Vogue- More Dash Than Cash- Kate Hogg- 1982

Le Corbusier, The Golden Ratio

Le Corbusier

Image of The Radiant City Plans

Digressing on to another architectural citation, this time in the form of Le Corbusier, modern industrial functionalism draws comparisons to minimal deconstructed tailoring. This also deriving from Metropolis, but focusing on modernism, Le Corbusier`s aesthetic to look to the future as an age of great technological progress where new ways of living shape the structure of modern cities.
The use of the Golden Ratio and Fibonacci numbers in Le Corbusier`s Modulor system for scale and architectural proportion, place harmony at the centre of his design philosophy. He saw this system as a continuation of Vitruvius, Leonardo da Vinci`s Vitruvian Man, the fundamental geometric proportions of the cosmic order.

In terms of shoot inspiration the way I would like to interpret Le Corbusier`s aesthetic through the avant garde Japanese idea of structuralism and how this relates to the body in not just covering it but how clothing and the body interact together. Using Yamamoto`s ideas surrounding traditional Japanese dress and largely not referring to Western fashion and ignoring Western developments of the silhouette, the beauty of the garments is found in their use of material. One of Yamamoto`s great influences was a collection of photographs by August Sander focusing on utilitarianism, peoples everyday clothes that reflect their lives. So to use archived Miyake, Yamamoto or BodyMap, focusing on deconstruction paying particular attention to the structure of the body, using similar poses to the ones featured below.

Issey Miyake

Images from Issey Miyake photographed by Irving Penn.

JP Gaultier Couture SS02

JP Gaultier Couture SS01

Yohji Yamamoto Couture AW03

Images courtesy of catwalking.com

Dior Haute Couture AW06

Images coutesy of catwalking.com

Archive Couture

Raygun Gothic
The architectural complexity Metropolis details is one of opulent futurism, the sheer magnitude of sets, the bourgeoisie excess.
In stark contrast to both previous Hannah Marshall and Belle Sauvage posts, my own stylistic reinterpretation of Metropolis would have to take influence from the above. Art Deco was characterised by the use of contrasting materials juxtaposed together like never before, the use of geometric stepped shapes against sweeping curves, the rich colours and textures, taking influence from the rapid rise of modernity into the technological age and looking into the newly discovered culture rich histories of Egypt, Africa, and the Aztecs.
It is from this I direct my search to the intricate details, elaborate use of embellishment, the perfectly tailored cut, the bourgeoisie excess that is Haute Couture.
To produce a shoot channelling Metropolis`s architectural endeavours but interpreted in a fashion context, the structure of the body majestic as the tower of Babel, a single structure ruling all others, the model strong sleek and statuesque against a stark unforgiving grey backdrop, the contrast of modern sleek and structural elements in terms of hair and make up reappropriating the original excessive styling of the garments.