Maori Madness

Another graduate collection, this time by Anne-Sofie Madsen, from the Danish Design School. She’s taken the graphic themes from Maori culture and mixed them with Western fabrics and cuts. Tattoos become translated into cording over sheer fabrics, bird-suits are suggested in wool rather than feathers, or in the cut of the shoulders. The results are exquisitely beautiful, neatly balancing the influences so that the results are simultaneously exotic and classic.

Illustrations:

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Warrior chic

The strict opulence of Eva Nyíri’s graduate collection blows me away. It’s what I imagine some badass Victorian girl would wear if she suddenly found herself thrust into the role of a samurai from the future. Or something equally incoherent. The heavy layers and sharp, exaggerated angles convey something almost fetishistic to me– not in the sense of sexiness, though there is a weird, androgynous sexuality to the forms, but more in the sense of a fetishization of the concept of protection and armour. Also, the outfits are just plain cool. I’ll be sure to pack one next time I find myself participating in some bizarro time-travelling event.

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