A Chymical Marriage: The Alchemy of Art and Fashion
by Andrew Lamprecht
The lines between art and fashion were blurred on Thursday June 24 when artist Matthew Hindley and fashion designer/ artist Richard de Jager, along with Sam Bulgin and MeMeMe co-owner Kirsty Bannerman presented a show of their latest collections at StudioOne in Cape Town.
With David West providing the music and photographic artist Mikhael Subotsky presenting wonderful 3-D video panoramas on a big screen, it was truly a night where everyone who was anyone from the two worlds of fashion and art was present. (In the throng, I found myself standing next to the co-owner of Hip Hop, one of the country's top labels.)
The event was entitled 'Life would be so simple�' and that set the tone for a series of designs that tended to be clever, witty, comforting and charming, rather than sexy or sassy. These were clearly clothes made by and for people who think.
Coppelia, the label designed by Doreen Southwood's business partner Bannerman, entitled her nostalgic collection 'Since you've been gone' and the clothes echoed the elegant and clear lines of the 1920s and 1950s. Muted colours complemented by shocking pink were presented in tweed and tulle to create an impression of the sort of sad but pretty woman that an actor like Audrey Hepburn used to play.
Richard de Jager, well-known for his magical knitted fabrics (Max Normal's Waddy Jones was wearing one of his outfits at his opening at Bell-Roberts Gallery last month) has been working with Matthew Hindley for about a year, apparently in some degree of secrecy. Their alchemical experiments in fashion have seen the emergence of a new label: 'HA-ii'.
Their press statement reads: "We want to see the newest things. That is because we want to see the future, even if only momentarily. It is the moment which, even if we don't completely understand what we have glimpsed, we are nonetheless touched by it. That is what we have come to call art".
The clothes combined Hindley's signature, zany, drawings with some of De Jager's typical styles: tracksuit pants (one showing a "piss stain" running down the front in bright pink), bold jackets, loose tees and the knitted text work presenting one of Hindley's lamentations, "NO FRNDS". Streetwear that speaks about consumption, loss of control, fear of aging and is damned funny to boot was the result.
The show ended off with a small collection of works of Sam Bulgin's 'Alfafa' label garments. This was a subtle, but very classical collection of eminently wearable clothes that really tended to be less sexy than sleek and used flattering lines to subdue rather than highlight.
In all 'Life would be so simple...' was an excellent example of the sort of thing Cape Town needs more of: the clever and stimulating collaboration between different artistic practices to bring talent together and discover new depths of possibility.
For further info and viewing contact Matthew Hindley at 083 9615555.
