Fashion, Airplanes and Furniture

I’m starting a series which I call “Today I learned…” where I basically will talk about some random, interesting thing I learned of or discovered that day, which I'm guessing would most likely be about anything fashion related...Always good to learn something new everyday!

27th May 2010

Today I learned… about Hussein Chalayan. A renowned Turkish designer, Chalayan is recognized the world over for his ingenious exercise of combining fashion and technology. I’m ashamed that I’d never heard of him until today but I’m sure I’ve come across some of his works before in magazines. His creations are way ahead of his time and it’s just amazing to see such artistic talent.

Chalayan was born in Nicosia, Turkey in 1970 and he studied design at Central Saint Martins where he graduated in 1993. He struggled earlier in his career with sponsorship and funding but slowly his work became more recognized and in 'British Designer of the Year' in 1999 and 2000.

Among his more famous pieces of work are the “series of laser LED dresses [he designed] in collaboration with luxury label Swarovski, showcased in Tokyo” in early 2008.

But I think the most creative, out-of-this-world things he’s done are the airplane dresses and the furniture dresses!

S/S 2000 “Airplane Dress” – Chalayan created dresses made out of the same material used in airplanes. The shape of the dress could be changed by remote control!

F/W 2000 – “After Words” - In the winter collection of the same year, Chalayan created a table dress – basically a table that turned into a skirt!

Now, how’s that for innovation!