FASHIONCLASH BLOG: Tata Christiane finds inspiration in “One Hundred Years of Solitude”

dinsdag 29 mei 2012

Tata Christiane finds inspiration in “One Hundred Years of Solitude”

1. Please introduce yourself to our readers. (Who are you, where do you come from and what is your field of specialization?)

I'm Julie Bourgeois. I was born and raised in Marseille. I've been living in Berlin since 2007. I am a fashion designer for women’s/men’s wear. Alongside Hanrigabriel we are working under the label Tata Christiane.

2. Tell us a little bit about the concept behind your collection. What served as inspiration for your collection?

This collection is inspired by the book “One Hundred Years of Solitude” (original Title: “Cien anos de Soledad”, 1967) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and by extension inspired by the expression of magical realism, created by the German art critic Franz Roh in 1925. It is expressing a genre of fiction, in which magical elements blend into the reality, to create another reality. Reality and fiction are indistinguishable.
Theo L. D’haen in his book “Magical realism and postmodernism” describes it with these words: “…self-reflexiveness, metafiction, eclecticism, redundancy, multiplicity, discontinuity, intertextuality, parody, the dissolution of character and narrative instance, the erasure of boundaries, and the destabilization of the reader.”

This new collection explores this country, the city of mirrors and the subjectivity of reality to a world, according to a particular perception; in the complexity of times. This collection will turn around mocked mood, mixture of fabrics and motives. Feathers and froufrou. Fantastic and marvellous. And Humour.

3. You are using a mixture of fabrics – how did you make them work together?

I don’t really know. I collect different fabrics in different places and cities. I have them in my atelier and a little bit as a painter I’m making the mix. I’m really influenced by the Story of the work of Phyllis Galembo: “In the realm of the spirit world, the mask is more than mere facade. It is utterly transformative. The man in the mask—and it is nearly always a man—may speak in a different voice, move differently, behave differently, because he is a different being. The mask is put on. The line between reality and illusion, god and man, life and death blurs. The masked man is not playing a role. He becomes the role. …” (excerpt from the April issue of National Geographic magazine). I feel there is something like this in the way I make them work together.

4. If you had to describe your collection in 3 keywords which ones would you choose?

Multiplicity, discontinuity, intertextuality.

5. What was the biggest challenge in your collection?

My big challenge at the moment is the next collection. I’m working on my own prints for the first time.

6. How do you personally define “fashionclash” or “a clash with fashion” for yourself?

I did my first fashion show at FASHIONCLASH Maastricht, and I guess I still have this feeling when you do something for the first time it’s kind of a clash for me, trying to be as free as possible and creative, and brave. I really enjoyed the spirit of FASHIONCLASH then, the creativity. It’s really inspiring and refreshing.