Robe mousseline floquée dentelles RED VALENTINO, sandales cuir et talons miroirs ROCHAS

Robe mousseline floquée dentelles RED VALENTINO

Robe col claudine broderies anglaises maille cellophane de soie LOUIS VUITTON, Mules cuir et métal LOUIS VUITTON

Top ras du cou satin duchesse et crochet PAULE KA, jupe plissée rebrodée de paillettes LIE SANG BONG

Robe bustier broderies anglaises coton et sur-robe en organza LOUIS VUITTON

Tailleur jupe satin de soie ROCHAS, sandales cuir et talons miroirs ROCHAS

Robe paillettes rectangulaires SPORTMAX

Photographer Pierre Touboul
Stylist Nathalie Croquet
Hair & Make-up Jabe at B Agency
Models Brynja at NEXT Models and Alina at Evidence Model Management
Production & Casting Goodwork

FASHION REFERENCES

LIE SANG BONG; LOUIS VUITTON; PAULE KA; RED VALENTINO; ROCHAS; SPORTMAX

Text by Anna Battista

In the last few years, technical developments, design innovations and unusual alliances between different fibres and blends introduced contemporary knitwear designers to an entire new world of possibilities and inspirations, prompting them to push the fashion boundaries. Brooke Roberts is among such designers.

An Applied Science graduate who also worked as a radiographer, in 2002 Roberts moved onto fashion, studying at London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins. When it came to creating her collections Roberts’ fascination with human anatomy proved extremely important and she decided to explore uncharted waters by combining scientifical inspirations and crafts in her creations, manipulating medical images in the textile design software Eneas, programming the pattern in a knitting machine and obtaining different effects according to the yarns selected and the machine gauge used.

CT scans and the sheer/opaque dichotomy of X-rays inspired Roberts the jacquard and tubular knitting techniques with ‘suture’ stitches employed in her Spring/Summer 2011 collection entitled “Cuts” in which she reproduced via graphic and embossed motifs the densities and textures of tissue, bone and air on X-rays.

Further experiments with X-ray calibration films led Roberts to the A/W 2011-12 geometric designs in scales of grey made using camel, cashmere, extra fine wool bouclé, silk and 3M Scotchlite retro-reflective yarn.

For her current collection “Wo÷Man Machine” (S/S 12), Roberts mixed ‘50s sci-fi films such as Fred M. Wilcox’s 1956 Forbidden Planet with images from the Allen Institute for Brain Science designing graphic embossed motifs on soft pastels and recreating through delicate colours and yarns the effects of the staining technique developed by histologist Franz Nissl.

ZOOT Magazine: You studied science but then moved onto fashion: which was the main reason behind this decision?

Brooke Roberts: I am a creative thinker, but work quite logically. I did some short-courses in pattern cutting, then realised I wanted to study fashion full-time. Design requires technical ability and creative thought. Knitting is particularly technical, which is why is suits me so well.

In a way being a scientist and being a fashion designer are very different yet very similar professions, as both rely on human creativity – would you agree on this point?

BR: Yes, I do, both require an experimental approach. Science works within very specific boundaries to a well-defined set of rules. The beauty of science is that it helps us understand the world around us. It seeks to provide answers. Art and design tend to ask questions, rather than providing answers. Art and science are beautiful sides of the same coin. I don’t use quotes often, but this one by Albert Einstein is particularly relevant: “All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree”.

Did you find it difficult to transform into patterns for the knitting machine the X-ray calibration films?

BR: It was challenging. That was the whole reason I did it. I never set out to make something with skills I already have. I make myself find new skills every season. That’s what I love most about my job.

Which was the most difficult garment you made?

BR: Every season I use a new technique, or new yarn, or both. Each season seems the most difficult, and the first sample of every style can take a week to program and swatch, then another week to knit, cut and construct. I usually knit all the trims and components, so there can be up to 15 processes in a garment, and more than 20 stages of construction. The funny thing is, at the end of every season, I forget how hard it was!

Your current S/S 12 collection “Wo÷Man Machine” is inspired by ‘50s sci-fi films and images taken from the Allen Institute for Brain Science, do you have any specific film references?

BR: I watched several movies, but the one I enjoyed most was Forbidden Planet. The Allen Institute images were a stronger influence, alongside robotics and the concept of creating garments that combine machine and hand-made techniques.

Can you talk us through your creative process?

BR: I start with a mood, concept and image – it might be an image I have seen at the hospital that sparks off an idea, or a swatch I have seen in a textiles book. It could even be a garment someone is wearing on the tube. I then look at techniques and new technology before looking at the seasonal yarn cards, from which I decide colours and textures. This part takes a great deal of time, as yarn is totally dependent on technique and it is impossible to know at that stage how I will combine the yarns in programs and whether the fabrics will actually work. I usually go with my instincts and what excites me, rather than what I know will work. I then create the patterns and toiles before going to the factory to commence programming, testing and development of the fabrics. Then I make the sample collection, for presentation at London and Paris Fashion week.

What kind of yarns do you prefer?

BR: I prefer yarns that behave unpredictably and create unusual effects. In the past I have combined camel hair with retro-reflective yarn and bioceramic with cotton and elastic. My base yarns are always the highest quality, but it’s impossible for me to only use natural yarns. I would get bored in an instant!

Your pieces are made in Italy, there are quite a few historical mills over there, have you worked with any of them?

BR: I have worked with factories in Como, and I am now expanding to other factories in the UK and Europe.

You did a year at The Hospital Club as creative in residence, how was it and did you develop anything new research-wise/fashion-wise during it?

BR: I have just completed my Residency at The Hospital Club. I presented my S/S12 show “Wo÷Man Machine” during London Fashion Week in the form of a dance presentation, choreographed by Riccardo Buscarini, with sound design by Elspeth Brooke. All three of us won the Creatives in Residence award. Here is the trailer: http://vimeo.com/37721446

Who has been the greatest influence on your career choices?

BR: My boyfriend Emi, a scientist and inventor, my business mentor David Watts, and the little voice in my head.

Is there a technique you’d like to experiment with in future?

BR: I do love embroidery and hand-painted textiles. I am particularly interested in embroidered medical textiles and knitted surgical devices at the moment.

If you could launch a collaboration with a scientist who would you choose?

BR: That’s a really tricky one. I think I’m more likely to collaborate with a research scientist who is working on materials and intelligent fabrics.

What are you working on at the moment?

BR: I’m working on another collaboration with Riccardo Buscarini for the Place Prize 2012. It is an extension of our previous collaboration, “Wo÷Man Machine”. Our roles have flipped, with Riccardo directing and me creating the costumes.

Text by Anna Battista

Anne Fabricius Moller

Visitors popping around at the Mindcraft12 showcase organised by Danish Crafts, an institution of the Danish Ministry of Culture, will be plesantly surprised by the diversity of the pieces included.

This year Danish Crafts brings to Ventura Lambrate – Milan Design Week’s new event for experimental projects – pieces created by sixteen artists, including interior, jewellery and fashion designers. The exhibition features pieces for every taste: from refined chairs made using a minimum amount of materials and tools, to more artistic projects such as relief imprints left by Pirelli tyres in clay, gravity defying space measuring devices, one-off prints made with reactive dye on cotton textiles, and fabric-based “art in progress” projects that will reveal the first tangible results in 12 years’ time.

Ben Clement & Sebastian de la Cour

Each piece is unique and original and perfectly summarises the recent developments in modern Danish crafts: Ben Clement and Sebastian de la Cour’s optical mirrors function as design objects, but also as conceptual installations; Henrik Vibskov’s “Suitnest Dinner” is a rattan weave and leather picnic basket that includes a dinner shirt and jacket plus room for food and utensils, while Louise Campbell’s “Papercuts” lamps, created for the Danish lamp manufacturer Louis Poulsen, employ the light to project delicate three-dimensional geometrical motifs on the surface of the lamp and on the walls of a room.

Louise Campbell

“The process of curating was about selecting the designers/craftspeople and not projects already done, this gave it an extra thrill. I gave everyone a theme to work from – for example ‘vertical surface’, ‘bookcase’, ‘mirrored’ and ‘between two points’- so a main criteria was their individual high quality and the fact that they are brilliant in their own fields,” Cecilie Manz, curator of the previous and of the current edition of Mindcraft states.”It fascinates me that all the creators included are so dedicated to what they do. Putting all the individual projects together – Kaori Juzu’s enamel brooches with their breathtaking beautiful materiality, Eske Rex’s approach and way of thinking in developing his measuring device, or the great solution suggested by the functionality of Jakob Jørgensen’s book storage system – in one exhibition will hopefully bring a feeling of unity.”

Thomas Bentzen

The showcase focuses a lot also on the materials employed, such as textiles, wood, enamel, stainless steel, ceramic, copper and gold, highlighting the importance of modern craftsmanship. “I believe the point is to accept that machines aren’t necessary evil, we just need to keep and develop the understanding of the process behind the making of objects. In other words, we shouldn’t erase old knowledge, techniques and craftmanship, but find a way to rethink these things and combine them with new technologies, new materials and new ways of production,” Manz concludes.

Henrik Vibskov

“Mindcraft12”, 17^th-22^nd April 2012,Ventura Lambrate, Via Ventura 6, Milan.

Text by Anna Battista

Graduate shows have turned into the most exciting events of many fashion weeks, the places where you can spot real talents and see genuine innovation and fashion creativity at its best, with no marketing restrictions and anxieties about sales.

Central Saint Martins’ MA graduation show may steal the scene in London, but the graduation show put on by the Academy of Art University has become since 2005 a steady appointment during New York Fashion Week for the American and international fashion industry professionals.

It is undeniable that, fashion-wise the San Francisco-based institution has gone from strength to strength. Internationality set the mood during The Academy’s latest fashion show, with nine designers coming from all over the world and presenting their unique and distinctive vision.

Clean lines and dark shades dominated: Amy Bond transformed complex shapes inspired by construction into minimalist silhouettes, creating practical silk georgette, silk charmeuse and Schoeller-Aeroshell dresses in a neutral palette based on gray, ivory and black with splashes of aubergine, while South Korean Kate Y.K. Lee moved from architecture designing garments defined by a sculptural and sharp silhouette.

The study of philosophy and the Greeks’ theory that beauty is about symmetry, proportion and harmony, provided Xiang Zhang with the main theme for his collection. Focusing on Plato’s theory stating that the highest form of beauty can be explained by principles of mathematics, the young designer layered his ethereal silk mohair dresses and tops characterised by a basic rectangular shape, on white shirts and matched them with sand cashmere coats.

Layering was also the keyword to unlock the collection of pattern maker Jade Juanyu Liu. The latter moved from French collage artist Damien Blottière, a master in creating shadows and spaces through layers. Liu played with different fabrics and materials – wool, jersey and fur – to reproduce Blottière’s technique in her gray, black, and copper bonded microfiber tops and dresses.

Taiwanese-born graphic designer Deanna Pei-Ju Lo opted instead for a collection based on black and navy blue shades inspired by masculine shapes and silhouettes and more specifically by the look of Teddy Boys, but employing luxurious fabrics including lambskin and cotton velvet, hinting at femininity through her choice of materials.

A honourable mention goes to South Korean pattern maker Donghyuk Dan Kim who presented the only menswear collection in the show. Vintage military uniforms and the American West were the starting points, but the designer managed to reinterpret these garments in a uniquely modern way coming up with oilcloth shirts, leather vests, and jackets with padded areas and leather inserts, alternating cotton leggings to sensible pants, playing with volumes and reinventing the classic military oilcloth cape into a modernly urban piece.

Interview with Wu Di

Born and raised in China, after graduating from Shenyang Normal University and starting her design studio in her home country, Wu Di decided to continue her studies at the Academy of Art University and pursue an MFA in Fashion Design.

Her graphic collection, inspired by geometric figures and by the work of artist and printmaker Aaron Coleman that mixes patterns found in nature with man-made technological and architectural elements, features versatile pieces such as coats or dresses with parts that can be zipped off to become functional jackets or separates, and elegant cashmere and double-face wool knits with angular silhouettes and asymmetric tweed patches matched with pencil skirts.

Wu Di

ZOOT Magazine: Who has been the greatest influence on your career choices?

Wu Di: I started to enjoy fashion design as a child. I remember I liked making clothes for my dolls. My mum also played an important role in my choices since she is a great knitter. Among the contemporary fashion houses that I like there are Céline, Lanvin and Calvin Klein.

Z: Can you tell us more about your creative process?

WD: Before designing, I research a lot my inspirations. I also carry out a lot of researches about fabrics both visiting stores in person and searching things online. This is a really interesting part of my design process. Then I do some sketches and small samples of the details in my garments. I try to make sure that all the elements – design, fabrics, colours, details – go well one with the other and then I start making the entire collection.

Wu Di

Z: How did you feel about showcasing your collection at the Academy of the Art fashion show?

WD: I was so excited to get this opportunity and be part of New York Fashion Week. I was  feeling nervous because my collection would be the first to be showcased on the Academy of Art runway. Therefore, I really wanted it to set a great mood for the entire show. My family, friends and my professors from the Academy of Art University gave me a lot of support and encouragement. I got great feedback after the show and that really made me happy.

Wu Di

Z: Can you tell us more about your collection, is there a theme behind it?

WD: I was inspired by architecture and by the work of Indianapolis-based artist and printmaker Aaron Coleman and his use of complex geometric patterns and shapes. The collection features angular silhouettes and geometric patterns, which I created using cashmere knits and double-face wool. I opted for luxury fabrics in the entire collection.

Z: What are your future plans?

WD: I want to get a job in a company doing high fashion women’s wear design. This will allow me to keep on studying while being immersed in the real fashion industry.

Farida Khan

Interview with Farida Khan

Born in Pakistan and currently living in Qatar, Farida Khan received a Higher National Diploma in Fashion Design from Edexcel BTEC, completing her MFA degree in Fashion Design through the Academy of Art University’s Online Fashion Program.

Ideas of unconventional beauty were the starting point, but Khan mixed this theme with technological inspirations, creating dresses with well-defined shapes using wool gabardine, coated denim, polyurethane and punched leather.

Farida Khan

ZOOT Magazine: Who has been the greatest influence on your career choices?

Farida Khan: I find Belgian designers very inspirational. I admire Martin Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester and Raf Simons. Alexander McQueen’s career is also very impressive and I have deep respect for the legacy he has left behind.

Z: How do you find your inspirations?

FK: In a word, I would define myself as a “Metamodernist” as my inspirations try to go beyond postmodernism. Reforming, restructuring and reinventing are the driving forces that keep me inspired. Premeditation is generally never a norm when I develop ideas in my sketch files. I fill many pages with self-created paper cut-outs, automated imagery and surreal writings finding the standout elements that relate most to my mood. I hardly ever work with a single mood board. Fabrics become the focus for development and research at a very early stage and stay so until the actual making of the designs.

Farida Khan

Z: How did you feel at showcasing your collection at the Academy of the Art fashion show?

FK: Working with Simon Ungless, the Director of the School of Fashion, as my mentor for the graduate collection has been a very exciting experience. Showcasing this collection at New York Fashion Week does full justice to the hard work put in by the students and by their lecturers. I have received due attention and it has been really positive. I feel this is only the beginning of an exciting journey ahead of me.

Farida Khan

Z: Can you tell us more about your collection, is there a theme behind it?

FK: Acute interest in dissolving values about traditional gender specific clothing and trying to find beauty in unconventional places motivated me to develop an understated yet technically complex collection. It is an attempt to rebel against what is generally conceived as awe-inspiring beauty. I wanted to define both today and tomorrow’s designs by developing classic pieces – in wool, cotton, coated denim, state of the art polyurethane and punched leather – that somehow represented the beginning of a quest for innovation. This collection represents for me the beginning of a radical journey that I will devote myself to throughout the length of my career. I tend to always rebel, yet I never forget to pay homage to the traditionally tailored pieces that never fail to fascinate me.

Z: What are your future plans?

FK: I have been encouraged to go onto further studies at European fashion schools and I am seriously looking at this option for career development. I would then settle down in Paris. I dream about working with Raf Simons one day! The Academy of Art University has provided me with excellent training. I am confident I can use this foundation to further enhance my career path.

Jeanette Au

Interview with Jeanette Au

Jeanette Au grew up in New York City as a second generation Chinese-American and graduated from the Fiorello H. La Guardia High School of Music and Performing Arts where she studied painting and drawing. She left New York to study performance, printing, video and digital media at the San Francisco Art Institute, but ended up training in knitwear design at the Academy of Art University’s MFA programme.

The strong colours – including sapphire, silver blue, garnet, ruby and copper – intricate 3-D patterns and textures characterising her collection are inspired not only by the nuances of the Ballets Russes’ costumes, but also by musical compositions that accompanied the corps de ballet’s choreographies,  such as Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring”.

Jeanette Au

ZOOT Magazine: You started as an artist, but then decided to train in knitwear, what prompted this decision?

Jeanette Au: I decided to train in knitwear design when I realised that knitwear could blur the boundaries between art, craft and fashion and be a medium where a dialogue could be pushed and challenged. Contemporary women artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Yayoi Kusama, Janine Antoni, whose work deal with the body and who use sculpture or fabric as mediums, were also influential in my choice. These women created pieces suspended between the grotesque and the beautiful and challenging traditional notions of beauty always inspired me. The work of Turkish artist Pinar Yolaçan, her depictions of elderly women dressed in tripe and chicken heads or her S&M Leigh Bowery-esque Venus of Willendorfs, recently had a profound influence on me. While I design, I am always aware of this duality and contradiction, of this fine line between these two different moods, plus I enjoy having a sense of humor in fashion.

Jeanette Au

Z: Can you tell us more about your creative process?

JA: I start off researching my inspirations that usually come from different sources, from watching a film or reading a novel to seeing a contemporary art exhibit, taking photos or hearing a musical score. Once I have the direction and the mood, I choose the colors and source the yarns and materials I want to use. Then I start experimenting with various techniques to create the textures that reflect the mood and inspiration.

Z: How did you feel at showcasing your collection at the Academy of the Art fashion show?

JA: I received a lot of positive responses from the audience and the press at New York Fashion Week. I felt that my work resonated with people on an emotional level because the colors and textures were overwhelming and reached out to all the senses. I felt that my audience “got it” and that my communication through fabric and form was effective and this was very important to me.

Jeanette Au

Z: Can you tell us more about your collection, is there a theme behind it?

JA: My collection took root in my fascination with the Ballets Russes and Serge Diaghilev’s collaborative efforts with artists such as Vaslav Nijinsky, Léon Bakst and Igor Stravinsky, who helped constructing an exotic and imaginary “other”, a fantasy created for Western desire and consumption. Thinking about dance, music and visuals converging, I tried to translate this type of multi-sensory decadence with rich, shimmery, sensuous and textural knits. “Le sacre du printemps” (The Rite of Spring) ballet and score was also a major theme and inspiration, as I imagined the patterns reflecting light, moving and changing colour according to Stravinsky’s dissonance and Nijinsky’s pigeon-toed staccato movements. My muse was the heroine from the film “The  Red Shoes”, a ballet dancer whose personal and professional struggle imitates the tragic ballet that she performs based on the Hans Christian Andersen’s cautionary fairy tale. She’s asked why she desires to dance and she answers “Why do you want to live?” For her, living is equated with being able to create her art form and I related to this feeling and struggle while I was working on this collection.

Z: What kind of materials did you use for this collection?

JA: I used mohair, wool, synthetic and metallic yarns to create the knitted fabric. I wanted to focus on the craziness that could be accomplished only through knitwear, so I only used materials that I could knit with.

Z: What are your future plans?

JA: I have plans to design accessories for an eco-sustainable company and I will be working on custom orders from my collection. I would love to work with Kenzo or Rodarte one day because both brands produce strong knitwear.

Jeanette Au

All images by Randy Brooke/WireImage

F/W 2013 Working Class by Ksenia Schnaider from ksenia schnaider on Vimeo.

Ksenia Schnaider studio was founded by Ukrainian fashion designer Ksenia Marchenko and Russian graphic designer Anton Schnaider in 2011. The collection is dedicated to the working class. Ksenia Schnaider have chosen elevators as a symbol of any working place and universal transport to get to your job. Director of the video is young ukrainian artist Arthur Mine, who made models move in a stoic manner. Music by Berlin-based Cyan Kid.

www.kseniaschnaider.com

In a world that has propelled the fashion designer from the drawing or the cutting table to interstellar fame, it can be difficult to find a book by a fashion industry insider with their feet firmly planted on the ground. Enter husband-and-wife team Isabel and Ruben Toledo.

The couple, genuinely admired by a bunch of art, fashion and even architecture critics, journalists and museum curators, became definitely more famous three years ago when First Lady Michelle Obama donned the by now famous Isabel Toledo lemongrass lace ensemble on Inauguration Day.

Now, a recently released book by Penguin’s imprint Celebra, devoted to books on or by Hispanic celebrities, tells the story of the Toledos, exploring the inspirations behind their work.

Roots of Style: Weaving Together Life, Love, and Fashion – illustrated with Ruben’s elegant drawings – starts in Cuba where Isabel was born surrounded by the love and affection of family and friends and by a quiet yet mesmerising house presence, a sewing machine that belonged to her grandfather’s first wife.

Isabel spent in Cuba an idyllic childhood, surrounded by strong female presences, from her mother to her aunts and neighbours, all independent women with their own distinctive style and personality.

In 1968, after the Cuban Revolution, her parents decided to move to the United States. A new chapter opened up in Isabel’s life. While perfectly managing to integrate herself in this new culture and environment in which freedom was the key word, young Isabel developed a new obsession, sewing, and a genuine passion for cutting patterns.

Soon sewing her clothes became from a child’s hobby, a form of communication: going out at weekends and discovering the New York dance scene was the perfect excuse to keep on creating clothes and experimenting with patterns.

Meeting in high school shy art student Ruben Toledo, like her a Cuban refugee, and falling in love with him, also opened new doors, as they started collaborating together, finding a way to mix art and fashion.

This part of the book will prove particularly interesting for readers interested in the New York scene: through the Fiorucci shop Isabel and Ruben met indeed key characters including Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf, Klaus Nomi and Joey Arias. Working at Unique Clothing Warehouse, Ruben assisted Grace Jones who came in shopping with Issey Miyake and also sold Devo their iconic orange nylon jumpsuits.

The couple also started collaborating on Arias and Nomi’s performances, designing sets and costumes. Spotted by Madonna’s stylist Maripol, who was at the time also in charge of finding young designers to showcase at Fiorucci’s, they were offered a prime spot in a concession stand at the store where they enlisted the help of a very special sale assistant, model and filmmaker Suzie Zabrowska.

Orders from Henri Bendel and Patricia Field’s shop followed, the fashion media spotted the new designer and eventually the first catwalk show arrived in 1984. From that moment on the Toledos kept on growing, developing a designer’s alphabet, offering innovative fashion solutions to women eager to experiment with their wardrobes and eventually gaining a cult following.

From sharing a studio with Warhol’s muse and assistant Benjamin “Ming Vase” Liu – who also managed to score the couple an appearance on Warhol’s TV show 15 Minutes, introduced by artist and photographer Peter Beard (from a swing…see the clip embedded in this post…) – to special performances in Japan and catwalk shows in New York and Paris, the story of the Toledos’ adventure develops like a dream come true.

The designer also writes about her work at Anne Klein and her collaborations with bigger retailers such as Target and Payless ShoeSource, conceived not as a way to go global, but as an opportunity to offer to a wider audience the chance of buying a piece designed by Isabel Toledo.

The design process that led to the creation of Michelle Obama’s dress is obviously included, even though, design-wise the parts about the exhibitions at The Museum at FIT are probably more interesting since they tackle vital principles in Isabel Toledo’s vocabulary, from Origami to Shape, Suspension, Shadow, Organic Geometry, and Liquid Architecture.

The book often highlights how the designer builds her creations – even the earliest ones from her first collection, such as her experimental red, black and white aerodynamic denim dresses and coats – from the inside out, working like an architect, using patterns as if they were an architect’s blueprint and employing her knowledge of fabrics, stitches and materials.

There are obviously further fashion and art stories that readers will find interesting: from Isabel interning at the Met while former Harper’s Bazaar editrix Diana Vreeland was the consultant at the museum’s Costume Institute, an experience that allowed her to admire, study and touch historical creations, help installing exhibitions and discovering the Costume Institute Conservation Laboratory with its expert seamstresses, to designing costumes for performances and dance troupes (such as Twyla Tharp’s) and working with Ruben as artists in residence at the Pilchuck Glass School.

While the book mainly focuses on the Toledos’ personal experiences as artists, it also indirectly poses important questions that regard the entire fashion industry.

In one chapter Isabel talks about the “first come, first served” sitting arrangements at her shows, so that a fashion journalist would end up sitting next to a drag performer, museum curators next to textile manufacturers and so on. Yet this very unusual but open arrangement probably inspired by the democratic atmosphere of the early discos when club kids mixed with celebrities, does not exist anymore, elitism is indeed the norm and the rule and it’s encouraged at fashion weeks all over the world.

The designer also mentions here and there the importance of the fashion journalists’ curiosity in discovering her, and of the will to spot and nurture new talents, things that rarely exist in the contemporary fashion media, more interested in continuously discovering the “next big thing”, but definitely not caring about letting this new brilliant discovery grow up and develop.

“The idea that designers should be encouraged to explore raw concepts and take creative risks was almost extinct, because it was seen as too financially risky,” Isabel Toledo states about her decision to drop out of New York Fashion Week in the late 1990s, slow down and create collections at her own pace rather than at breakneck speed. “The fashion scene shifted to the entertaining, slick theatrical productions of the fashion shows themselves. The emphasis was no longer on the clothes; in fact the spotlight seemed to be on everything but the clothes (…) Designing minds need time to nurture original ideas and allow them to develop. This is like replanting a forest: if we don’t allow enough time for this important natural process, we end up with open ground that is barren of new ideas.”

There are parts that may have been edited such as the digression on the concept of time and the last few pages with a bullet list of suggestions and the style of the book is sometimes slightly fractured (this may have been caused by different ghost writers working on it…), but Ruben’s drawings perfectly manage to illustrate the story and provide an acceptable level of distraction to those fashionistas who may not like reading.

Towards the end of the book, the designer anticipates she is working with Ruben on a new exhibition to be held at the museum of Miami’s Freedom Tower, symbolically considered as the couple’s very own Ellis Island since 450,000 Cubans passed through it between 1962 and 1974.

What will it be like? Nothing is revealed, but you can bet that it will blend art, fashion, architecture, imagination and fantasy, a winning combination of interests and disciplines that makes the Toledos more similar to intrepid Italian artist and designer Bruno Munari than to anybody else currently working in the fashion industry.

In conclusion, though, it must be highlighted that Roots of Style is not a book about the Toledos being rare drops in the bland and vast ocean of the fashion industry, but it’s a volume conceived to inspire its readers with a very important message for all the young fashion design students out there: be authentic to your work, take care of the smallest details in your business and, above all, remember that you don’t have to turn into an instant overnight success manipulated and exploited by the dark corporate forces of the fashion industry.

“Roots of Style: Weaving Together Life, Love, and Fashion” by Isabel Toledo is out now. An event about “Roots of Style” featuring Nina García, Fashion Director of Marie Claire, and Isabel and Ruben Toledo, was held on 29th March 2012 at El Museo del Barrio, New York. You can check out the details here: www.elmuseo.org/en/event/roots-style

Text by Anna Battista

Human and machine interactions always fascinated researchers. But, while in the past such applications, interactions and relations were often considered as the realm of science and sci-fi, new studies have focused in the last few years on how to apply specific human resources and machine interfaces to other fields such as design and product development. Moving from the greatest dilemmas confronted by modern artisans – how can machinery replace human hand and how can we balance man and machine’s potential – Korean designer Joong Han Lee developed the “Haptic Intelligentsia” project, meant to combine craftsmanship with computerised technology and therefore rediscover the importance of manual labour even in a super efficient and automated world.

After receiving his undergraduate degree in Interactive Product Design from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, Joong Han Lee continued his studies with an MA at the Design Academy Eindhoven where he focused on Contextual Design. During his first year in Eindhoven he unofficially launched his Studio Homunculus, hoping to spark up a dialogue between human behavior, psychology, and technology, and started his Haptic Intelligentsia project. The latter consists in a 3-D printing machine with an extruding gun attached to a haptic interface that allows the user to intervene on the design adding it a human finish, allowing the maker to rediscover the pleasure in the act of making, a pleasure that often derives from slow rhythms.

Together with Thomas Maincent’s “SpiderFarm” and Thomas Vailly’s “The Metabolic Factory”, Joong Han Lee’s “Haptic Intelligentsia” will be part of a collective presentation by Z33 at the Ventura Lambrate event during Milan Design Week. The collective event is a preview of “The Machine”, an exhibition that will open in June in Belgium.

ZOOT Magazine: What inspired the Haptic Intelligentsia project?

Joong Han Lee: Over the past few years I have had many discussions with my colleagues, trying to find the dividing line between “hand-made” and “machine-made”. I’m quite good at using several 3D software programs, being able to draw and visualise complex shapes freely, and the rapid prototyping machine would print out the exact shape I designed. Yet, I still felt a bit distanced from these 3D printed models. Despite my creations behind the computer screen, the process of making was missing a human touch. So, I decided to investigate this from a craftsman’s perspective.

Z: Which could be the applications in the design industry of this device?

JHL: The device I modified for my project has been around for many years. The so-called haptic force-feedback device gives the user the sensation that you are actually touching the virtual object being constructed on the computer. Many design industries have already been using it to virtually carve and mould 3D objects. These 3D objects, however, still remain behind the screen, unless they are printed with the 3D printer. My project flips the making order and the user can actually feel the virtual object, without looking at the monitor, and then visualising it by applying the physical material.

Z: Would you like to develop the Haptic Intelligentsia project further and maybe highlight more the human intervention aspect of the device?

JHL: Haptic Intelligentsia is just one of my many projects, which often deal with human intervention. I think that design should always reflect human nature. My studio focuses on human-centred design to provoke a dialogue related to human behavior, psychology, and technology.

Z: What are your future plans for Haptic Intelligentsia?

JHL: At the moment I am working on making more defined objects, since I initially focused on the process aspect in design so now I can have fun with the objects.

Z: There is at the moment a lot of interest about 3D printing, do you think that in future these devices will have wider applications?

JHL: With no doubt. I think this is just the beginning. Nowadays most households have an inkjet printer, but the 3D printer will become more and more available and will eventually have its own place next to the inkjet printer. Wider applications will of course also be developed along the way.

Z: Who has been the greatest influence on your career choices?

JHL: When I was growing up in Korea, I came across a book about Danish designer Verner Panton. I immediately fell in love with his works and became interested in design. I have a couple of miniature Panton chair I bought while I visited the Vitra Museum in Germany!

Z: Would you like to collaborate with a product designer/architect/fashion designer one day?

JHL: I am always looking for a collaboration, and I would not mind as long as they share the same vision in design. I also like working with people who are not from the design field as they can bring different values and knowledge to what I do.

Z: What are you working on at the moment?

JHL: Several projects still dealing with process and human interaction.

Joong Han Lee’s Haptic Intelligentsia will be part of the Z33 a preview of The Machine, Ventura Lambrate, Milan, 17^th-22^nd April 2012. The Machine will be on from 1 June 2012 at C-Mine (Genk, Belgium).

All images © Joong Han Lee

During the 38th Edition of ModaLisboa, Lidija Kolovrat announced her latest masculine footwear collaboration for the Autumn/Winter 2013 season with progressive footwear brand FLY LONDON. The new WATSON line was chosen especially for this collaboration and featured on the Lidija Kolovrat catwalk.

www.flylondon.com / www.lidijakolovrat.org

By Lucy Mclean

Text by Anna Battista

There’s a strange architecture, sculpture and digital fascination in the creations of Winde Rienstra. Her designs are almost structural systems, confluences of complex geometries and ornament, performance and aesthetics, modern technology and traditional culture.

The Dutch designer graduated in 2009 from the Utrecht School of the Arts (HKU), studied in Australia for a while and, upon her return to Holland, did an internship at Iris van Herpen. In 2010 she launched her label and, since then, her collections have been showcased at various fashion events while some pieces were bought by cultural institutions such as the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague.

Her latest collection, presented at the end of January during Amsterdam Fashion Week, moves from the mathematical paintings of Dutch artist J.C.J. van Schagen and plays with density, deformations and transformations. Entitled “Reflections in Facets”, Rienstra’s new collection is based on a series of dichotomies, from strict Vs rigid to relaxed Vs stiff, flexible Vs tense and liquid Vs solid. Patterns derive from variations on cubic structures, while traditional materials are matched with more unusual ones including plywood and glass to create designs in which delicate elements interact with stronger and stiffer structures.

ZOOT Magazine: How was the latest edition of Amsterdam Fashion Week that took place at the end of January?

Winde Rienstra: It was great, stressful but exciting. It went really well and I received a lot of positive feedback, plus the heels were a big hit!

Z: What inspired your latest collection?

WR: My main sources of inspiration were the mathematical paintings of the Dutch painter J.C.J. van Schagen who for years worked on a series based on hyper or multi-dimensional cubes. The patterns distilled out of these cubic structures allowed me to create strict shapes carved out of thin plywood.

The name of the collection comes from the fact that the light reflected by the silk fabric of the dresses alters the way we see these structures: we constantly perceive new patterns when the light changes and hits the facets in different ways. I tried to create further contrasts matching unusual materials, for example silk shines under a delicate corset of thin forming through its reflections with a pair of ethereal wings. For this collection I mainly used silk, wood, cardboard and glass. I love details, so all the buttons employed are antique glass buttons. The shoes, made out of cardboard, were a challenge because I did not study footwear design. Yet I really enjoyed making them and I hope I will be able to produce my own shoes in future.

Z: What inspires you?

WR: Most of the time I get inspired by small objects which I try to blow up and use in my collections. Then I start making some small swatches or tests and I also work a lot with draping on the dummy. Most of the time I just run into things when I am looking for inspiration online. I do find Jugendstil and Art Nouveau very inspiring at the moment.

Z: Is there an architect you particularly like or feel inspired by?

WR: There isn’t a specific architect I’m inspired by and I feel more like a designer rather than an architect when I create my pieces, but I would love to design a building and be an achitect for a while!

Z: Some of your designs seem to be based on 3D elaborations, have you ever experimented with 3D technology in your collections?

WR: I’m open to all kinds of new technologies and would love to experiment with new ones in future projects. While I’m definitely going to experiment with 3D printing, I’m still fascinated by more traditional techniques and by their applications to my collections in a modern way.

Z: Is there an artist you’d like to collaborate with?

WR: I would love to work together with an architect, a product designer or even design the costumes for a movie like those from the Star Wars saga, creating pieces for characters à la Queen Padmé Amidala. Yet I must admit that I also like working on my own and making everything by myself since I’ve always been inspired by Leonardo da Vinci and him being a “uomo universale” – a universal man. In some cases, though, it is obviously better to work with professionals from different fields and disciplines who may be able to teach you other skills and techniques.

Z: Would you like to showcase your collections in other fashion capitals?

WR: In future I would love to show in London, Paris and Tokyo. I would also like to see if I can start producing my own footwear and accessories. In the meantime, I’m trying to focus on combining travelling with designing my collections through an artist residency programme. It would be great since, in this way, I could learn more about the sartorial traditions of other cultures and I could then integrate such skills into my designs.

Images of Winde Rienstra’s collection “Reflections in Facets” © Peter Stigter