Deconstructed Treasures
Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons) > 
Yohji Yamamoto > 
Ann Demeulemeester > 
Maison Margiela > 
Fall 2016
Note: This page is not updated after exhibit semester has ended. Suggestions & sources are often still valid & helpful, but remember to check for newer books, websites, etc.
FASHION DESIGNERS:
Japanese designers (from the 1980s): Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons), Yohji Yamamoto,
From the Antwerp Six (from the 1990s): Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, and another Belgian designer: Martin Margiela (Maison Martin Margiela)
Sometimes mentioned, with some garments or collections representative of deconstruction or in some way related:
Vivienne Westwood, John Paul Gaultier, Alber Elbaz for Lanvin, Marc Jacobs, Christian Lacroix, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, John Galliano, Junya Watanabe - perhaps you'll find others!
ARTISTS:
Introduced by philosopher Jacques Derrida in the late 1960s, deconstruction was adopted as a design movement by architecture, graphic design, fine arts -- and, of course, fashion.
What is Deconstruction?
"A design movement ... with designers who took elements of garment construction and made them more visible in the final garment." (Tortora & Keiser, Dictionary of Fashion, 4th ed.). OR "... loosely applied to any rejection of the usual conventions of construction ... and dismantled to reveal a variety of possible interpretations...or no single correct interpretation" (The Penguin English Dictionary, online in Credo database, which has many more definitions of deconstruction; see link below.)
Additionally, some have defined deconstruction as related to anti-fashion and grunge. Evolving from the streets rather than the intellectual roots of deconstructivism, grunge featured worn, oversized, misaligned, unpressed.
Typical garments may have some, but not all, of the following characteristics:
This link opens in a new windowDigital library of art images from museums and other institutions.
Registration for an individual account is required for some features.
This link opens in a new windowUse to look up theme, shape, detail, designer and get runway photos and inspiration for your designs!
This link opens in a new windowTrend reports & forecasting for fashion.
This link opens in a new windowTrend reports & forecasting for fashion.
A documentary produced by YOOX Group and directed by New York filmmaker Alison Chernick, 2015.
Gilded Luxury Riches
Embellished
Gems Jewels Pearls
Gold Silver Money Coins
One-in-a-million One-of-a-kind
The FIT Library has books about Jacques Derrida and deconstruction as well as the architects, artists, and fashion designers who's work relates to this theory. Below are a few examples found using the Library catalog, StyleCat. Be sure to look for more!
Search for terms:
Note - Check books for images and text - not always found online!
Rei Kawakubo
Conceptual clothing: The history and the art of Kawakubo's brand. Rei Kawakubo, the enigmatic head of innovative Japanese fashion house Comme des Garçons, has a special vision which extends beyond clothing to furniture, architecture, and graphic design, always defying conventional thinking. i-D examines Rei's complex and conceptual world, digging through the magazines archive and re-visiting interviews which explore how the fashion house continues to challenge the Western ideals of body shape and garment construction. Breaking the conventional rules, Kawakubo continues to push boundaries, perfectly marrying fashion with art in the most unexpected of ways. Packed into 120 pages is biographical and personal information as well as imagery from photographers including Paolo Roversi, David Bailey, and Emma Summerton, plus interviews with Jamie Huckbody, Josh Sims, and Terry Jones. Text in English, French, German, and Spanish
Yohji Yamamoto by
Yohji Yamamoto is one of fashion's continual innovators and this stunning book is a fascinating insight into his working approach and relationships with other creative practitioners. This comprehensive and groundbreaking volume includes an insightful interview with Yamamoto, as well as a roundtable discussion with some of his key collaborators, among them Nick Knight, Peter Saville, and Marc Ascoli. Photographer Max Vadukal, who has been working with Yamamoto for more than 25 years, is interviewed by Terry Jones, and long-time collaborator Masao Nihei contributes an essay on some of the wider influences on Yamamoto's designs and how they are presented. Beautifully illustrated using amazing photographs from the likes of Nick Knight and Paolo Roversi, selected from the Yohji Yamamoto archive, this will be an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in fashion and design.
Japanese Fashion Designers (print & ebook) by
Over the past 40 years Japanese designers have led the way in aligning fashion with art, ideology and integrity, as well as addressing identity and social politics through dress. They have demonstrated that both creative and commercial enterprise is possible in today's international fashion industry, and have refused to compromise their ideals, remaining autonomous and independent in their design, business affairs and distribution methods. The inspirational Miyake, Yamamoto and Kawakubo have gained worldwide respect and admiration and have influenced a generation of designers and artists alike. Based on twelve years of research, this book provides a richly detailed and uniquely comprehensive view of the work of these three key designers. It outlines their major contributions and the subsequent impact that their work has had upon the next generation of Japanese designers including Watanabe, Takizawa and Takahashi (Undercover), leading Japanese textile designers, and European fashion designers including Margiela and the Belgians, Viktor & Rolf and Chalayan.
Ann Demeulemeester
The first and highly personal perspective into the work and processes of Ann Demeulemeester, one of the most influential and inspiring fashion designers of our time. Graduating from Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1981, Ann Demeulemeester (and her contemporaries in the Antwerp Six) transformed global fashion with an aggressive restatement of traditional fashion design and a polemical approach to luxury trends. Influenced by punk, she founded her label in 1985 and imbues her designs with a strong narrative and rebellious spirit. For Demeulemeester, fashion is a form of communication. Her complex language of contrasts covers a whole gamut of emotions. The tension is highly poetic, and her clothes reveal many layers of soul. Known for her elegant tailoring and dark yet glamorous aesthetic, she created a serene and darkly romantic world with an intriguing mix of edgy rebellion and sophistication. This book is a tribute to Demeulemeester's historical career, with over 1,000 photographs approximating some of the mystery and detailing associated with her brand.
Maison Martin Margiela
Graduating from Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the 1980s, Martin Margiela (and his contemporaries in the Antwerp Six) transformed global fashion with his aggressive restatement of traditional fashion design and a polemical approach to luxury trends. Working first with the house of Gaultier, Margiela absorbed the radical design of Japanese deconstruction, making it wholly his own with the founding of his own label in 1988. Margiela propounds a singular, enigmatic look, moving beyond the recognizable tropes of deconstruction -- a monochromatic palette, outsized garments, non-traditional fabrics, exposed seams, or roughly appliquéd details -- to develop a fully considered worldview, one with elegance, mystery, and menace in equal measure. This book provides an inside look at the design process from a craftsman who creates pieces prized for their originality, delicacy, and daring. In the spirit of Margiela's garments, the book is a work of art in itself, designed exclusively by Margiela and complete with silver inks, ribbon markers, a variety of lush paper types, twelve booklets, and an embroidered white-linen cover. This book provides a window onto the intimate, handmade world of a unique designer.
Jean-Paul Goude
Jean-Paul Goude is one of the world's most brilliant and unorthodox image makers. This book assembles the biggest collection of his work ever seen: sketches, paintings, magazine spreads, storyboards, art-directed and elaborately staged photography, and photographic documentation (as well as preliminary sketches) for stage and street shows. From his New York days with Esquire to his latest work for Galéries Lafayette in Paris, Goude has consistently surprised, provoked, and delighted those who have encountered his work. He was Grace Jones's Pygmalion, creating unforgettable images of her, from andryogyne to cyber-superwoman to supreme diva. One of advertising's most sought after stars, Goude masterminded memorable campaigns for Chanel, Perrier, and Kodak, among others. Around 500 images, including many working documents, are on show here, from inspired doodles to final images. Selected and arranged by Goude himself, they present a gallery of artworks that have redefined advertising and brand photography as we know them. The book includes contributions by Jean-Paul Gaultier, Edgar Morin, Eric Troncy, George Lois, and Jérôme Sans.
Frank O. Gehry: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao by
This is a celebration of the architecture of Frank O. Gehry's Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. It details the design process that is an intrinsic part of Gehry's revolutionary approach: his use of non-traditional materials and his sensitivity to the environments of his buildings, his method of envisaging a building through semi-automatic drawings and hand-made models.
