• The Coperni Spray-on Dress

    Written by Yasmine M

    Coperni is truly back on the map with the latest installation on Paris Fashion Week. The French brand suprisied everyone with its Spring Summer 2023 collection - which ended in a scientific art piece starring Bella Hadid.

    Coperni joined forces with Fabrican ltd, lead by Doctor Manel Torres, for a 'Blade Runner' futuristic collaboration that resulted in the making of a dress - live on the runway. The art meets fashion performance saw Manel Torres use a spray-on fabric that once sprayed, dries to create a physical form.

    The spray-on technique was developed by Fabrican, a company founded by Spanish fashion designer and scientist Manel Torres. Fabrican liquid contains cotton or synthetic fibres, suspended in a polymer solution that transforms when making contact with the body. After wearing, it can be removed and turned back into a solution, ready for reuse. Now on stage, the spray-on is following the curves of Bella Hadid, almost as a sculpture you see the art piece come to life. The almost silver/white spray transformed Hadid’s nude clothing into a dress. The act can almost be described as a performance art piece, where the audience are part of the transformation, and historical event. With futuristic music the event becomes even more intense. Coperni co-founders Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant have been working with Torres and his team at London’s Bioscience Innovation Centre over the past six months to develop the spray-on, one-shouldered dress.

    In an interview with Vogue Business, co-founder Sébastien Meyer says that “It’s our duty as designers to try new things and show a possible future. We’re not going to make money on this, but it’s a beautiful moment — an experience that creates emotion.” The dress and iconic moment will definitely become a part of the history of fashion. 

  • Alex Israel, Self Portrait (Dodgers), 2014‒2015. Photo credit: Joshua White

    Cut-outs

    Written by Art & Culture

    Alex Israel’s art explores the visual iconography of everything Hollywood - celebrity cult, clichés, and the illusion of the American dream. The Los Angeles based artist inhabits the roles of filmmaker, talk-show host and eyewear designer with ease and has often used film studio props as his material. Cut-outs of his own profile wearing sunglasses in bright pastel hues is a recurring motif blending the worlds of art, fashion, marketing and entertainment in a reflection of our current times.

    Israel earned his BA at Yale and received his MFA from the University of Southern California’s Roski School of Fine Arts. His work has been acquired by the Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou, Guggenheim Museum, Astrup Fearnley Museet, and Moderna Museet Stockholm among others.

    Cut-outs by Alex Israel opens Sep 23 at Hospitalet Stockholm. The exhibition is presented by Carl Kostyal.

    Alex Israel, Wave Grid, 2021
  • photography Anton Stenander
    fashion Isabell Ejdeholm

    makeup and hair Martina Dahlqvist

    model Nova R

    all clothing Elin Westling

    An Interview with Elin Westling and Anton Stenander

    Written by Filippa Gustafsson by Sandra Myhrberg

    Back in the beginning of May, when spring no longer feels like an illusion, the self-taught photographer Anton Stenander, 27, captured the creations of designer Elin Westling, 25, on mm film, using an analogue camera.

    Westling's collection “Gathering surroundings” inspired Stenander to find a contrast to the designs to arouse curiosity. The outcome is a beautiful balance  between the flowy, soft styles and the harshness of the gravel mountain.

    As we discuss how to capture a beautiful, eye-catching image without reducing the object in focus, Stenander lets the inspiration take the lead.
    “It is important to me that the design stays in focus, at the same time I want it feels inspiring. Here, nature meets nature in a dramatic but clear way.”

    Elin Westling has just gotten her bachelor's degree in fashion design at the University of Textiles in Borås. The project is inspired by the artist Georgia O'Keeffe's artwork, and how she took inspiration from her own surroundings.
    “Her art has a sensual simplicity with soft lines and a close feeling to nature. I, therefore, took inspiration from my own surroundings, which resulted in me starting to collect seashells and through my fabric drawers to use the materials I had not previously seen potential in. To make the material more interesting, I chose to dye the fabrics, the rust red is dyed with reactive colors and the light yellow is plant dyed with tansy collected from a ditch near my home.”

    Westling's vision was to highlight how beautiful simplicity can be when it gives more openness to details. The color and material choices go hand in hand with the natural seashells, and the red threads break off as a soft contrast to the materials. The dresses are designed with an emphasis on simplicity, to let the details shine.
    “What was special for me in this project was that I didn't sketch anything before, but worked with my hands first directly with the material. I learned how important it is to trust one's vision because the process was very open.”
    What was important for Westling to capture through the camera lens was the feeling she had looking for during the design process.
    “I wanted there to be softness and calmness in the images. Seashells are fragile, and the colours of the dresses also contribute to a certain fragility.
    Placing them in an environment with piles of gravel gave it a nice contrast.”

    Westling imagines the pieces to be worn for a special occasion.
    “When the wearer wants to feel a closeness to nature and the power that nature can give you.”

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