for much longer still:I would pretty much die to have either the above or below.