alexande{®}køutny
back__ collection ii___ graphica immateria
Graphica Immateria is a small focused collection of darkly organic pieces with mechanical subconscious references by South African born designer Alexander Koutny. Koutny's first US presentation is inspired by powerlines and their supportive pylons, the structures that support these rudimentary mechanical devices that connect human beings, generating expectations for future possibilities. These contemporary psycho-mechanical trip wires ignite flickering nostalgia. Foreboding yet somehow comforting, they repeat and remind us of where we may go and how that hardly differs from where we may have been.
Graphica Immateria is an exploration of the progression of forms or silhouettes through the era of industrialization. This collection of 8 demi-couture pieces is mostly black with the exception of one contrasting white dress. Structured, tailored bodices provide the support that allows volume to extend and project from the foundation. Texture and volume is created through repetition and manipulation of the simple box pleat. The designer explored the different aesthetic to be found in this pleat whether tightly folded or allowed to loosen up and eventually release. The pieces combine this repetitive pleating with complex layered draping interacting with a three dimensional geometric interlocking structure.
copyright alexande{®}køutny 2007