I wanted to start this thread (at laika's behest), because deconstruction has been absolutely central to the kind of fashion SZ champions. I would like this thread to be a repository of knowledge, pictorial and textual.
I will start with an interesting, if not always accurate NYT article by Amy Spindler from 1993. Lots of anecdotes about the Antwerp School.
Coming Apart
ORIGINS: The term first described a movement in literary analysis in the mid-20th century, founded by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida. It was a backlash against staid literary analysis, arguing that no work can have a fixed meaning, based on the complexity of language and usage. SO WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH FASHION? The Oxford English Dictionary defines deconstruction as "the action of undoing the construction of a thing." So not only does that mean that jacket linings, for example, can be on the outside or sleeves detached, but the function of the piece itself is reimagined. The term as applied to fashion was first coined by Bill Cunningham in Details magazine in 1989, and, he said, "it stuck." PIVOTAL MOMENT: Martin Margiela's show in a vacant lot in Paris in October '89 for spring '90. It was the cusp of the new decade, and he saw such relevance in that moment that he plastered "90" on his fashion pieces. With that clear statement, finally, press and buyers fully understood that deconstructionism had arrived. SARTORIAL FAMILY TREE: Comme des Garcons' Rei Kawakubo is mom; Jean-Paul Gaultier is dad. Mr. Margiela is the favored son. And Coco Chanel is that distant relative everyone dreads a visit from, but once she's in town, realizes they have of a lot in common after all. WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Linen laces to close jackets and to cinch waists. Crisp white shirts. Asymmetrical cuts. Unfinished hems. Ad-hoc empire waistlines, made with thin belts. Recycled pieces. Perfectly fit shoulders, but loose in form. Elongated sleeves or trouser legs. Exaggerated cuffs. Fabrics that are crinkled, folded, fringed or pulled apart. SEX QUOTIENT: Singularly noncommital. Not loose, not tight, not androgynous, not studiously sexy, not even studiously monastic. The wearer brings the attitude. GEOGRAPHY: Born in, raised in and rebelling against one place: Belgium. Mr. Margiela believes a link is that all the designers are from the north. "We're completely different from Italian and French designers." WEIRD CYCLICAL NATURE OF FASHION: Karl Lagerfeld borrows from deconstructionism for his haute couture collection, leaving the ladies feeling breathlessly avant-garde with a bit of tattered tulle. This, in turn, leads to new respect for the Belgians. PARALLEL MOVEMENTS: In art, the heavy social critiques in this year's Whitney biennial. In theater, Peter Sellars's direction of traditional works. In dance, Saburo Teshigawara's noise dance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. In architecture, "The Decon Seven": Peter Eisenman, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Daniel Libeskind, Bernard Tschumi and the Coop Himmelblau firm.
I will start with an interesting, if not always accurate NYT article by Amy Spindler from 1993. Lots of anecdotes about the Antwerp School.
Coming Apart
ORIGINS: The term first described a movement in literary analysis in the mid-20th century, founded by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida. It was a backlash against staid literary analysis, arguing that no work can have a fixed meaning, based on the complexity of language and usage. SO WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH FASHION? The Oxford English Dictionary defines deconstruction as "the action of undoing the construction of a thing." So not only does that mean that jacket linings, for example, can be on the outside or sleeves detached, but the function of the piece itself is reimagined. The term as applied to fashion was first coined by Bill Cunningham in Details magazine in 1989, and, he said, "it stuck." PIVOTAL MOMENT: Martin Margiela's show in a vacant lot in Paris in October '89 for spring '90. It was the cusp of the new decade, and he saw such relevance in that moment that he plastered "90" on his fashion pieces. With that clear statement, finally, press and buyers fully understood that deconstructionism had arrived. SARTORIAL FAMILY TREE: Comme des Garcons' Rei Kawakubo is mom; Jean-Paul Gaultier is dad. Mr. Margiela is the favored son. And Coco Chanel is that distant relative everyone dreads a visit from, but once she's in town, realizes they have of a lot in common after all. WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Linen laces to close jackets and to cinch waists. Crisp white shirts. Asymmetrical cuts. Unfinished hems. Ad-hoc empire waistlines, made with thin belts. Recycled pieces. Perfectly fit shoulders, but loose in form. Elongated sleeves or trouser legs. Exaggerated cuffs. Fabrics that are crinkled, folded, fringed or pulled apart. SEX QUOTIENT: Singularly noncommital. Not loose, not tight, not androgynous, not studiously sexy, not even studiously monastic. The wearer brings the attitude. GEOGRAPHY: Born in, raised in and rebelling against one place: Belgium. Mr. Margiela believes a link is that all the designers are from the north. "We're completely different from Italian and French designers." WEIRD CYCLICAL NATURE OF FASHION: Karl Lagerfeld borrows from deconstructionism for his haute couture collection, leaving the ladies feeling breathlessly avant-garde with a bit of tattered tulle. This, in turn, leads to new respect for the Belgians. PARALLEL MOVEMENTS: In art, the heavy social critiques in this year's Whitney biennial. In theater, Peter Sellars's direction of traditional works. In dance, Saburo Teshigawara's noise dance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. In architecture, "The Decon Seven": Peter Eisenman, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Daniel Libeskind, Bernard Tschumi and the Coop Himmelblau firm.
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