JUM NAKAO

Art and fashion, costume design and animation; Brazilian Jum Nakao is a versatile and playful individual.

For his A Costura Do Invisivel paper collection, more than 700 hours of painstaking work went into the production of delicate and beautiful dresses made entirely from paper. Strips, punched and laser-cut-look patterns all go together to produce an inventive and intricate spectacle.

The show ended with the traditional parade of models down the runway, but the most shocking and exciting part came when each model stopped and ripped, tore and destroyed her paper outfit. You can actually see the visible shock on the faces of the audience in the video on the designer’s website. He then recreated the entire collection again in miniature for the Revolver exhibition at the Oscar Niemeyer Museum. Placed in a glass case, mice were then let loose to eat away at the dresses until they fell apart.
jumnakao

SCHERER GONZALEZ

The creative and morbid charm of Germany's capital
Just hours ago, the Berlin fashion-design duo Scherer González made their debut presentation at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin. Constanze G. González and Paul Scherer's spring/summer 2009 fashion show took place at Bebelplatz in Berlin's historic Mitte district. More than 400 invited guests attended the festivities as the designers unveiled their upcoming spring collection, proving that Berlin and high fashion are by no means mutually exclusive terms.

The creative and morbid charm of Germany's capital has inspired the designers to create a collection showcasing unexpected opposites. Urban architecture combined with contemporary rebellious-art elements served as a springboard for a glamorous and progressive collection. Neon-coloured graffiti prints silk-screened onto meticulously tailored, fine silk fabrics make for a gritty-meets-grace aesthetic that achieves a controversial kind of harmony. Countless handcrafted roses adorn a dress that moves like liquid metal, baggy mini-overalls sport glowing prints, and neon-coloured leather buttons are sewn onto delicate crêpe de chine to make the spirit of contrast all the more striking. The show itself starts a few minutes late because a huge crush of people has to be seated first. Shortly after the last guests have been guided to their seats the light gets dimmed and the sound turned up. Now the spotlights are put on. The show begins. Already the first piece, dress Cara, gives the direction. People clap, over and over again.

Dresses form the centrepiece of the 50-piece collection, which includes a solid supporting cast of shorts, generously-cut tops and mini-overalls. The Scherer González fashion show opens with a series of intricately tailored day dresses in a reserved palette of black, grey and cream. A rainbow of colours takes centre stage as the subsequent group of fashions, a range of prêt-à-porter summer dresses...

SCHERER GONZALEZ