Young fashion designers take centre stage at Whitechapel

Associated media

Swarovski Whitechapel Gallery Art Plus Fashion:
Fashion designers selected for first catwalk show at the Whitechapel Gallery
14 March 2013, 7.30p.m. –late

The fashion collections of four outstanding postgraduate designers from Central Saint Martins (CSM) and the Royal College of Art (RCA) will be showcased in the Whitechapel Gallery’s annual fundraising gala in partnership with Swarovski on Thursday 14 March 2013. The first ever catwalk show in the Gallery will feature womenswear designers Sabina Bryntesson (CSM) and Trine Hav Christensen (RCA) and menswear designers Craig Green (CSM) and Hiroaki Kanai (RCA).

The designers were handpicked to take part in Swarovski Whitechapel Gallery Art Plus Fashionby major names from the fashion world: Giles Deacon, Bella Freud, Marios Schwab and Nadja Swarovski. Putting the talent of the future centre-stage, the event continues the Whitechapel Gallery and Swarovski’s traditions of supporting emerging creatives and raises important funds for the Gallery’s work with thousands of children and young people across London each year – helping to foster the next generation of artists.

Swarovski Whitechapel Gallery Art Plus Fashionwill merge fashion with moving-image works by leading contemporary artists, resulting in a unique live performance. Each designer will also create a bespoke look for the runway incorporating Swarovski Elements into their garments. 

Trine Hav Christensen’s collection featuring acidic brights with frills, PVC and billows reminiscent of exotic sea creatures, will be teamed with an excerpt from Ursula Mayer’s acclaimed film Gonda (2012) in which a human canvas is pummelled with coloured pigment in slow motion. Scenes from ‘the invisible background cave’ in Hilary Koob-Sassen's film Transcalar Investment Vehicles(2012)will be paired with the monastic, structural forms of Sabina Bryntesson’s womenswear. Menswear designer Craig Green’s D.I.Y utilitarian aesthetic and innovative materials will be paired with Simon Payne’s Point Line Plane (2010) in which shifting grids in black, white and grey continuously reframe the screen and produce an illusion of depth. Hiroaki Kanai’s collection fusing classic and futuristic textiles is presented alongside Bonnie Camplin’s Colonial Fanny (2005) in which a woman (the artist) is shown against various tropical backdrops slowly fanning herself, her pose reminiscent of fashion photos. The catwalk show will be directed by Sara Blonstein and Chris Ford from Blonstein & Associates, who will transform Gallery 1 with a crystal inspired creative concept.

As an extension of the catwalk, Harper’s Bazaar in collaboration with London College of Fashion, will promote new talent in Fashion Journalism by awarding a postgraduate student the opportunity to publish a piece on the contemporary cross-points between the worlds of fashion and art for www.Harpersbazaar.co.uk

Guests are invited by Whitechapel Gallery Director Iwona Blazwick OBE, Nadja Swarovski, Member of Swarovski’s Executive Board, Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, Art Plus Chair and Justine Picardie, Harper’s Bazaar Editor-in-Chief, to buy tickets for the event and take part in a charity auction to help raise funds for the Whitechapel Gallery’s Education and Community Programmes.

Auction highlights include a rare screenprint byBridget Riley titled One Small Step (2009) and three preparatory photographs for New Sexual Lifestyles by Irish artist Gerard Byrne. Mexican artist Minerva Cuevas’ tar-dipped vintage oil painting Admiralty (2012) and US artist Sam Durant’s vibrant Study for Top Ten Places for Tax Evasion and Money Laundering (Ireland Variant) (2011) are joined by additional donations by Zarina Bhimji, Andrea Büttner, Corinne Day, Cornelia Parker, Bob and Roberta Smith, Francesco Vezzoli, Vivienne Westwood and Catherine Yass and willbe auctioned by Sotheby’s Oliver Barker on the night.

The party will continue throughout the Gallery with event production by Event Concept and performances from renowned British DJs Norman Jay MBE and Gilles Peterson along with a delicious party menu devised by Smart Hospitality with Angela Hartnett, Wright Brothers oysters and bespoke cocktails and refreshments by Courvoisier, Peroni, Jose Cuervo, Stolichnaya Vodka, Laytons Wine Merchants andFirefly Tonics.