Contra: Form V. Function
Photography by Alexander Massek
Styling: Ruta Jane
Hair: Ryunoshin, assisted by Gigi Hari
Makeup: Yoiwan Kong, assisted by Natalie Vest-Jones
Models: Fallon @ Select, Alek @ ISIS, Immanuel M @Supa
Casting Director: Angeliki Sofronas
Set Design: Shutter House Studio
Photography Assistants: Shams Fekaiki and Matt Howes
Styling Assistants: Cali White and Stoyan Churchuranov
Words by Matthew Burgos:
The heart of Contra lies in opposition—opposing statements and ideas, features and facets that defy one another while playing well together. In fashion, the push-and-pull relationship between form and function underscores the battle between clothes made for the runway and clothes made for art and photography. While fashion has incorporated nuances of art since its birth, the boundaries between art and fashion have continued to blur thanks to the exponential need to innovate and the emergence of social media influencing the purpose of a garment.
Fashion design straddles appeasing the personal and the public. Garments address their wearers’ body and skin, soothing them with quality and tailoring, and protecting them from the elements. Yet, garments, with brand names splashed across them at every opportunity, mark their wearer’s status to the outside world.
Flipping through the pages of MERDE’s fifth issue, Contra, you’re invited to feast your eyes on exclusive pieces crafted by designer Gab Bois which toe the line between fashion and function, between art and clothing and testify to the buzz of sustainability and circularity in a way that fashion think-pieces never could.
““I absolutely love unpractical things that look good - I always have. I think beauty in design or fashion has always been a synonym of emotion, so I tend to disregard or, at least, separate form and function when creating my pieces and as a consumer and customer. I have a growing collection of porcelain dishes shaped like fruits and vegetables that collect dust on the shelves of my living room. Even if they do not serve any functional purpose, they are some of the objects in my house that bring me the most joy just by being there.” ”
It’s joy rippling through Gab’s veins, appearing in her scrabble dress and accompanying mini-bag. Across the first row of her dress, GABBOIS is strung together. One may fail to notice her subtle brand mark unless they know what to look for. The bag fits all the necessities– mainly a six-inch take-out sandwich.
For two weeks, Gab hooked scrabble blocks together, aware all the while at how uncomfortable it would be to wear the dress, be it on your wedding day or on a trip to the bodega around the corner. But this work of art is not meant to just be worn, to accessorize the wearer’s body– the scrabble dress wears you. This ensemble embodies the rival of the ephemeral fashion: it yearns to be forever displayed in a museum for guests to marvel at, rejecting disposable garments and temporary trends.
Fashion houses have come to embrace sustainability and circular economies– two concepts which remain nestled in the words of their press releases and promises of Corporate Social Responsibility in spite of their marriage to over-consumption which drives industry profit. The Maisons of Paris and Milan guarantee that their products are born from certified sources. Tensing up against them, independent designers carve out space for a scalable definition of sustainability.
Gab’s pieces beg the question: In what ways can one possess an item eternally, cheating the object’s inevitable, wasteful death. Her creative work reconsiders how one sees discarded objects, assembling treasures from one man’s trash that live on in the closet, use after use. Gab invites accessibility, moving art-intentioned garments off of the exclusive runway and out of luxury editorials, instead offering her work at a middle-class-friendly price.
As the industry transforms into a game where designers, artists, collaborators and directors place bets on what the public craves all while competing against the influence of archives and personal inspiration, Gab takes a natural approach. Before she transformed letters tiles into words, into gibberish, into fashion, Gab turned to social media and its infamous algorithms to feed her craving for fresh ideas. “Being a consumer of social media content myself, I often get influenced by trends, stuff I’ve seen online, and certain digital themes repeating themselves. I like to position my work at the intersections of two elements or themes, fashion being one of them for a lot of the time. For example, I like to explore fashion and nature, with pieces like the orange bra or the rhubarb leaf bag, or between fashion and tech, with the film sunglasses or the keyboard boots.”
Her pre-design research rituals pay no mind to concerted sustainability, seasonal trends, material integrity, or how they’ll look on the body; Gab just posts the evidence she gathers to her Instagram. From this, her views on the contradictions of fashion are laid bare– maximalism intertwines with minimalism, archives combat personal references, fabrics oppose objects, her own perspective on art, design and material things counter with the perspective of others– contrarieties invade her feed.
“So many contradictions in the making-of as well as in the finished piece: no matter how much attention to detail I gave this dress and how much I wanted to make it actually wearable, it was the most uncomfortable garment ever,” Gab continues. ”While being made out of wooden pieces, it remained so, so fragile when handled or worn. Both of these aspects are definitely not ones we look for in clothing. However, the dress photographs really well, making it look elegant, strong, and almost comfortable.”
Social media’s unquenchable thirst for visual pleasure means appeasing what is cathartic to the eyes, whether it be the beauty of the perfectly timed shot of flowing fabric, or the humorous and unimaginable possibility of making something out of ‘nothing.’ For MERDE, Gab Bois serves fashion for art’s sake, leaving an imprint on social feeds and busting trend algorithms along the way. The fashion world eats up a delicate balance of form and function every time.
Clothing Credits:Look 1:
Alek: Bodysuit - Lea Vrebac, Shoes - Jori Papa
Immanuel: Coat - Kyle Ho, Shirt - Ka Wa Key, Jewellery - Sweet Lime Juice, Trousers - Kyle Ho, Shoes - DOY
Look 2:
Immanuel: Shirt & Trousers - Tamar Keburia, Necklace - Sweet Lime Juice, Belt - Haram, Shoes - DOY
Alek:, Top - Haram, Earrings - Mimanera, Skirt - Madaen, Shoes - Ajoy Sahu
Fallon: Suit - Anastasia Bull, Shoes - Pleiades
Look 3:
Fallon: Knitted dress - Ka Wa Key, Headband - Anciela
Cover Look:
Immanuel: Coat - Kyle Ho, Shirt - Ka Wa Key, Hat - Anciela, Jewellery - Sweet Lime Juice
Alt: Shirt & coat - Kyle Ho, Trousers - Velvet Glove. Blazer/frame (above) - Anciela
Green Look:
Alek: Shirt - Lea Nyland Jewellery - Mimanera, Bag - Velvet Glove, Skirt - Leanne Kim, Shoes - Pleiades
Fuzzy Look:
Fallon: Dress - Agne Kuzmickaite
