Hussein Chalayan: 1994-2010
15 July – 24 October 2010
Meclis-i Mebusan Ave. Liman İşletmeleri
Sahası Antrepo No:4 Karaköy
İstanbul, Turkey
Presenting fashion as an area for exploration, where concepts find an expression, Hussein Chalayan challenges the preconceived notions about the meaning of clothing. Inspired by ideas drawn from disciplines not readily associated with fashion, and motivated by the political, social and economic realities of today, he creates designs that explore his conceptual ideas with a philosophical approach. His garments are imbued with the thought processes behind them while his acclaimed runway shows function as performance pieces. Besides fashion collections, he makes installations, directs short films and designs costumes for stage.
Previously shown at the Design Museum, London and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, this touring exhibition curated by Donna Loveday brings together fashion collections, installations and films produced by Hussein Chalayan between the years 1994 and 2010. Inspired by architecture, philosophy, science, history, anthropology, biology and technology, the selected works reflect Chalayan’s views on a range of themes including genetics, technological progress, displacement, migration and cultural identity.
The exhibition features the following works by Hussein Chalayan: Temporary Interference, Inertia, Airmail Dress, Panoramic, Aeroplane Dress (Echoform), Compassion Fatigue, After Words, Temporal Meditations, Ambimorphous , Absent Presence, Readings, Before Minus Now, Manifest Destiny, Genometrics, Repose, Place to Passage, Geotropics, Blindscape, One Hundred and Eleven, Anaesthetics, Airborne, Earthbound, Dolce far Niente, Kinship Journeys, Micro Geography, and The Tunnel.
Organized as part of the İstanbul European Capital culture events, the exhibition entitled ‘Hussein Chalayan:1994-2010′ is a joint effort of the İstanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters’ Associations (ITKIB), the 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency, İstanbul Fashion Week 2010, İstanbul Fashion Academy (IMA), İstanbul Modern and the Design Museum, London.
Hussein Chalayan
Born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1970, Chalayan was educated in Cyprus and later in London. In 1993, he graduated from Central St. Martins College of Art and Design in London where his highly inventive graduate collection, The Tangent Flows, attracted strong interest. The collection featured silk dresses that had been covered in iron filings, buried in the ground for months and then exhumed. The collection later featured in the window of the London retailer Browns, and helped to launch Chalayan as a new designer with a reputation for innovation. He launched his own label in 1994 and, since then, has twice been named British Designer of the Year.
