Collateral Concepts 5th Iteration

[blowdown]

second that, the hue on that reindeer jacket is amazing, was there any extra treatments or is that all natural?

[Chinorlz]

The effect on the green reindeer suede is absolutely incredible!
Better than the CCP jacket that inspired it

And in combination with the colour, that actually looks like a leaf


May I ask how you achieved that? Please tell me to buzz off if it is top secret

Well done

Thank you Coming for the kind words!

In reference to inspiration from a CCP jacket... are you referring to the yellow suede one with dark black/gray vasculature that has been floating around?

If so, I would say that it is less of an inspiration and more that both methods came from the same treatment/processing/tanning methodology when it comes to the creation of the leather itself. The vascularity you see are the blood vessels of the animal that once ran just below the skin.

Indeed reminiscent of the same vascularity seen in leaves, lighting and other fractal patterns seen throughout nature :)

[Chinorlz]

second that, the hue on that reindeer jacket is amazing, was there any extra treatments or is that all natural?

Thanks Blowdown!

All the hides were processed once to tan and dye them, so in that sense it was natural. The grained layer (the reversible jacket is two complete jackets brought together back to back to make it reversible... two completely different jacket patterns) changes colors from browns to predominant deep greens depending on the lighting conditions as well.

The Icelandic fabrics and hides for this collection were through a kind collaboration with Sruli Recht. Some of the most lovely and special materials that I have worked with in some time!

[Arkady]

Good christ, that reversible jacket is absolutely brilliant Albert. The shark bracelet is nuts as well, I may have to divest you of one of those.

[Chinorlz]

Good christ, that reversible jacket is absolutely brilliant Albert. The shark bracelet is nuts as well, I may have to divest you of one of those.

Thank you sir! Happy to take any questions about design process/R&D on here and any ordering inquiries via PM :)

I'll be posting more texture shots in the coming days as well as there has been a lot of requests regarding the specific materials and leathers used. Will break out the macro lens and take some this weekend in natural light. Unfortunately I'm stuck at the hospital for most of the day and artificial lighting is suboptimal in my studio.

[Arkady]

Yeah I would love to chat you up about your dual work in medical engineering and design anyway, will get in touch here or on Facebook.

[ronin]

I am fascinated by the shots of your boro jacket - I'd love to read more about how you handled it to give it its tailored shape, if that's not too vague a question to ask. The idea of transmission behind this very type of fabric is pushed to another level, and the scars made by the many generations who have worn, used, and cherished it seem to echo the ones on the animal's skin in you reindeer jackets (on which I love the vasculature). Anyway, all of it looks stunning.

[Cantara]

Wow these are really incredible! The 100 Year Old Boro jacket is absolutely amazing.

[Chinorlz]

Yeah I would love to chat you up about your dual work in medical engineering and design anyway, will get in touch here or on Facebook.

That sounds wonderful my friend. Feel free to message me/reach out via FB if you wish, or we can most certainly continue the discussion on here!

I am fascinated by the shots of your boro jacket - I'd love to read more about how you handled it to give it its tailored shape, if that's not too vague a question to ask. The idea of transmission behind this very type of fabric is pushed to another level, and the scars made by the many generations who have worn, used, and cherished it seem to echo the ones on the animal's skin in you reindeer jackets (on which I love the vasculature). Anyway, all of it looks stunning.

Indeed this was the most challenging piece to construct of the entire collection. Because of the density of the indigo dyed hemp, even single layers of the fabric used back then was quite robust. Easily hand sewn/patched back then because the needle would "part" the fibers of each layer easily and layers were sewn to each other 1 at a time over decades.

Working with a single donja to me was both (hopefully) doing justice to the blanket and those it has kept warm during its lifetime, and a challenge as all the pieces and panels for the jacket would have to be cut from this. I wanted no substitutions for any part whatsoever so that there would be a direct translation of 1 blanket into 1 jacket.

The functional goal of the jacket to keep the wearer warm and protected from the elements parallels the past life of the materials, while creating a new product out of this long-forgotten blanket also breathes new life into it and "restores" it in a way.

On the most basic level, the cutting of the material was extremely challenging. The rotary cutting blade dulled super fast trying to cut through 15-20 layers of fabric at a time (a single blanket "layer") and had to be changed out several times. To ensure precision cutting, I used multiple fresh surgical scalpels (11 blade) for corners and trimming, and even these dulled quickly with this dense material.

The thickness of the donja varied a bit throughout as would be expected with something patched and repaired over long periods of time, so picking and choosing where to cut different components of the jacket was also a challenge, but turned out successfully.

The pieces were all brought together using a heavy duty industrial walking foot sewing machine. To install the collar, I carefully split the layers of fabric at the neckline of the jacket and inset the collar piece so that there would be a smooth transition there and no thick seam. That way it would be comfortable for the wearer and visually be a natural transition.

From there, the most arduous and slow task of hand-reinforcing some of the layers to bring them together had to be done. Needle and thread handsewing in the same fashion as was used to patch the blanket was done by myself both inside and outside over the entirety of the jacket in small spots.

The silver hardware was cut, soldered, shaped and polished by hand using standard hand tools before being sewn in place. To maintain a clean look when the jacket is worn open with the lapels folded down, small matched panels were handsewn in place to cover parts of the hardware on the metal loop side rendering them almost invisible and matching in "patchwork" style.

The tailoring of the jacket came almost exclusively from my pattern design and development, so I knew that (with just some minor alterations because this jacket is unlined) upon construction, it would have the structure and body shape that I had envisioned. For the edges of the jacket, most of the front panel edges are the original edges of the donja so that the jacket again retains as much of the original sewing and repairs as possible.

Indeed there are parallels between the materials and design though process between the boro jacket and the Icelandic reindeer leather with the vasculature. Both have "hidden" features to them with the layers upon layers of the boro (with just glimpses of what lies beneath each at worn through spots) and the vasculature shadows on the leather hidden within the jacket when worn with the grained face out. The very literal blood vessel structures seen embedded in the hide remind us of how the hide used to belong to a living animal that gave up its life in part to become this piece, yet is kept within and closest to the wearer's body. These design approaches all reflect the concept of inner violence within this collection

Wow these are really incredible! The 100 Year Old Boro jacket is absolutely amazing.

Thank you for the kind words Cantara!

[cjbreed]

damn dude

[ronin]

Thank you for your detailed answer. The description of your work on this piece makes it even more invaluable. Congratulations on your whole collection, it looks exceptional. While the "inner violence" concept is clearly perceptible, the beauty of breathing a new life into something valuable yet neglected or killed shines through in an incredibly positive way, partially thanks to those details undisclosed at first sight that contribute to giving the garment a soul.

[scheff]

Wonderful work, congratulations! Love the shark bracelet! The bags and jackets look great too.

[Chinorlz]

Wonderful work, congratulations! Love the shark bracelet! The bags and jackets look great too.

Thank you for the kind words!

Thank you for your detailed answer. The description of your work on this piece makes it even more invaluable. Congratulations on your whole collection, it looks exceptional. While the "inner violence" concept is clearly perceptible, the beauty of breathing a new life into something valuable yet neglected or killed shines through in an incredibly positive way, partially thanks to those details undisclosed at first sight that contribute to giving the garment a soul.

Absolutely a pleasure. This dialogue is what I enjoy the most after presenting my work. To have the opportunity to talk about the concepts behind the pieces, the design approach and the more abstract/theoretical part of the work as well.

As usual, being able to see/handle pieces in person is a hard thing to substitute, but I produce collections on my own timetable and in such small runs that anything beyond a digital presentation would be difficult. Not to say that if a store in NYC would let me have a rack, I would not say no if only to give people the opportunity to see and touch everything in person!

That being said, if anyone is ever in Houston, it would be a pleasure to have you visit my studio and see/try on/handle these pieces. I'll open some nice bottle(s) of wine as well

[monster]

Dear Albert! These pieces are amazing, after looking through all the recent shows I can only admit that your works impressed me most of all. Constructions, materials and the spirit running through your clothes are just out of this world. And the boro jacket is a truly masterpiece; I've been waiting for quite a long for somebody to put the material into such a shape, and not in a visvim-like way: absolutely brilliant! Thanks for detailed pics and insightful descriptions, these were really inspiring. Hope, you will go on with clothing design!

[Lohikaarme]

Getting some Sruli, CCP, and InAisce vibes from you this time around. I love all of this Now if only I could afford this stuff