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Futuristic influences

Some of today’s emerging young designers look to futuristic influences to create their sculptural works for the runway.

In wearable art, Jack Irving says, the “art is wearing you”. Irving, an artist and designer from Blackpool in the UK who now runs his design studio in London, is well known for his work in creating cosmic worlds of his hyperreality.

“For me, it’s finding inspiration in blurring the lines between sculpture and garment, making the human body a subject for art, and playing with the limits of fashion in that way,” he tells us in an exclusive interview.

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Surrounded by theatre from a young age, Irving says the “showy glitz and glam of the stage” always inspired him, and now theatrics play a huge part in his creative process. “It manifests now in a fascination for otherworldly themes and subjects, like the ethereality of the space and the deep sea, and the all encompassing nature of things bigger than us,” he adds.

Kwok explains that his costumes are designed as “storytelling pieces”. “There’s a story behind the nine members of the Kwk avatars we launch one by one every season,” he shares about the work, which was first shown at London Fashion Week in September 2022. “We take inspiration from their background story and express it on the runway.”

In the US, New York-based Wuhanese fashion designer Terrence Zhou, who has worked with Kris Jenner and Jennifer Coolidge, also defines fashion as a means of expressing his artistic passion.

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His work is big, bulbous, fantastically eccentric and plays with shapes and geometry in its designs. “I don’t overly focus on my personal style; instead, I constantly push myself to perceive things from unique perspectives, utilising clothing as a canvas for my creative manifestation,” he tells us.

His brand Bad Binch TingTong is often inspired by creatures like octopuses and centipedes, as unveiled in an interview with The New York Times. With a background in mathematics, bioengineering and tech, he tells us he sees himself as an “open vessel”, with his creative process being “non-linear”.

“There are days when I step into my office, and a vivid image immediately pops into my head, compelling me to bring it to life. It’s as if I’m guided by a higher dimension, receiving instructions to create whatever they reveal to me,” he shares. “I simply can’t resist the urge to follow their guidance and bring those ideas into reality.”

Redefining wearability

Kwok says he never puts wearability into consideration in his showpiece designs.

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“It is more about the storytelling of the season, more about the creative expression,” he says, adding that he was surprised when artists in the US showed interest in wearing them on the red carpet, at the Grammys, for concert tours and other notable occasions.

Meanwhile, Irving continues to project his passion for technology-meets-art-meet-fashion. “[I hope to evoke] everything I take inspiration from – awe, ethereality and a feeling larger than the mundanities of life!” shares the British designer.