DEEPTI (Deepti Barth)

[Faust]

A re-hash of what's she already done?

In terms of the silhouette and garment types, yes. Everything basically hinged on one detail, which was neat if you are a construction geek (Albert will love it), but looked awkward in places and is not nearly enough to carry a collection, especially since Deepti will show only one collection a year. But careful recalibration is her method of work, so it's fine. I'll say no more until we publish something and let you decide.

[Chinorlz]

In terms of the silhouette and garment types, yes. Everything basically hinged on one detail, which was neat if you are a construction geek (Albert will love it), but looked awkward in places and is not nearly enough to carry a collection, especially since Deepti will show only one collection a year. But careful recalibration is her method of work, so it's fine. I'll say no more until we publish something and let you decide.

I am excited to see what you're referring to... I also hope that it isn't something that I have been thinking about lately as a technique that I'd like to explore more. Biek Verstappen's work has been on my mind lately especially after handling some of her pieces while in Taiwan a few weeks ago. Epic stuff.

[round]

Biek Verstappen's work has been on my mind lately especially after handling some of his pieces while in Taiwan a few weeks ago. Epic stuff.

Biek's work is amazing, she is a true artist, the texture of the fabrics are to die for. That being said, I am looking forward to seeing the new Deepti in person, I can't want to check out the intricacies.

[TriggerDiscipline]

Biek's work is amazing, she is a true artist, the texture of the fabrics are to die for. That being said, I am looking forward to seeing the new Deepti in person, I can't want to check out the intricacies.

they let lift take pictures so i'll see what it is soon

[BSR]

I spent a couple of hours at the showroom and the new collection has nothing to do with the previous one(s) in my opinion. First it is much bigger, since it feature more than 100 pieces, including leather pieces (there was no leather in her previous work), and an amazing diversity of colors and fabrics (waxed cottons, denim, a nice palette of grey and green tones, darker stuff of course, serge...).

The collection, as far as i can tell, is strongly centered around a Cronenbergesque concept of "crashing" garments and fabrics. A "zigzag" or "Z" pattern is a recurrent technique present on many garments (a bit like dead end was a technique / pattern / topic of the CCP 2010 collection). This "Z" serves both as an end to garments parts (shapes of the jackets' or coats' sides for examples) and as an inside line that separates parts of the garments and makes them "crash". It was especially striking on a beautiful black suit that looked perfectly "normal" when the model was standing still and seemed to be torn apart when he was moving, revealing the contrast between the external black fabric and the white lining inside. Part of this "crash" theme were also fabrics that have been internally "crashed" (at the level of the yarn) and experimental garments made of safety glass!

There is also an expansion of DEEPTI's experimentations into tailoring, with different collar shapes (for instance a shawl collar for a great "unformal tuxedo"), different length for jackets and trousers, etc.

It is not only a technical work, but a really conceptual one. I must say I personally am more sensitive to this kind of research, focusing on garments' construction and essence, than to "narrative" fashion that decorates garments with (pseudo or not) cultural references. So I am very very happy that DEEPTI's work is out there and I am quite confident that many of us here will love the new collection when it's out in the stores.

[naturalalmonds]

BSR, thanks for the detailed description. Information about her work is pretty sparse, so I think a lot of people here will appreciate the depth. Really looking forward to seeing the collection.

Can you go into any detail about the leather work you saw?

[PurpleJesuss]

wow 100 different models seems huge. so is the concept of vulcanization and silver imbued fabrics still part of her work?
wondering if any stores will pick up the safety glass pieces....

thanks for the write-up though, it's appreciated.

[Chinorlz]

Super exciting. Thank you Ben for the details and in depth description of the concepts that she has been exploring. Now I am looking forward to the images even more than ever.

I was at a Mark Rothko retrospective last weekend here in Houston and spent a long time looking at the way the layers interfaced and interacted with each other in his most mature work. In some pieces the different hues and shapes blended softly into each other and in other pieces it was almost like "flames" licking into the next layer. The many ways the edges of each of these parts-of-a-whole related to the rest of the piece was fascinating to think about. To know that Deepti is doing a collection with at least partial focus on how seemingly distinct edges of fabrics and materials interact with each other is quite exciting.

[BSR]

BSR, thanks for the detailed description. Information about her work is pretty sparse, so I think a lot of people here will appreciate the depth. Really looking forward to seeing the collection.

Can you go into any detail about the leather work you saw?

My pleasure :-)

yes, there is one horse cordovan leather jacket, it was available in both light grey and black. It is a high neck style, with a front "Z" pattern. There is also a series of leather accessories (belts, etc). The only thing lacking at the moment is footwear (but it will probably come at some point).

[Faust]

wow 100 different models seems huge. so is the concept of vulcanization and silver imbued fabrics still part of her work?
wondering if any stores will pick up the safety glass pieces....

thanks for the write-up though, it's appreciated.

There is no 100 different models. Don't confuse fabric and treatment variations with models.

The Z patttern works on some instances (seams) and looks plain awkward in other instances (fronts of jackets).

Unlike BSR, I am tired of the self-indulgent fascination with contriscrion methods. Marais during fashion week is full of that stuff. You want great construction, you can look at ski jackets. They did tapes seems way before, and no one seems to have been falling over themselves perpetuating mythologies.

There is nothing exciting about this, Albert. Let's not build another Poellesque cult.

[Chinorlz]

There is no 100 different models. Don't confuse fabric and treatment variations with models.

The Z patttern works on some instances (seams) and looks plain awkward in other instances (fronts of jackets).

Unlike BSR, I am tired of the self-indulgent fascination with contriscrion methods. Marais during fashion week is full of that stuff. You want great construction, you can look at ski jackets. They did tapes seems way before, and no one seems to have been falling over themselves perpetuating mythologies.

There is nothing exciting about this, Albert. Let's not build another Poellesque cult.

Regardless, looking forward to seeing images based on descriptions all around. Thank you both for your thoughts and opinions on her work!

[cjbreed]

but...sz needs a Poellesque cult.

edit - let me make a better post out of this.

what i mean by that is well if i like my fashunz and i have to choose between experiments with volume and silhouette and shape and color and pattern....or....experiments with concept, technique, fabrics and leathers, quality of materials and construction, and tailoring then i know which way i am leaning.

one of the best things about poell was that to the untrained eye it was essentially somehow strangely cooler looking banana republic.

for me, one form of expression in clothing design is not fundamentally, of itself, better than the other. its just whether or not it has been executed well. and how it resonates with me. and then its if its something i can actually wear in normal fuckin society without coming across like a twat. ccp does that and deepti may as well...

[Law]

My pleasure :-)

yes, there is one horse cordovan leather jacket, it was available in both light grey and black.

Do you mean horsehide? As it would be nigh on impossible to make a jacket out of horse cordovan, as the the shell strips are far too small, as I was told by Horween.

[noirgt]

I've asked so many designers and tanneries the difference between cordovan and shell cordovan, but no one can give me an accurate answer. From what I see is that shell cordovan is the particular shell shaped leather which is very shinny and small in size. The cordovan leather could refer to a larger area on horse butt area(?) and has similar properties as shell. I'm not sure if this is correct. But the leather deepti uses for her jacket is definitely not shell. She also shaved the leather thiner to make it more pliable. It's the similar leather she used for the holster bag from 925 collection. It comes in black and grey color with the option of open Z seam and closed Z seam. Open Z seam will be more expensive since it's all hand sewn, but to me I feel the same as Faust the open seam can be quite awkward when wearing. The jacket is high neck similar to CCP 2599 and the front zipper is also Z shaped.

[nicelynice]

Cordovan frequently refers to leather from the hindquarters of the horse (the butt or strip), not just the shell. Like noirgt mentioned, often shaved down to make it more pliable - see Layer-0 horse leather jackets, which use the same leather as shoes but thinner.

See: http://horween.com/leathers/equine-hyde-chart/

When everyone says the front zipper is Z-shaped, do you mean the stitching? Or the zipper is a giant 'Z' on the chest, like Zorro?