Time, Cruelty and Destruction in Deconstructivist Fashion: Kawakubo, Margiela and Vetements

It is generally agreed that deconstruction in fashion was ushered in by the first major collections of Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons) in the early 1980s. Kawakubo, together with Vivienne Westwood and Martin Margiela revolutionised fashion by turning their back on finery and preciousness in favour...

Полное описание

Библиографические подробности
Главные авторы: Adam Geczy, Vicki Karaminas
Формат: Статья
Язык:English
Опубликовано: University of Bologna 2020-07-01
Серии:ZoneModa Journal
Предметы:
Online-ссылка:https://zmj.unibo.it/article/view/11088
_version_ 1828452564931182592
author Adam Geczy
Vicki Karaminas
author_facet Adam Geczy
Vicki Karaminas
author_sort Adam Geczy
collection DOAJ
description It is generally agreed that deconstruction in fashion was ushered in by the first major collections of Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons) in the early 1980s. Kawakubo, together with Vivienne Westwood and Martin Margiela revolutionised fashion by turning their back on finery and preciousness in favour of a fundamentally aberrant sartorial language that suggested impoverishment, discontinuity and discord. However, these three designers came to this aesthetic in differing ways and intentions. As we argue in detail in Critical Fashion Practice (2017) Kawakubo’s (and Martin Margiela’s) approach can be strongly aligned to the philosophies of deconstruction as advanced by Jacques Derrida, and more specifically to deconstructivism which is the more structural and practical application of deconstructionist principles when applied to architecture. Kawakubo’s deconstructivist approach destabilises binaries of inside-outside, body-clothing, old-new, worn and discarded, and so on. Kawakubo’s ground-breaking designs went on to influence Margiela who would revolt against the holy scriptures of couture by experimenting with silhouettes, reversing linings and hems inside out and experimenting with oversized proportions. Just as Derridean approaches to philosophy, literature and cultural theory influenced feminist and postcolonial scholars, so too has Kawakubo and Margiela influenced several generations of designers and such as Demna Gvasalia of Vetements, who have not only followed Margiela’s example but continues to expand the notion of what clothing, fashion and dress means, functions and signifies in the Anthropocene age.
first_indexed 2024-12-10T23:54:40Z
format Article
id doaj.art-0b17f279f0774afb80ea4a1dff9ab0c8
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2611-0563
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-10T23:54:40Z
publishDate 2020-07-01
publisher University of Bologna
record_format Article
series ZoneModa Journal
spelling doaj.art-0b17f279f0774afb80ea4a1dff9ab0c82022-12-22T01:28:37ZengUniversity of BolognaZoneModa Journal2611-05632020-07-01101657710.6092/issn.2611-0563/110889415Time, Cruelty and Destruction in Deconstructivist Fashion: Kawakubo, Margiela and VetementsAdam Geczy0Vicki Karaminas1The University of SydneyMassey University New ZealandIt is generally agreed that deconstruction in fashion was ushered in by the first major collections of Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons) in the early 1980s. Kawakubo, together with Vivienne Westwood and Martin Margiela revolutionised fashion by turning their back on finery and preciousness in favour of a fundamentally aberrant sartorial language that suggested impoverishment, discontinuity and discord. However, these three designers came to this aesthetic in differing ways and intentions. As we argue in detail in Critical Fashion Practice (2017) Kawakubo’s (and Martin Margiela’s) approach can be strongly aligned to the philosophies of deconstruction as advanced by Jacques Derrida, and more specifically to deconstructivism which is the more structural and practical application of deconstructionist principles when applied to architecture. Kawakubo’s deconstructivist approach destabilises binaries of inside-outside, body-clothing, old-new, worn and discarded, and so on. Kawakubo’s ground-breaking designs went on to influence Margiela who would revolt against the holy scriptures of couture by experimenting with silhouettes, reversing linings and hems inside out and experimenting with oversized proportions. Just as Derridean approaches to philosophy, literature and cultural theory influenced feminist and postcolonial scholars, so too has Kawakubo and Margiela influenced several generations of designers and such as Demna Gvasalia of Vetements, who have not only followed Margiela’s example but continues to expand the notion of what clothing, fashion and dress means, functions and signifies in the Anthropocene age.https://zmj.unibo.it/article/view/11088deconstructionist fashionsilhouettedestructiontimecritical fashion practice
spellingShingle Adam Geczy
Vicki Karaminas
Time, Cruelty and Destruction in Deconstructivist Fashion: Kawakubo, Margiela and Vetements
ZoneModa Journal
deconstructionist fashion
silhouette
destruction
time
critical fashion practice
title Time, Cruelty and Destruction in Deconstructivist Fashion: Kawakubo, Margiela and Vetements
title_full Time, Cruelty and Destruction in Deconstructivist Fashion: Kawakubo, Margiela and Vetements
title_fullStr Time, Cruelty and Destruction in Deconstructivist Fashion: Kawakubo, Margiela and Vetements
title_full_unstemmed Time, Cruelty and Destruction in Deconstructivist Fashion: Kawakubo, Margiela and Vetements
title_short Time, Cruelty and Destruction in Deconstructivist Fashion: Kawakubo, Margiela and Vetements
title_sort time cruelty and destruction in deconstructivist fashion kawakubo margiela and vetements
topic deconstructionist fashion
silhouette
destruction
time
critical fashion practice
url https://zmj.unibo.it/article/view/11088
work_keys_str_mv AT adamgeczy timecrueltyanddestructionindeconstructivistfashionkawakubomargielaandvetements
AT vickikaraminas timecrueltyanddestructionindeconstructivistfashionkawakubomargielaandvetements