Rise by Hussein Chalayan
Two-in-one dresses that transform with a single tug were shown as part of London-based fashion designer Hussein Chalayan's Autumn Winter 2013 collection at Paris Fashion Week (+ slideshow).
Garments are tugged at the neckline to release poppers across the shoulders and reveal a layer of material tucked beneath.
This layer of fabric cascades down the body, hiding the previous top underneath and creating a new full-length outfit.
The garments designed for Chalayan's Black Line aim to combine daywear and evening apparel into a single garment.
The first outfit morphs from a dark dress, with thick straps and slits up the skirt, to a lighter evening look patterned with vertical gradients of beige for most of the length, fading into purples towards the hem.
A knee-length burgundy dress reveals a green and red printed scarf as it falls into a floor-length black gown. Another black evening dress, this time with asymmetrical straps, is unveiled from beneath a colourful, textured cocktail dress.
We interviewed Hussein Chalayan back in 2009 in conjunction with an exhibition of his work at London's Design Museum, and featured his laser dresses for Swarovski as part of our Designed in Hackney showcase of talent from the east London borough.
Other transforming clothing on Dezeen includes Issey Miyake's range that expand from two-dimensional geometric shapes. More stories from Paris Fashion Week include clothes made of bin liners by Gareth Pugh and Sylvio Giardina's outfits constricted by fabric sausages.
Photography is by Chris Moore.
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Read on for more information from the designer:
Chalayan Black Line Autumn Winter 2013 Rise
The Autumn Winter 2013 Chalayan collection was developed around the dichotomy between domestically earthbound environments: disembodiment and metamorphosis.
As has long been a part of the design language of the house, the AW13 Chalayan collection takes details from household items such as sofa covers, upholstery etc., and fuses them with garments that appear to be escaping like the spirit leaving itʼs body.
The collection consists of organza fitted dresses and tops with light layers of floating shells. The top layers are like the alter egos of the garments beneath, floating above them as if they are about to leave but never completely going, like a spirit reluctant to escape the body. Dresses in some cases look like they are being dragged up by one shoulder, as to be lifted to the heavens, leaving lace undergarments behind to simultaneously evoke a gap between comfortable domestic settings and a sense of escapism.
Body conscious dresses, jackets and coats appear as if they are about to burst open and produce new incarnations of themselves - representing an anticipation of change but remaining frozen in time.
Prints and Jacquards on dresses and trousers are inspired by the idea of the body becoming an electric current, in some cases they are floating away, at other times they are used in more structured tailoring fabrics which encapsulate the body.
The collection also features peeling wall prints in 3D textures on dresses and trousers to comment on an urban setting where information is beginning to escape, drawing parallels with garments caught in mid exodus as seen in rest of the collection.
Colors of the collection this season range from oxblood red and pinkberry to airforce blue and olive green.