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Fashion & Architectural Façades in Harmony
Words Barbara Akinkunmi
Construction Editor, Barbara Akinkunmi, shares how she sees fashion through Architectural Façades, designs and materials.
I don't just think of apparel when it comes to fashion. I see fashion through Architectural Façade designs and materials. Façadesdress buildings in the same manner that fashion dresses individuals, making them more desirable and noticeable. I've seen a clear link between fashion designers and architects, as both use geometry to create forms, structure, lines and shapes. Through brand collections, fashion shows and buildings, the ongoing relationship between fashion and architecture continues to evolve in unique and daring ways.
The late French fashion designer Pierre Balmain once said, “Dressmaking is the architecture of movement.” and I couldn’t agree more. Fashion contributes to a more versatile knowledge of architecture through its movement. Junya Watanabe, Gareth Pugh, Iris van Herpen, Hussein Chalayan, Gareth Pugh, and Alexander McQueen, for example, evidently adapt the shapes and forms of architectural buildings to the human body. On the other hand, architects such as Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhass, Zaha Hadid, and Thomas Heatherwick pleat and weave building materials in the same way that fashion designers would. Here are some examples of how both Fashion and Architecture reflect each other:
Reggio Emilia, AV Mediopadana | Valentino Spring 2009 Couture Collection
The Valentino piece creates a three-dimensional, architectural look, where the fabric is manipulated through pleating, folding and layering in order to build up the final effect.
Al Bahr Twin Towers, Abu Dhabi | Iris Van Herpen, Ready to Wear SS16 Collection
A unique façade reflects the architect's creative thinking, and the Al Bahr Twin Towers' façade exemplifies pure ingenuity. Similarly, this Iris Van Herpen SS16 piece is out of the norm and closely reflects the façade elements shown.
Hawkins Brown, Biochemistry Centre | Schiaparelli Haute Couture Fall 2016
With no reference to specific buildings, designers incorporate architectural elements like elongated proportions and strong silhouettes within their fashions. The vibrant colours and vertical panels shown on the Biochemistry Centre can easily be likened to the Schiaparelli Haute couture piece.
Cathedral Notre-Dame de Reims, France | Dolce & Gabbana S/S 2012
Fashion houses such as Balenciaga, Marchesa, and Chloé have all included architectural references in their collections. Each designer interprets their architectural inspiration to match their particular style, whether it's Frank Gehry's contemporary work for Balenciaga or the delicate details of Arabesque architecture for Chloé.
Frank Gehry, Guggenheim Museum | Paco Rabanne Fall 2013
The connection between fashion designers and architects is visible everywhere around us. On one side of the coin is the architect who has to figure out the building’s shape, form and durability, but just flip the coin and there is the fashion designer who has to design pieces that can work on the body.