Fredrik Tjærandsen, a Central Saint Martin’s graduate and winner of the L’Oréal Professional Young Talent Award, gave us all something to talk about for the next few weeks, if not months. His collection impressed so many, it almost seems hard to tell if this was a fashion show or walking contemporary art. There is a thin line either way.
His collection, a series of bright and dark balloons, had but a few pieces that morphed into a rubber dress or skirt. The giant balloons encapsulated the models’ body and were suppressed with continuous straps of rubber that wrapped around their legs. Two looks specifically had the same effect, but the models’ arms were encapsulated instead forming what looked like two crescent moons on one, and two bubbles on the other.
In an interview with Love Magazine, Tjærandsen explained how these balloons worked. “I have constructed these pieces with an air pressure system that lets the wearer control the air-flow,” he said. “Whenever the wearer wants to deflate it, they open a latch inside to release the inverted bubble part and then that dives out of the deflating bubble.” A mixture of art and just pure genius. This is just the beginning of a long standing career for the young designer. I’m sure many avant-garde celebrities will have their eyes on him. Someone please reach Lady Gaga’s telephone. Either way, next year’s Met Gala is going to have a difficult time topping this one off.
Sylvie Bravo
Fashion Editor
SHE MAGAZINE USA
