Dear Diane and Shaded Viewers,
I saw some great things during my visit to the Florence Deschamps showroom in Paris. Firstly, of course, SORAPOL and Mr Sorapol Chawaphatnakul himself was there to show me his collection. Unfortunately the enormous couture pieces couldn't be brought over from London, but the 8 kilo hand-beaded jacket and the hand-painted, individually-applied feather dress were a pleasure to see up close.
[[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”16386″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”1281″,”width”:”960″}}]] [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”16387″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”1281″,”style”:”line-height: 1.538em;”,”width”:”960″}}]] [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”16388″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”1281″,”style”:”line-height: 1.538em;”,”width”:”960″}}]] [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”16389″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”1281″,”style”:”line-height: 1.538em;”,”width”:”960″}}]]
PAULINE VAN DONGEN sees technology as an aesthetic. She has used the first bendable solar panel in her dress, where a USB cord feeds through the pocket to charge your device. It's a prototype for now, and a great example of how technology can be integrated into a garment as part of the overall design, rather than whole point of the piece. Based in Arnhem, this is a focus of Pauline's ongoing work.
[[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”16391″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”1281″,”style”:”line-height: 1.538em;”,”width”:”960″}}]] [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”16392″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”1281″,”style”:”line-height: 1.538em;”,”width”:”960″}}]]"I wanted to bring back some spontaneous elements, so we manually cut these sections and put them back together".[[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”16393″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”1306″,”style”:”line-height: 1.538em;”,”width”:”816″}}]]
STEVEN TAI's collection was inspired by graffiti and street culture, but it didn't fall into the now predictable realm of sportswear. The lining of button-down skirts were made a feature, mimicking a 90s hiphop aesthetic, but in soft stone and ivory. Also a sheer white dress caught my eye with what seems like intricate beadwork, but in fact was foam appliqu
