2013
DOBRILA DENEGRI: BEYOND TH EXHIBITION, ‘WONDERINGMODE’ ALSO MEANS FOR ME A STATE OF MIND, A WANDERING PATH IN WHICH CURIOSITY, THE DESIRE TO BE AMAZED AND EVEN THE ACCEPTANCE OF ERROR ARE PLACED ON THE SAME LEVEL...
Stefano Mazzoni: My first curiosity concerns the concept behind the exhibition: the press release mentions its experimental nature, and when we met in Torun, you told me about “immersing” yourself in this project with a group of fashion curators to create something completely unconventional and unpredictable. I want to ask you how the idea for this exhibition evolved and what contributions the designers you involved made.
Dobrila Denegri: Preparing this exhibition was a period of intense research for me, which led me to discover the work of hundreds of young designers and artists who express themselves through the language of fashion. My dialogue with fashion curators and others who supported me in this research was fundamental, as it really pushed me to focus my attention on young designers, those who are taking off, but whose work cannot be identified with any aspect of the fashion or luxury industry. This is true, at least, for most of the designers featured. There are also some big names, such as Hussein Chalayan, who is a key figure in the various forms of cross-pollination between art and fashion, as well as in the ability to convey through fashion the content that we also find in art; content that concerns the sense of displacement and cultural nomadism, or the impact of advanced technologies on our bodies and our understanding of identity. There are also rising stars such as Iris van Herpen, who, together with architect Daniel Widrig, has created fascinating “wearable sculptures” using the most sophisticated design and 3D printing programmes, and Yuima Nakazato, whose work is a truly fascinating fusion of futuristic aesthetics with those rooted in traditional Japanese costume. However, there are many new names, which give this exhibition a sense of discovery that seems to be greatly appreciated by both the public and professionals in the field.
SM: I am curious about the two titles, both of which refer to fashion as “research”, but while the English version emphasises the way in which this activity is carried out (its being a form of questioning), the Polish version focuses mainly on the purpose of the research (if I understand the expression “Cuda Niewidy” correctly, as something “exceptional”, ‘unpredictable’, ‘unusual’).
Both titles emphasise how fashion is an activity that takes place in a borderland, on the cutting edge, constantly striving towards something new. In this sense, it seems to me that the exhibition wants to emphasise above all how these experiences represent a “metabolisation” of contemporary art, from which they do not simply draw inspiration, but develop the method itself. Is this a correct interpretation?
DD: The title ‘Wonderingmode’ is a hybrid aimed at embracing the multitude of potential meanings of the words ‘wonder’ / ‘wondering’ (marvel, amazement, miracle, prodigy, phenomenon, search, loss) as well as those of the word ‘mode’, which here evokes both “fashion” and ‘manner’. Thus, ‘Wonderingmode’ becomes the title of this exhibition project, which aims to bring together those creative paths that seek to push fashion beyond its conventional boundaries, grafting it with art, architecture or design. Beyond the exhibition, ‘Wonderingmode’ also means for me a state of mind, a wandering path in which curiosity, the desire to be amazed and even the acceptance of error are placed on the same level. So this exhibition is just one stage (and I hope not the final one) in a quest for a type of fashion that goes beyond clothing, beyond the imperative of wearability, and favours the creation of objects and concepts that are hybrid in themselves, as the result of a grafting together of different sources of knowledge and different production processes.
In fact, when faced with Ana Rajčević's masks/jewellery or Iris van Herpen, Kim Hagelind or Marloes ten Bhömer's wearable sculptures, one feels a mixture of fascination and amazement that prompts the question: Is this fashion? Or art? Or architecture? Or simply an encounter between all these disciplines and the osmosis between their visual legacies? Or perhaps even a challenge to the custom of relying on classification parameters that are too narrow for creations that inevitably blur the boundaries between organic and synthetic, between the body and what envelops and even distorts it in its “natural” state.
Clothes and accessories from the recent collections of Yuima Nakazato, Emilia Tikka, Noemi Filmer and Ana Rajčević envelop and reshape the body with their geometric, archaic or science fiction-inspired shapes, evoking the same sense of wonder and amazement that African sculptures and masks probably did for the Cubists, Dadaists and Surrealists a century ago. More than clothes, their creations are truly masks and costumes suitable for icons of transformation, such as Björk or Lady Gaga. However, they are also artefacts that allow us to wander with our minds and imaginations, asking us and challenging us to give them a definition and a place.
These creations implicitly raise the question of fashion and its changeable nature. And so the word “wonderingmode” re-emerges, but this time with the emphasis on its second part: “mode”.
In English, its meaning is clear (the way, the manner), and also in French (fashion), and both are actually relevant to the question we have asked ourselves. Moreover, both take us back in time to the mid-19th century, when fashion as we know it today emerged as a distinct cultural and social phenomenon.
Etymologically, the word ‘fashion’ comes from the Latin “modus” (the way, the manner) and is also associated with another word with a similar root, ‘modo’ (now, at present), and although the term ‘le mode’ existed in France as early as the second half of the 14th century, it was only around 1845 that ‘la mode’ appeared, indicating what we still mean by this term today: a complex mechanism of cyclical changes in style, sudden and ephemeral, but very widespread.
It is interesting to note that with the introduction and spread of this meaning, there has also been a linguistic change in the word itself, which now takes the feminine article, becoming “la moda” instead of “il modo”.
From “il modo”, which indicated something authoritative and stable, we move on to “la moda”, which becomes the symbol and synonym of frivolity, transience and capriciousness.
The destinies of fashion and women, including all the stereotypes associated with them, are thus inextricably intertwined, remaining, in most cases, somewhat distant from the possibility of being considered valid topics in philosophical or sociological discourse. But fashion, having emerged at the same time as modernity, remains a phenomenon that cannot be omitted from a more in-depth cultural or social analysis of the modern world, just as the great apologists of modernism and postmodernism have argued: from Baudelaire, Mallarmé, Simmel and Benjamin to Barthes, Dorfles and others.
With this title, I aim to highlight the values associated with “the way”, that “masculine side” that can give rise to a more analytical, reflective, and serious approach to the forms and content that young designers incorporate into their work.
Interview on the occasion of the review of the exhibition “Wonderingmode” published in the Artribune: https://www.artribune.com/attualita/2013/04/dove-finisce-labito-e-inizia-la-scultura/ 23/04/2013
2013
DOBRILA DENEGRI: BEYOND TH EXHIBITION, ‘WONDERINGMODE’ ALSO MEANS FOR ME A STATE OF MIND, A WANDERING PATH IN WHICH CURIOSITY, THE DESIRE TO BE AMAZED AND EVEN THE ACCEPTANCE OF ERROR ARE PLACED ON THE SAME LEVEL...
Stefano Mazzoni: My first curiosity concerns the concept behind the exhibition: the press release mentions its experimental nature, and when we met in Torun, you told me about “immersing” yourself in this project with a group of fashion curators to create something completely unconventional and unpredictable. I want to ask you how the idea for this exhibition evolved and what contributions the designers you involved made.
Dobrila Denegri: Preparing this exhibition was a period of intense research for me, which led me to discover the work of hundreds of young designers and artists who express themselves through the language of fashion. My dialogue with fashion curators and others who supported me in this research was fundamental, as it really pushed me to focus my attention on young designers, those who are taking off, but whose work cannot be identified with any aspect of the fashion or luxury industry. This is true, at least, for most of the designers featured. There are also some big names, such as Hussein Chalayan, who is a key figure in the various forms of cross-pollination between art and fashion, as well as in the ability to convey through fashion the content that we also find in art; content that concerns the sense of displacement and cultural nomadism, or the impact of advanced technologies on our bodies and our understanding of identity. There are also rising stars such as Iris van Herpen, who, together with architect Daniel Widrig, has created fascinating “wearable sculptures” using the most sophisticated design and 3D printing programmes, and Yuima Nakazato, whose work is a truly fascinating fusion of futuristic aesthetics with those rooted in traditional Japanese costume. However, there are many new names, which give this exhibition a sense of discovery that seems to be greatly appreciated by both the public and professionals in the field.
SM: I am curious about the two titles, both of which refer to fashion as “research”, but while the English version emphasises the way in which this activity is carried out (its being a form of questioning), the Polish version focuses mainly on the purpose of the research (if I understand the expression “Cuda Niewidy” correctly, as something “exceptional”, ‘unpredictable’, ‘unusual’).
Both titles emphasise how fashion is an activity that takes place in a borderland, on the cutting edge, constantly striving towards something new. In this sense, it seems to me that the exhibition wants to emphasise above all how these experiences represent a “metabolisation” of contemporary art, from which they do not simply draw inspiration, but develop the method itself. Is this a correct interpretation?
DD: The title ‘Wonderingmode’ is a hybrid aimed at embracing the multitude of potential meanings of the words ‘wonder’ / ‘wondering’ (marvel, amazement, miracle, prodigy, phenomenon, search, loss) as well as those of the word ‘mode’, which here evokes both “fashion” and ‘manner’. Thus, ‘Wonderingmode’ becomes the title of this exhibition project, which aims to bring together those creative paths that seek to push fashion beyond its conventional boundaries, grafting it with art, architecture or design. Beyond the exhibition, ‘Wonderingmode’ also means for me a state of mind, a wandering path in which curiosity, the desire to be amazed and even the acceptance of error are placed on the same level. So this exhibition is just one stage (and I hope not the final one) in a quest for a type of fashion that goes beyond clothing, beyond the imperative of wearability, and favours the creation of objects and concepts that are hybrid in themselves, as the result of a grafting together of different sources of knowledge and different production processes.
In fact, when faced with Ana Rajčević's masks/jewellery or Iris van Herpen, Kim Hagelind or Marloes ten Bhömer's wearable sculptures, one feels a mixture of fascination and amazement that prompts the question: Is this fashion? Or art? Or architecture? Or simply an encounter between all these disciplines and the osmosis between their visual legacies? Or perhaps even a challenge to the custom of relying on classification parameters that are too narrow for creations that inevitably blur the boundaries between organic and synthetic, between the body and what envelops and even distorts it in its “natural” state.
Clothes and accessories from the recent collections of Yuima Nakazato, Emilia Tikka, Noemi Filmer and Ana Rajčević envelop and reshape the body with their geometric, archaic or science fiction-inspired shapes, evoking the same sense of wonder and amazement that African sculptures and masks probably did for the Cubists, Dadaists and Surrealists a century ago. More than clothes, their creations are truly masks and costumes suitable for icons of transformation, such as Björk or Lady Gaga. However, they are also artefacts that allow us to wander with our minds and imaginations, asking us and challenging us to give them a definition and a place.
These creations implicitly raise the question of fashion and its changeable nature. And so the word “wonderingmode” re-emerges, but this time with the emphasis on its second part: “mode”.
In English, its meaning is clear (the way, the manner), and also in French (fashion), and both are actually relevant to the question we have asked ourselves. Moreover, both take us back in time to the mid-19th century, when fashion as we know it today emerged as a distinct cultural and social phenomenon.
Etymologically, the word ‘fashion’ comes from the Latin “modus” (the way, the manner) and is also associated with another word with a similar root, ‘modo’ (now, at present), and although the term ‘le mode’ existed in France as early as the second half of the 14th century, it was only around 1845 that ‘la mode’ appeared, indicating what we still mean by this term today: a complex mechanism of cyclical changes in style, sudden and ephemeral, but very widespread.
It is interesting to note that with the introduction and spread of this meaning, there has also been a linguistic change in the word itself, which now takes the feminine article, becoming “la moda” instead of “il modo”.
From “il modo”, which indicated something authoritative and stable, we move on to “la moda”, which becomes the symbol and synonym of frivolity, transience and capriciousness.
The destinies of fashion and women, including all the stereotypes associated with them, are thus inextricably intertwined, remaining, in most cases, somewhat distant from the possibility of being considered valid topics in philosophical or sociological discourse. But fashion, having emerged at the same time as modernity, remains a phenomenon that cannot be omitted from a more in-depth cultural or social analysis of the modern world, just as the great apologists of modernism and postmodernism have argued: from Baudelaire, Mallarmé, Simmel and Benjamin to Barthes, Dorfles and others.
With this title, I aim to highlight the values associated with “the way”, that “masculine side” that can give rise to a more analytical, reflective, and serious approach to the forms and content that young designers incorporate into their work.
Interview on the occasion of the review of the exhibition “Wonderingmode” published in the Artribune: https://www.artribune.com/attualita/2013/04/dove-finisce-labito-e-inizia-la-scultura/ 23/04/2013
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