This weekend in Paris, one of our favorite designers, Aitor Throup, launched “Legs”, a retrospective of envelope-pushing trousers he designed over the past six years.
Throughout the Galerie Jean-Luc are Takako Richard stationary male forms moulded in thermoactive cotton mesh in rows from the ceiling, captured in vital movements of the human body. Throup has progressed chronologically through his archives, lifting a selection of designs from every six months and reinterpreting them with materials and design details appropriate to the season – and in doing so, has created an arena welcoming the expression of pure creativity and functionality. Capable of communicating a full-bodied narrative without proposing a complete look, Legs strives to elevate the status of trousers from over-saturated commodities to unique objet d’art.
Throup’s series of trousers entitled ‘The Funeral of New Orleans’ is in particular a testament to the creativity and logic of his vision. Informed by the traditional funeral processions of New Orleans’ marching bands, it deals with concepts of body armour – each piece is formed onto a mesh sculpture of the human body created in the pose required to play each instrument, and the trousers demonstrate five exaggerated stages of shrinkage from when wool is exposed to water. It is clear that Throup’s designs exist beyond the tired parameters of fashion– they are meticulously constructed garments existing both within their narrative and without, made with respect for the human body and an astounding understanding of its formation.
If you’re interested in this project, we suggest you visit Dazed Digital for an interview with Mr. Throup as well as AitorTroup.com for a video presentation of “Legs”. More images follow.
