"Thirty seconds ...and Yet" is a fashion "research" collection by the young designer Inès Torrens (Artez University of the Arts, Arnhem, Netherlands), who is participating in the finals of the Diploma Selection competition of this year's Designblok . In it, the author deals with the representation of clothing in the environment of conservation and restoration. It confronts modeling and restoration techniques with the design process, thus presenting a new narrative of clothing creation, felt through a slow pace. The project can also be seen as a manifesto against fast fashion and forgetting the true value of clothing.
Inès Torrens explains: “Based on the analysis of the restorers' work, I distinguish two main dimensions of creation, which focus on the understanding of clothing; the idea of "evolution" and "success" from flaws and defective materials, which takes a counterpoise to the current system of fashion and the total absence of bodies. Therefore, the curators work with modeling techniques and rediscover lost morphologies using specific materials, such as foam, imitating human anatomy. The techniques used also include an in-depth textile analysis through a combination of craft knowledge and technology, which I have implemented in my collection through a textile pattern visible under UV light. This collection also emphasizes some parts of clothing that have disappeared from today's fashion memory."
The performers wear individual pieces from the collection as if 'on display', with a certain flatness and mystery to pay tribute to this hidden and careful environment." "Thirty seconds...and Yet" is primarily a reflection on time, with a specific reference to laboratory protocols (the duration of chemical interventions in clothing is usually counted in seconds). In this environment, which seems to be against the current of the social pace, time seems to stand still...
"My entire design process was extremely personal and individual, with the main goal of preserving the slow and careful thinking of restorers as an internal experience of time," adds Inès Torrens.
You can see Inès Torrens' "Thirty seconds...and Yet" collection with your own eyes during the fashion show of the Diploma Selection 2023 finalists on Saturday, October 7 at 2:30 p.m. in the Small Hall of the Trade Fair Palace (Dukelských hrdinů 47, Prague 7).
Article from protisedi.cz 3 října, 2023