Increasingly, in recent years and around the world, fashion designers have been given a valuable platform as modern day artists. Through this opportunity, they’re able to act as catalysts for self-expression and showcase their designs to the masses via clothing. From exhibits like ‘The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk’ at the Brooklyn Museum to the ‘Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty’ at the MET, fashion has taken the center stage in today’s wildly artistic world.
Here, I wanted to mesh fashion and art by wearing a piece by one of my favorite designers, Ricardo Tisci, at Chicago’s ‘Hot Rod’ sculpture by Orly Genger. Located along the lakefront path at LSD & Monroe, this massive 250′ long installment made from recycled lobster rope weaves its way sinuously through the trees and livens up a once vacant space.
Ricardo Tisci’s SS14 collection for Givenchy had a distinct techno feel, as seen here with my moto inspired printed t-shirt. A relaxed piece in black cotton, it features robo car components to the front and the brand’s distinctive stars on the sleeves. Tisci based his designs on the technology of sound dissected and reconfigured as tribal patterns. Boom-boxes and automobiles were among the many objects broken down into their component parts, rearranged in a perfectly symmetrical pattern, and detailed in bright primary colors. Despite that it’s merely a graphic t-shirt, I am fascinated by the fact that it can encapsulate a designer’s vision. By no means do I have a Picasso on my chest…I just appreciate that there’s meaning behind what I am wearing.
-Ricardo TisciI’m a dark designer—a very happy dark designer. People think darkness comes from a fucked-up place. No. Darkness is all about serenity. It is all about being happy, all about love. Darkness means night. In the night, you sleep, you make love. Night is when you meet your family and have that sharing moment. So for me, darkness means something very beautiful.
Shirt: Givenchy | Denim: Thom Browne | Sandals: All Saints | Sunglasses: Ray Ban
SHOP THE LOOK
Location: Lake Shore Drive & Monroe
“Hot Rod”: Orly Genger
Photography: Max Sawa
