Chain Reaction

fig a. Wang bases his collection on the Raf Sander 'Tomb Raider' silhouette of panty shorts and rubber boots. He then cross-references the Raf Dior slash fabric technique, almost creating the exact clone in black and hot pink.

fig b. Raf Sandior openly declared his admiration for Helmut Lang and Martin Margiela, yet his designs are built on the tradition of Ghesquière for Balenciaga. Pictured above is the dramaturgical step-up. From sci-fi glasses and stiff sleeveless coats (2007) to vulgar florals and rubber (2011) to stained-glass prints (2012).

fig c. In contrast, Nicolas Ghesquière does not even reference himself. He explores a 1970s feminist architecture for Louis Vuitton without being architectural. His reference is based on culture not fellow creators. And since our future will most likely look like the past, retro-collars and tinted sunglasses are the valid signifiers of our times. Francisco Costa's collection for Calvin Klein evokes a parallel mood that arose from genuine exploration instead of wretched duplication. Applause, please.

1. Alexander Wang for Balenciaga Pre Spring/Summer 2015 & Raf Simons for Jil Sander Fall/Winter 2010
2. Alexander Wang for Balenciaga Pre Spring/Summer 2015 & Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2013
3. Alexander Wang for Balenciaga Pre Spring/Summer 2015
4. Raf Simons for Christian Dior Spring/Summer 2013
5. Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2007
6. Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2011
7. Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2012
8. Raf Simons for Christian Dior Pre Spring/Summer 2015
9. Nicolas Ghesquière for Louis Vuitton Pre Spring/Summer 2015
10. Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein Pre Spring/Summer 2015

The world is Ouroboros and the future is returning. Wang turns to Simons turns to Ghesquière. As usual, the sequel is entertaining and perfectly fulfills all expectations. Yet, the satisfaction comes too early and disappears too soon. A plot summary:

Alexander Wang for Balenciaga = Raf Simons for Jil Sander & Christian Dior (trying)
Raf Simons for Christian Dior = Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga (borrowing)
Nicolas Ghesquière for Louis Vuitton = Nicolas Ghesquière for Louis Vuitton (being)

Their new heroine seeks to look strong and sexy. Phrases that please everyone. Blockbuster couture. But no one is handing out popcorn.
/HORST

Image credits Vogue, Catwalking

Barbara Did It First?

1. Barbara Kruger Untitled (You Can't Drag Your Money Into The Grave With You), 1990
2. Raf Simons Spring/Summer 2012

I might have to accept the fact that it is no longer about 'Who Did It First' or 'Oops I Did It Again'. Appropriation is an art form, so why should we except fashion from it? The new question being posed now should rather be 'Why Does It Exist Again'? And 'What does it add to the Now'?
/HORST

"Prada Banality", Post-Painterly Art X

or 'Fashion For Intellectuals' (FFI)



1. Neo Rauch Diktat, 2004
2. Prada Fall/Winter 2013

Love is a bourgeois concept and in the end, we like what we see. But we do not fully understand. We are caught in a painting by Neo Rauch. A setting that has no beginning nor ending but an intensely complicated story - with actors pursuing individual objectives mysteriously yet convincingly. We are, in the end, caught in the world of fashion, that we do love... so much.
/HORST

"Prada Banality", Post-Painterly Art IX

or 'Fashion For Intellectuals' (FFI)



1. Otto Dix Portrait Of Dr. Heinrich Städelmann, 1922
2. Prada Fall/Winter 2013

But why is Miuccia Prada referring to conservative codes? To suits, coats, ruffle shirts. Why is her proposal so bourgeois? Why is the movement of 'Neue Sachlichkeit' fashioned into 'Neue Spießigkeit'? Or, in other words: Why are 'we' re-evaluating conservative patterns?
/HORST

"Prada Banality", Post-Painterly Art VIII

or 'Fashion For Intellectuals' (FFI)



1. Isa Genzken Mona Isa IV (Dürer Selbsportrait), 2010
2. Prada Fall/Winter 2013

Within this art historical mishmash or 'mix and cash', Prada not only explores the canvas to frame a point of view but also creates installation views that we might associate with Isa Genzken, Anselm Reyle or Wolfgang Tillmans who stage the 'sheet', the paper, the folded fabric, the cutout, the collage as itself. Material as readymade, or, in case of Prada: fashion as post-curational act.
/HORST

"Prada Banality", Post-Painterly Art VII

or 'Fashion For Intellectuals' (FFI)



1. Chad Wys Nocturne 113, 2011
2. Prada Fall/Winter 2013

Another motif in Prada's latest offering is the idea of 'portraiture'. A classical, artistic modus operandi. By misplacing the collars (seemingly as an act of confusion or childhood-ness) our attention is directed towards the face. Distortion is used as a framing technology/trick. A special effect (similar to Photoshop) that aims to trigger one thing: facial emotion.
/HORST

"Prada Banality", Post-Painterly Art VI

or 'Fashion For Intellectuals' (FFI)


1. Francis Bacon Study (Self-Portrait), 1976
2. Prada Fall/Winter 2013

Prada's Fall/Winter 2013 inhabitants are twisted bodies à la Francis Bacon. Dropped shoulders, twisted collars. Hanging down, letting loose. Layers of fabric, misplaced, distorted luxury. A motif that calls back the tablecloth pattern which interweaves the whole collection. The tablecloth as symbol of the commonplace, the rustic and homey, often accompanied by Dirndl shapes. Why? The ordinary is used as 'distortion' technique within Prada's multi-million luxury context.
/HORST

"Prada Banality", Post-Painterly Art V

or 'Fashion For Intellectuals' (FFI)


1. Mark Rothko Untitled, 1969
2. Prada Fall/Winter 2013

The style of paintings and digital works that build the layers of Prada's new 'salary men' have a tendency for - and present the cohesive idea - of 'abstract gesture'. Some references are literal (pattern), others are analytical (layers) or conceptual (collars) - but overall they function as exercises in turning flat reduction into 3D reality.
/HORST

"Prada Banality", Post-Painterly Art IV

or 'Fashion For Intellectuals' (FFI)


1. John Baldessari Valise/Serpent/Fist, 2009
2. Prada Fall/Winter 2013

And with each exit, each look that was proposed upon the sensitive psyche of her mindful audience, Miuccia Prada, together with her team, made art history. Each outfit resembled a room in a well-curated exhibition. While the artworks slowly evolved from Minimalism to Pop Art to New Realism.
/HORST

"Prada Banality", Post-Painterly Art III

or 'Fashion For Intellectuals' (FFI)



1. Sascha Braunig Nets, 2012
2. Prada Fall/Winter 2013

Her fashion was not 'mainstream' nor 'everyday'. It was the dishevelled proposal for a genius. The kind of artist who does not have to search for ideas, tactics or strategies. Miuccia Prada is talking to the ones who do what they have to do. Those with a different vision. A different sight. Another world view.
/HORST

"Prada Banality", Post-Painterly Art II

or 'Fashion For Intellectuals' (FFI)



1. Anders Widoff U.T (Grammatik): 14, 1994-95
2. Prada Fall/Winter 2013

The clothes Miuccia Prada presented were nothing but not easy to understand. They were referring to multiple schools of modern art, multiple directions. Her sophisticated school boys, nerds and professors were symbols of an intellectual/artistic elite. And her fashion was tailored for the likes of David Salle, Michael Krebber and Anders Widoff.
/HORST

"Prada Banality", Post-Painterly Art

or 'Fashion For Intellectuals' (FFI)



1. David Salle Poets in Their Youth, 2009
2. Prada Fall/Winter 2013

Miuccia Prada's Fall/Winter 2013 collection for men and women was an exercise in the 'ordinary', the 'simple' and everyday 'wearable'. Clothes for 'normal' people who go to work. That is what we read and hear in interviews, what we are meant to believe. But we will soon know: it is more complicated than that.
/HORST

A Short History Of The Comic Strip In Popular Culture VI

1. Jörg Immendorff Self-Portrait in the Studio, 1974
2. Jörg Immendorff I Wanted To Become An Artist, 1972
3. Jörg Immendorff Für Wen?, 1973
4. Pink Floyd Tonite Let's All Make Love In London, 1968
5. Peter Whitehead Tonite Let's All Make Love In London, 1967
6. David Hockney Still from Tonite Let's All Make Love In London, 1967
7. David Hockney Self-Portrait with Charlie, 2005
8. David Hockney Self-Portrait, 1984

The self-reflective, self-reflexive moment of the Shakespearian theatre in comic art. The absurd logic of cartoons naturally screams for a holistic 'address-the-audience-then-turn-around' attitude. In this respect, Jörg 'BAAM' Immendorff and David 'ZOOM' Hockney recall Ouroboros in a Manneristic manner: eating their own tail, painting themselves paining.
/HORST

A Short History Of The Comic Strip In Popular Culture V

1. Helmut Lang Spring/Summer 2003
2. Dirk Bikkembergs Fall/Winter 2003
3. Felix, the Cat 1919
4. Popeye, the Sailor 1919
5. Moschino Cheap & Chic, 1995
6. Givenchy Fall/Winter 2013
7. Comme des Garçons Spring/Summer 2005

The use of comic characters in fashion. Felix, the Cat appears at Helmut Lang and Dirk Bikkembergs. Olivia (from Popeye, the Sailor) becomes the alter ego for Moschino. Bambi is cut and pasted into Givenchy while Pink Panther functions as declared muse for Rei Kawakubo. What does it tell us? It tells stories without telling stories. It's a pastiche, a placeholder. a licence deal. An epic history in thousand chapters with the ultimate cliffhanger: hanger appeal.
/HORST