Oden Wilson, winner of the L'Oreal Professional Fashion Design Award for his Central St Martins A/W09 collection, showcased his version of couture fashion, but not in the established, theatrical, exaggerated mode. Instead, he created understated and perfectly chiselled shapes. His work reveals a strong design methodology, so it was unsurprising to find out that he has a passion for the physical processes of making, and for creating a meaningful aesthetic.
The garments are very well structured, like a 3D puzzle put together with mathematical precision – do you have to be good at maths to make those complicated patterns?
(Laughs) I enjoy maths but I’m not sure if I am that good at it! Before I started studying fashion, I had a brief career as a mechanical engineer. I had to use trigonometry to calculate the angles of cuts and chamfers – it was training that I never expected to serve me well again.
What’s your vision when designing?
I like things that look very artificial. I am drawn to odd shapes, smooth lines and changing the proportion of the body in a dynamic and streamlined way. I love creating interestingly cut and constructed clothes! I think I am very lucky to have found fashion! If I hadn’t, I would probably still be working in the same hands on way but as a carpenter or something. It’s the craft of fashion that I really love. It allows me to work in a direct way with the material, finding the physical limitations and pushing them. I try to produce a conventional garment in an unconventional way. A couple of other references are army surplus and couture: so it’s bold and directional, but has a surprisingly comfortable wearability and ease.
What was the concept for this particular collection? Why did you decide to use blue and champagne as main colours at the end?
I only used three colours because I needed to keep the collection coherent, while trying to push proportion and shape. I decided very early on which fabrics were going to achieve the volumes I wanted, in an attempt to break away from that tight silhouetted collection that Christopher Kane made so famous at CSM. So the colours were key to the coherence…and I loved the blue and champagne combination! I thought it looked modern, clean and minimal.
I developed a cutting concept inspired by origami to produce the huge geometrics, which I then gathered and collapsed around the body. The form of the shapes was controlled by a series of utilitarian drawstrings and hardware in the garments. That’s how I tried to making the couture context relevant and modern.
Credits:
Photography: Billy Ballard
Text and Styling: Nobuko Tannawa
All Clothes by Oden Wilson; Black tights by Wolford
Hair: Mari Ohashi using Kiehl’s
Make-up and manicure: Zoe Taylor using MAC
Re-touching: Regina Limon Vega
Model: Malene Knudsen @ Next
Photographic assistant: Rob Low
Make-up assistant Lauren Wall
Special Thanks to: Mark Loy Director of Spring Studios, Spring Lighting and Spring Digital
Tim Hamilton, winner of the 2009 CFDA Swarovski award for Emerging Talent in Menswear, presented his second womenswear collection in Paris as an elegant fusion of masculine and feminine. Tailored shoulders, shorts and shirts buttoned up to the neck were set against body con dresses, a beaded bodysuit and loosely draped sheer fabric. The message above all was one of confidence, something Hamilton himself conveyed when we spoke earlier this year.
How does your menswear background influence how you design for women?
My background is actually in womenswear, but it’s true that for my own line I decided to start with menswear. I tend to start with fabric development – that’s how I did it for menswear and I'm trying the same approach in womenswear.
Do you have a particular kind of woman in mind when designing?
There are a lot women in my life who I think about when designing, but the woman I return to most often is one who has a simple and direct manner; she’s modern and confident taking risks.
What was the main inspiration for this S/S10 collection?
It came from an idea to mix the late seventies and early eighties together, and to create a strong structure.
Coming from New York, why did you decide to show this collection in Paris?
It made sense to let womenswear be born in Paris from both an aspirational and production point of view.
What can you away about your next collection?
Hmm, let's just say it’s less modest.
Credits:
Photography: Billy Ballard
Text and Styling: Nobuko Tannawa
All clothes by Tim Hamilton
Hair: Mari Ohashi using Kiehl’s
Make-up and manicure: Zoe Taylor using MAC
Re-touching: Regina Limon Vega
Model: Lyndsey Scott @ Premier
Photographic assistant: Rob Low
Make-up assistant Lauren Wall
Special Thanks to: Mark Loy Director of Spring Studios, Spring Lighting and Spring Digital
Natsumi Zama, from the London College of Fashion, showed a striking graduate BA collection this summer. Her clothes balanced rigidity and lightness in a way that recalled the Japanese Kimono. Zama herself is Japanese and I was interested in her desire to respond to a cultural tradition that is personally relevant to her. I found her modest and honest approach to fashion intriguing, and it made me reconsider what I can contribute to fashion as a Japanese stylist.
What were you thinking about when you were designing this collection?
When I was pattern cutting and inventing the silhouettes, I thought a lot about the straight lines of a kimono. It’s a shame I didn’t anticipate a good way to fold the clothes and carry them around easily, as it’s proving difficult. It would have made sense because beauty and function are closely linked in the symbolism of kimonos.
Why did you choose to focus on tying large ribbons?
I learned a lot about the obi kimono belt while I was designing. I found that there are many different ways to tie a knot and I wanted to celebrate the fact that one simple piece of clothing can be enjoyed in so many variations.
Why did you make the whole collection in beige?
If I used one colour, it wouldn’t distract from the silhouettes and detailing. I chose beige because it’s the colour I associate with a classic and modest Japanese beauty.
What are you thinking about for your next collection?
At the moment I am interested in The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales, braids and European folk costumes.
Do you have any plans for the future?
I would love to own a small studio, work hard every day and produce garments for customers who love what I make.
Credits:
Photography: Billy Ballard
Text and Styling: Nobuko Tannawa
All Clothes by Natsumi Zama
Hair: Mari Ohashi using Kiehl’s
Make-up and manicure: Zoe Taylor using MAC
Re-touching: Regina Limon Vega
Model: Alice Gibb @ Premier
Photographic assistant: Rob Low
Make-up assistant Lauren Wall
Special Thanks to: Mark Loy Director of Spring Studios, Spring Lighting and Spring Digital
(AnOther magazine)
Beautiful, unique & eclectic!
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