The fashion designer believes, "The only new work you can do in fashion is via technology."
A Sense of Style Beyond the Cutting Edge
By MICHELE ORECKLIN
Hussein Chalayan has fashioned clothing of unrippable paper that can be folded into envelopes, a dress designed like a kite that can actually fly and a coffee table of malleable wood that swirls into a skirt. What saves his fanciful designs from unraveling into mere novelty is the fact that Chalayan, 29, an exquisite tailor, uses the show pieces to inspire his eminently more wearable clothes.
"These pieces might not sell," he says, "but they express the
concept behind each collection." The result is feminine clothes that are spare, clean and architecturally constructed to create volume without frills.
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Watch how Hussein Chalayan transformed a table into a hoop skirt at a recent show to illustrate how war refugees are forced to flee their homes with few familiar possessions. |
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Listen to excerpts from TIME reporter Michele Orecklin's interview with Chalayan. Get RealPlayer |
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