#dioralop

LFW X DIORALOP X FAUSTINE STEINMETZ

  Dioralop – SS15

Its as if with every strike of the trigger, a fragment of her being breathes its way out of her lungs and onto his precious celluloid, suspended in time forever. That longing gaze, that pure, youthful spirit frozen, like a majestic butterfly held still behind the glass of a bell jar. With each burst of the flashbulb her effigy is his to keep. Their love is his to keep.

Inspired by the art of Polaroid photography, ‘Dioralop’ (Polaroid spelt backwards) create mesmerizingly beautiful prints by intentionally spilling various chemicals on Polaroid images and then exposing them to a range of different temperatures. This intriguing technique creates the stunning patterns and colours that are then digitalized and printed onto a range of luxury fabrics. 

For SS15, these beautiful prints have been crafted into a discerning collection of floor length dresses and deconstructed tailoring that lingers on the cusp of androgyny.

Andreja Bistricic and Maja Merlic are the creative duo behind Dioralop. The Croatian pair are known for producing edgy ready-to-wear fashion that has an architectural identity. Every collection is inspired by the chemical spills that occur when Polaroid photographs are exposed to varying temperatures.

Backstage, Bistricic and Merlic took a hands-on approach to styling the show, personally dressing and fitting the models in various hyper-linear printed garments.

The Glasgow School of Art produced the digital prints used throughout the collections. Sitting front row for the final day of London Fashion Week with this piece of information embedded into my mind, the collection had already spiked my interests on an emotional level even before the first model had appeared on the catwalk. Having spent the last four year living and studying in Glasgow – the city is close to my heart. I was eager to see how Dioralop would feature the city’s creativity within their show. Utilizing the cultural and artistic Glaswegian edge ensured that Dioralop SS15 had a dishevelled yet refined beauty to it.

By carving garments in monochrome, the overall aesthetic emphasizes the interplay of pattern and structure, fusing together the inspired themes of traditional tattoo culture with the skinhead subculture of the 1960s. The collection showcased textured oversized jackets and tunic dresses with cut-outs and separation in the fabrics in varying materials.

    Hair replicated the decorative pattern of the garments; with the models’ hair scrunched and crumbled into a kind of bird’s nest. The stylists used a combination of texture and shine, so that even though the model’s hair was messy, it had a wet-look shine.