Alaya

 

        








Love this video posted by Alaya with its fantastical costumes creating bizarre movement and spectacle.

Studio Toogood

Studio Toogood at Salone del Mobile, Milan Fair of 2012 produced a performance in collaboration with Kite and Laslett and  Arabeschi di Latte, where visitors were presented with a ball of clay to shape and mold, to create a 'cure' which then became part of the installation. Each of the protagonists in this collaboration do very interesting work in design be it with food, furniture or architecture and all of the boundaries were blurred into a beautiful creative soup.

Rachel Perry Welty

Rachel Perry Welty takes tiny mundane throw away scraps of daily life; receipts, twist ties, fruit stickers and collects them turning them into costume, performance and sculpture and makes the invisible flotsam of daily life into something very powerful and often surprisingly beautiful.

Clarina Benzzola II

Toothvest 2001

Distance Belt 2000

Wickedly challenging and utterly inspiring work by Clarina Benzzola. 

These two garments are made from fabric, polyester-filling, styrofoam and resin, they bear their teeth at the onlooker, a warning to  stay away, keep your distance. 

“Clothing is one way to wear a mask. We dress to hide our vulnerable bodies and souls . . . Through my wearable sculptures I question and redefine the role of the garment. Wrapping the body to reveal instead of conceal. The wearer’s emotional landscape gets exposed and invites to an honest and open dialogue between the wearer and the viewer.” Clarina Benzzola

Victorine Muller

Victorine Muller's installations, dress and contain the performer in light and translucent forms like magical visualisations of the spirit.
'I’m interested in creating moments of sensitivity, moments when our defenses are down and we are open to new things. moments of powerful concentration. ... I create zones, put forward pictures, show processes that touch the viewer, that invoke associations on various levels, transport people into a different state, so that things hidden may become visible, accessible, opening up possibilities – to demonstrate something that is not said and cannot be said, but that is'. Victorine Muller

Clarina Benzzola: Inside Out

I am compelled by the strangeness and wonder of the work of Clarina Benzzola who creates costume as part of performance, exhibition, video and installation. They are amazing often grotesque and shocking and inspirational in their challenging concepts, textures and shapes. So this is the first of a few posts that I want to write to share her work.
Inside Out 2005 and 2008

"We are vessels filled with thoughts and feelings. Most of them we never become aware of because there's no place for them in our rational minds. They seem childish, inappropriate and too strange. As years go by, we loose track of all those little voices, which we keep shoving into the dark chambers of our unconsciousness. We succumb to our social responsibilities."

"In Inside-Out, I illustrate the tragedy of an individual loosing the connection with oneself. The entire mass of unexpressed emotions has accumulated and grown into an unbearable burden. When the drama becomes intensified to the extent that even breathing becomes difficult, the protagonist gives up control and lets all seams burst. Songs of longing and sadness slip out along with fantastic creatures of all shapes and colours. Having welcomed all aspects of self, any protective shield becomes unnecessary." Clarina Benzzola

April Dauscha

I am really fascinated by boning as a method of adjusting shape and physical volume of garments lately, so I was thrilled when I found April Dauscha's 'Exposed:Armoury of Physical Longings'.
 April works in fabric and costume creating sculptural pieces that explore fashion and costume history whilst  emphasising human experience and emotion.

"Exposed: An Armoury of Physical Longings investigates the idea of body armour; an imaginary wardrobe that serves to protect and accommodate women in their body processes and their mental states. The corsets are uniforms that provide strength and empowerment, setting each woman apart from the rest of her environment; they send out an implicit message, indicating her state of being. She finds comfort and security in the idea of wearing them, because they speak of her desires and struggles. They seek beauty in her burdens.
The series references prototypes of the fashion industry; using the standard dress form to provide fit and form for each of the sewn pieces, along with the use of muslin to express the potential in their wearability. I also reference the historical use of trapunto in quilting and in body armour; commonly used techniques in European quilts and soft armour from the middle ages, that served to protect and comfort those in need.
The corsets are architectural façades that hint at their interior; architectural skins that prepare her for battle. They are the suspension cables that support and raise the fragile foundation; bridges that speak of the past and the present to guide the timeless conversation of womanhood." April Dauscha

Thomas de Falco

 Thomas De Falco is a textile artist who's work crosses the disciplines of textiles, tapestry, performance, sculpture and installation. Thomas's work involves wrapping and is often disturbing, the different thread and fabric types represent different human qualities and emotions.

John Bock

John Brock is a Berlin based artist unconstrained by any artistic genre, he works between installation, sculpture, film and performance which means that he is often involved in body altering costume as comment on politics, fashion and music among other cultural references. It is surreal, challenging work but has an unrestrained freedom, humour, shape, form and colour.