Hussein Chalayan Fashion Designs - Essay Example

CRITICAL REVIEW OF HUSSEIN CHALAYAN FASHION DESIGNS By Submission Critical Review of Hussein Chalayan Fashion Designs Hussein Chalayan is one of the most famous names in the fashion industry. He is a born Turkish in the early years of 1970 but developed most of his fashion designs in England. As such, he is a Turkish British Cypriot fashion designer. His skills are exemplary and well recognized in the fashion industry. This is evident from the stream of awards that come his way, such as the British Designer of the Year, an award that he won two years in a row, in 1999 and in 2000. In addition, Hussein’s accolades include an MBE, which he got in 2006. The reason why Hussein shines in the fashion industry is his disciplined touch, and specialization in a wide array of designs exhibited during his fashion shows. The fashion shows run by Hussein Chalayan in exhibiting his designs carries an exceptional sense of style and character. For instance, most of his fashion shows have a characteristic sets that are minimal, as well as, exhibit a certain sense of suspense in the mood. Hussein does not stop at anything to dazzle the world with his wonderful designs, especially considering the elements of geometric structures, urban architecture, as well as, contemporary interiors incorporated in them. His shows explore a certain sense of theoretical and conceptual designs that play out behind his garments across the body of the models used for the fashion design. This, in fact, is one of the winning strategies that Hussein uses to beat his competitors to the prize especially in most of the fashion show competitions he participates. The aura and glamour of his designs always put him ahead of other designers, making him one of the hottest designers in the fashion industry. One of the most reveling fashion design exhibitions played out by Hussein was in January 22, 2009. In fact, the media, such as the Daily Telegraph, terms this fashion exhibition as “a Beautifully Orchestrated Show”. This fashion design was at the London Museum of Modern Art and attracted partners and stakeholders from the vast fashion industry. As the expert he was, Hussein did not disappoint his audience, and as such, left the media partners both dazed and confused from his meticulous pieces of designs, covering different cultural aspects, themes, innovation and creativity, as well as, an avid mind of incorporating technology and design in his creations. The fashion show development incorporated the most contemporary fashion designs with his pieces leading the forefront. He was meticulous as always, with his incorporation of the most progressive attitudes towards the adoption of new technology, as well as, instituting a meticulous pattern cutting that exhibits his innovative usage of materials. This exhibition was very instrumental for the designer as it was his first comprehensive presentation of all of his works and designs in the United Kingdom, a country where his fame and prestige towers above other fashion designers. Consequently, he used this platform to sell out his new designs and exhibited to the world how best technology, innovation, and passion can transform fashion into a glorious design. This comprehensive fashion design incorporated the various styles and approaches used by Hussein in designing his garments. It incorporated his works spanning a period of fifteen years, and including the massive experimental projects undertaken over the years. This was an opportunity to explore the creative approach used by Chalayan in making his design, his inspirations, together with the numerous themes that influence his works, such as migration, displacement, as well as, cultural identity. These themes enable most of his customers to perceive him as a guru in the fashion industry, and as such, idolize and adopt his fashion designs loyally. He was able to create a lasting picturesque of his designs before the UK market, and create a lasting feeling of his designs within the market, which enable his users to blend into various cultures, various seasons, as well as, remain trendy and in fashion. Some of the winning pieces of his designs exhibited during this show were “Afterwards”, a design that explores the notion of “portable and wearable architecture” whereby the furniture in the designs transforms itself literally into a piece of cloth or a sassy garment. Another design presented in this fashion show was “Airborne”. This design introduced into the fashion industry the latest LED technology to fashion design. Hussein used a spectacular dress that consisted of Swarovski crystals, as well as, more than fifteen thousand flickering LED lights. This was a perfect incorporation of the new model of technology into fashion design, and as such, showing a how a great and innovative mid he is through the eye-turning Swarovski dress. Other classic designs exhibited during this fashion show were the “Before Minus Now” showcased through a demin dress composed of materials used in the construction of aircrafts and can change shape by the mere usage of a remote control. The “Readings” design was a dress comprising of more than 200 moving lasers that presented a spectacle of light that was extraordinary. This fashion design gave Hussein a global podium to meet his critics and lovers expectations as the resident mad scientist of fashion, a colloquial term dubbed by most of the lovers of his fashions. This platform also provides the British designer an opportunity to display his avant-grade creations that push continually across the boundaries of what the human body can adorn. This was evident through his transformation of furniture into a classic design, such as the coffee table he devised in this fashion show and transformed it into an exceptionally attractive wooden skirt. This was a step further from his other fashion show designs, such as one that he made earlier with a creation of an entire collection made from Tyvek, a study envelope paper. The designs made by Hussein are very elegant and fashionable, and loved by most people, such as the celebrities who adorn them for show or modeling. One such a case was Björk who donned one of the jackets made from Tyvek for her cover on the album post. Reference List Dilys E. Blum: Roberto Capucci (Art Into Fashion): Yale University Press, 2011 Guy Debord Society of Spectacle, Zone Books, London 1994 (First Published 1967) Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton (Eds): Poiret, Yale University Press, 2007 Nancy Troy: Couture Culture (A Study in Modern Art and Fashion) MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, 2003 Nicola Whiter and Jan Griffiths (Eds) The Fashion Business: Theory, Practice, Image, Berg, 2000 Pamela Golbin (Ed) Balenciaga, Paris, Les Arts Décoratifs, Thames And Hudson, 2007 Paul Morand: The Allure of Chanel, Pushkin Press, 2008 Skin and Bones (Parallel Practices in Fashion and Architecture) Brooke Hodge, Patricia Mears and Susan Sidlauskas, Thames and Hudson, 2006 Read More