Fashion Snoops

It was a true fashion frenzy in the old psychiatric ward the Dolhuys, in Haarlem, Amsterdam. Now turned into a museum, it was the place where Alet Pilon organized an intimate fashion theatre show on November 9^th . The theatre show 12 x 1 = 2008 held 11 graduated fashion students from two different art academies’; the Art School of Utrecht and the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. Their extraordinary collections were chosen under the leading eye of fashion artist Alet Pilon, that, within the line of ‘Art in Haarlem’ is presenting her own work in the museum till December.

I sat down with Alet to discuss her mental maneuverings around fashion and art, setting and context, message and vision. These ingredients were strongly present during the exhibition where Alet chose the graduate students that together created the imagery of the essence of our time. And so, to present this in a way that fit the Dolhuys for each collection a tableau vivant was designed and made through styling, models and small demeanor.

picture by Helen Gras picture by Evelien

Collection by Janne Mooij

pictures by Evelien Bruijn

collection by HUEN YEU

picture by Helen Gras picture by Evelien Bruijn

collection by JIMMY PAUL

Each collection was presented in a different room so that it captured its essence accordingly.

Having seen most of the designs in other contexts and now presented in such strong evoked settings, for me it was as if I got the opportunity to see the perspective of the artist’s shift towards their own designs.

This felt intimate, fragile and here and there somewhat insane probably due to the museum, but strong and very inspiring. I opened the conversation with this insight and Alet took off into explaining how fashion is often perceived as something that should be easy to apply and sold in shops but as a designer it is all about creating a collection that inspires, and once this is done and placed in a different context it begins to work as an inspirational tool. This is far more important then creating a fashionable image that will only last for a month or so.

picture by Evelien Bruijn

collection by Klaartje Glashorster

picture by Evelien Bruijn picture by Helen Gras

Collection by Sophie Soons

The question the designers face when presenting their work in a different context is situated around the boundary of acceptance and understanding. To what extent is what you present what you actually see? What is the line in which an experiment can still be understood for the viewer? This is a very important boundary to play with. And by continuously pushing this boundary as a designer you keep developing yourself and your style. This explains the importance of placing work in a different setting to what it was actually intended for, Alet says.

pictures by Helen Gras

Collection by Josine Vermeij

picture by Helen Gras picture by Evelien Bruijn

Collection by Franciscus Van Der Meer

This brings us to the everlasting ongoing debate about fashion and art. At a certain point, the way which a person appears can become an image instead of just a dressed body. When the person in the clothing is interchangeable, it’s clothing you speak of. But when it does not matter what kind of person is in the clothing, it becomes an image. Because what is worn speaks for itself. It is then that a person in clothing is an image. Just like art fashion presents an image with a vision and a message. For some designers the clothing is based on the person they have in their head when they design, for others it is more about color, shape and fabric, the model has a secondary role in the design process.

picture by Helen Gras picture by Evelien Bruijn

Collection by Marie Burlot

pictures by Helen Gras

Collection by Renske Versluijs

“The statues of Alet and her students are more like sculptural works made out of textile then wearable clothing. Unorthodox fabrics are embraced within the designs. Is this acceptable, isn’t this strange or somewhat weird?” This sentence is the translation of the text on the flyer for this fashion theatre show. And it explains perfectly how it all falls together in the museum formally known as a psychiatric ward.

I then ask Alet if this exhibition will influence her future work, and she explains how she becomes inspired by everything around her, and how this exhibition has already become part of her in a way that all sorts of new ideas have started to grow.

Her work is characterized by a very strong presence of human beings and animals. It’s all about the struggle between power and powerlessness. The power of humans to control, own and even kill animals, and the helplessness of an animal to protect itself from this.

The strong and powerful radiation of certain animal parts that humans do not own like the wings, tails and antlers turn humans into something small and helpless. Within this struggle between power and powerlessness each image tries to capture life and death where these both become silent.

“My home is in my head” was the sentence I had to work with, Alet explains. I then realized that everything is in your head. And when there is something wrong or slightly off it changes your whole perspective on life. This is how I came to the wrinkled poster.