Disproving the idea that fashion is all fun and glamour, today Henrik Vibskov spent about 20 minutes hidden under a sheet before it was pulled back to reveal his presence—and drum playing—to the crowd gathered for his show at Theatre Republique. That’s where Hess Is More [Mikkel Hess]’s “Apollonian Circles” was showing: a multidisciplinary music/art/theater piece in which the performance is ever changing in reaction to the audience’s participation. (Vibskov is both a participant in the production and its costume designer.)
The scenography of Vibskov’s show, depicting the aftermath of a decadent party that nature is starting to reclaim, was created from the set and props that are part of “Apollonian Circles.” Leave it to Vibskov to present a collection about nature (or how man is both overwhelmed by it and wants to dominate it) on stage in a theater and call it A Bit Overwhelmed By The Opaque Resonance. Thankfully the appeal of the clothes was obvious. Vibskov’s team, he said, had been “looking a bit into outdoor shapes, outdoor materials, without [them having] a Patagonia or a sporty vibe.” There were Tyrolean touches too, including ski references and the charming “Alipini Vibsini” logo. Jacquards and prints referenced landscape, fish, stones. One pattern, the designer noted, included “footprints acting as a reminder of the traces that humans leave in nature.” The appeal of a great tweed or knit needs no explanation, and it was somehow easier this season to deconstruct the crazy pattern mixes and isolate what might work in a tamer wardrobe, like a stitched blanket coat or pants with fold over pockets with a contrasting material.
Vibskov’s collections seem to work a lot like “Apollonian Circles” does; individual pieces come together to create a cacophonous yet mesmerizing whole. And the designer is never not reminding us that fashion is part of something bigger, that it can and should be dialoguing with ideas, politics, art.
Very interesting!Amazing story!Great!
