Seam, Seam but Different

<p dir="ltr">Background </p><p dir="ltr">Flavia Loscialpo (Fashion and Philosophical Deconstruction, 2011) identifies deconstructivist design practices as critical tools for understanding the relationships garments and bodies, and for rethinking fashion’s privileging of ideas such as luxury, beauty, glamour, and style. Further to this, Alison Gill (Deconstruction Fashion, 1998) suggests garment seams as key deconstructive sites for fashion practice, as they signify both production and the potential for things to come undone. These ideas and approaches can be seen applied to garments in the work of designers such as Rei Kabakubo, Martin Margiela and Viktor & Rolfe. </p><p dir="ltr">Contribution </p><p dir="ltr">The garments shown in Seam, Seam but Different were designed by Remie Cibis using deconstructivist design methods – including exposing, exaggerating, multiplying, highlighting, reducing, removing, eliminating, and depicting – to make visible how seams construct both garments and bodies. During the hour-long durational runway – also designed by Cibis – two identical models wandered slowly among bar patrons, exchanging looks and looking back. By inverting familiar aspects of fashion runways – such as novelty, speed, unattainability, and voyeurism – the performance deconstructed thinking about fashion-presentation, as well as fashion-forms. </p><p dir="ltr">Significance </p><p dir="ltr">Seam, Seam but Different was shown as part of the The Neapoli Art Bar Program, curated by Nikos Pantazopoulos of RMIT University’s School of Art (PhD Fine Art, Monash University, 2013). Pantazopoulos has curated numerous exhibitions and shown work, at various high calibre institutions including NGV, Gertrude Contemporary, CCP, BlindSide and Kunsthal KAdE. The program developed by Pantazopoulos for Neapoli Art Bar, likewise, included work from various significant practitioners including Mode and Mode (Laura Gardner & Karina Soraya), D&K (Ricarda Bigolin & Nella Themelios), Kate Meakin, Spencer Lai, Seth Shapiro, Deanne Butterworth and Vittoria Stefano.</p>