What is concept fashion?

What is concept fashion?

Designer Hussein Chalayan's Spring/Summer 2020 show with invisible models, bizarre materials, swollen silhouettes, do you also show the "old man in the subway looking at his phone" for these fashions The same expression? There is conceptual art in the art world, and conceptual fashion in the fashion world. And behind these "incomprehensible" fashions are hidden figures of conceptual art. From the rise to the decline, where will the concept fashion go? Idea > Wearable? Back in 1996, when Paris Fashion Week was in full swing, fashion editors received a special "invitation letter" that read "Viktor & Rolf on strike." Yes, the two designers did not create a piece of clothing, of course, this is not to be lazy, but to express a protest against the fast pace of the fashion industry with a deliberate "absence". Poster for "Viktor & Rolf is on strike", the brand founded by Dutch designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren. In the same year, they also released a fragrance that cannot be opened, but the packaging, promotion, marketing and other processes have not been completed, in order to criticize the attractive but false image created in the advertisement. Ironically, however, this limited edition perfume was quickly sold out... Viktor & Rolf created a "fake perfume" that couldn't open the cap, the cap design was inspired by the artist Duchamp's work "The Air of Paris" . Marcel Duchamp's "Air de Paris" (Air de Paris), glass, 14.5×8.5×8.5cm, seen here in 1919, you may have been able to grasp the concept of "Conceptual Fashion" Essence. Just as conceptual art, which emerged in the 1960s, is defined as art that uses "concept" as material and exists "completely through textual definition or regulation", conceptual fashion also has the same meaning. It's usually conveying an abstract, immaterial idea, or asking a question that leads to thinking. To some extent, expressing opinions overrides the practical function of "clothes". Comme des Garçons Spring/Summer 1997 collection "Lump" by designer Rei Kawakubo expresses the deconstruction of traditional silhouettes of clothing. "Coffee table skirt" created by designer Hussein Karajan, 2000 Since the end of the 1970s, Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake from Japan, six gentlemen of Antwerp from Belgium and "non-staff" Martin Magee Martin Margiela, Viktor & Rolf of the Netherlands and Hussein Chalayan of the United Kingdom have successively opened the heyday of conceptual fashion for 20 or 30 years. Yohji Yamamoto's Spring/Summer 1999 collection reinterpreted Western wedding dresses. On these shows, you can see the most jaw-dropping creations: masked models; swollen silhouettes that are completely invisible; dresses made from unconventional materials such as coffee tables, ceramic shards, blond hair, tape ; and a response to issues of gender, race, authority, etc... The 2014 Fall/Winter 2014 collection by Walter Van Beirendonck, one of the masked models in Martin Margiela's design, wears the words "Stop Racism" on the headgear (Stop Racism). Unlike many brands working with artists today, conceptual fashion designers can be called artists themselves. They turned the runway into a showroom, using clothing as a carrier, subverting the tradition, and showing people the ability of fashion to transcend vulgarity and please. The inevitable decline of Martin Margiela's ceramic tops? Sadly, the golden age of conceptual fashion is behind us. From the perspective of the development of the industry and the times, its decline is inevitable. Since entering the millennium, streetwear and trendy fashion have gradually emerged. The use of nylon, denim and other casual fabrics in top luxury brands, the disintegration of fashion authority, and the decentralization of fashion discourse have not only impacted the Paris-centered haute couture system for a long time, but also made fashion democratization an irreversible trend. Martin Margiela's Spring/Summer 2005 Collection At the same time, riding the east wind of globalization, fashion empires such as LVMH and Kering are gradually taking shape, vying to incorporate many brands originally run by generations of families or independent designers. Although "backed by a big tree is good to enjoy the shade", the "exchange" supported by abundant funds is undoubtedly the design autonomy at will. The annual and quarterly growth rate of the brand has become a "tightening spell". Compared with artists, fashion designers face greater "selling" pressure. Hussein Karajan's Spring/Summer 2009 series is under such a background, the conceptual fashion, which is deeply influenced by conceptual art, also rejects commercialization and focuses on the expression of concepts, which is even more out of tune with the present. Today, people can still see the continuous creation of designer brands such as Viktor & Rolf and Hussein Karajan, as well as the refreshing "balloon suit" brought by the rising star Fredrik Tjaerandsen. The balloon suits designed by Fredrik Tjaerandsen turned into models on the spot. However, despite the high topic and frequent outings, such designs always appear in various collections of "Wonderful Fashion You Can't Understand", making people take pictures after dinner A happy, become the "atmosphere group" of fashion week, but there are only a few consumers who actually pay for it. Just like the cold reception of conceptual art in the market, conceptual fashion designers are also faced with a similar real dilemma. So what should they do? Viktor & Rolf's Spring/Summer 2019 collection with "No Photos Please" written on the skirt. Viktor & Rolf 2019 spring and summer series, the skirt reads "I'm not shy, I just don't like you" (I'M NOT SHY, I JUST DON'T LIKE YOU). One of the answers left is to leave the fashion industry and become an artist. In 2005, Helmut Lang left his own brand to devote himself to art and to do well - creating sculptures, installations and buildings, participating in the Venice Biennale, and his works have been selected by the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Museum of Art in Boston. Collection by major institutions. His artwork is in the same vein as his clothing design style, showing a minimalist aesthetic. In fact, as early as 1998, he held a group exhibition with artists Louise Bourgeois and Jenny Holzer at the Vienna Museum of Art, and it is estimated that he had long wanted to retire. Helmut Lang "Arbor", installation, 2008, Kestnergesellschaft, Hannover, Germany Helmut Lang "MAKE IT HARD", mixed media, 2011 Coincidentally, 2009, designer Martin Margiela On the 20th anniversary of the brand's founding, he left the fashion world permanently and chose to be an artist. He, who has never given face-to-face interviews to the media, "attended" his latest documentary last year in the form of voice narration, saying that he wanted the work to be associated with his name rather than his face. This year, he also made his first appearance in China with a new exhibition, and the title of "former fashion designer" in the introduction is also embarrassing. The graffiti Tabi boots created by Martin Margiela, the scene of Martin Margiela's exhibition at the Galeries Lafayette in Paris in 1991, from fashion to art in 2021, it is unclear for a while. Is it to abandon the dark to the light, or vice versa. Of course, this may not be entirely for economic reasons, but also to pursue a purer, media-free artistic expression. Brands that have lost their founders seem to have lost their souls. Some have undergone major changes in style, some have struggled to maintain their success, and some have collapsed. But for our budding artists, it's no longer about them. Martin Margiela's exhibition at the Galeries Lafayette in Paris, the one who left in 2021 is not a "deserter", but what remains is indeed admirable. Founded in 1993, the designer duo Viktor & Rolf has been around for almost 30 years. During the 2015 autumn and winter Paris Fashion Week, they presented a show with the theme of "wearable art" at the Palais de Tokyo. The clothes worn by the models are like framed works of art, dismantled by the designers on the spot and hung on the wall, vividly interpreting the relationship between fashion and art, with the color of performance art. Viktor & Rolf's 2015 autumn and winter series "Wearable Art" (Wearable Art) is also in this year, they suspend the ready-to-wear line and focus on the high-definition series, which is intended to "explore the boundaries of wearability, function and form of clothing". It should also be a kind of helplessness and compromise under the general environment. The two have also become well-deserved conceptual artists in the fashion industry. Viktor & Rolf 2016 spring and summer series has always been that fashion always needs the blessing of art to be taken seriously, and art needs the business acumen of fashion to reach a wider public. Conceptual fashion may be an alternative. Designers use concepts as scissors, breaking the boundaries between body and clothing again and again. Although its peak period has passed, it has become synonymous with the niche and has become outside the mainstream. But there is no doubt that without them, fashion week would be completely boring. Will you pay for the work of these designers? Views are welcome. Editor, text Zhang Jianlei This article was originally created by the Art Department of Harper's Bazaar, and may not be reproduced without permission

(Responsible editor：Gorgeous)