2013

KIM HAGELIND “OSCILLONS”

Kim Hagelind is a self-taught fashion designer based in Stockholm, connected to the art world through his grandfather, who was a gallerist in London. 
He draws inspiration from art for his collection “Oscillons”, rediscovering one of the pioneers of digital art whose work remains less known to the wider public. 
Ben F. Laposky (1914-2000) was a mathematician, artist, and draftsman, recognised as one of the first to create computer graphics. He used an oscilloscope as the medium for his works, which he called “Oscillons” or “Electronic Abstractions”. 
His work in computer art, as he explained, was “a form of oscillography, developed through combinations of basic electronic waveforms as displayed on a cathode ray oscilloscope and photographed. Colour compositions were achieved by means of special filter arrangements.” Today, the stunning geometrical light choreographies created and captured by Laposky in the early ‘50s remain incredibly fascinating and inspiring to younger generations, which is why they are revisited and conceptually reinterpreted through the garments designed by Kim Hagelind in his recent collection. 
Made from laser-cut PVC pieces, Hagelind’s garments envelop the body, reshaping its natural features and transforming it into a kind of futuristic sculpture. 
In his process of combining and assembling PVC pieces, Hagelind seems to follow the same principles of lightness and playfulness evident in Laposky’s films and photographs. 
His designs combine sharp geometric forms with organic shapes, giving the garments not only sculptural but also architectonic qualities. While the artistic work of Ben Laposky forms the core of this collection, it is the fusion of artistic and architectonic references that is essential to Kim Hagelind’s practice and that characterises his work within fashion.

Kim Hagelind founded his label in Tokyo in 2009 and was nominated for the “Rookie of the Year Award” by the Swedish Fashion Council.