Dear Diane and Shaded Viewers,
Croatian designers Andreja Bistricic and Maja Marlic came together in 2012 to explore the colours and prints of Polaroid images (Dioralop is Polaroid, backwards). It’s a simple idea that forms the fil rouge between each season, without constricting any sense of creativity. For Spring 2016, Bistricic and Marlic took to angular and architectural shapes – even more than usual – with boxy jackets and wide-leg, stiffened cotton trousers. Again, their print this season was made with spilled photosensitive chemicals, which are then digitally rendered, and quite beautifully forming a symmetrical abstract form. This, however, was only there to be off-set with Lucio Fontana-like slashes through the fabric. Despite what it seems, the designers assured me these slits, occasionally with blood-red satin peering through, had nothing to do with the immigration crisis in Europe that’s directly on the shores of their home country. “No that would be too obvious. We didn’t want to go there.” And it makes sense once you see the way these cuts sit in the fabric in a controlled manner; orderly abstraction rather than a sense of disarray. Andreja told me it took more than 10 hours to construct one jacket, as there’s no way to know in advance how the garment will hang with these cut-outs. Trail and error was the only way. And for whatever reason is behind it, the resulting fragility-meets-rigidity works. You’ll see below that their lookbook is also quite beautiful.
I viewed Dioralop at Fashion Scout in Paris. A special thanks to Janine, who modelled for us in the showroom.
Happy Friday,
Sophie Joy