Our feature today is the
SS15 collection of AIAIÉ, by their head designer Zsanett Hegedűs. The European Bauhaus movement inspired the pieces showing the double shadows of the silver age of the 30s, saluting the work of Kertész, Moholy-Nagy and Munkácsi.
The Hungarian eye – does this idea exist in European culture at all? Presumably not, but specifically Central-European careers do unequivocally exist. Kertész, Moholy-Nagy, Munkácsi. Irreplaceable, exquisite, creative eyes. The sensuous imprint of reality through a unique optic. Light created by darkness, shadows defining bodies, the reorganization of our known world in the pay of an ideal. The learning from opportunities of a lifetime, lost forever. Shadowgraph.
The 30s was the silver age. We move together with Europe, fit among the puzzle pieces of intellectual life. What we create is world-class level with a double shadow behind it. A specific Central-European start, however, the melancholic relationship with roots always overshadows the recognition of excellence. Born as extraordinary, fighting for your success, but never forgetting where you come from.
The SHADOWGRAPH collection is an exhortative imprint of this double shadow. The architectural, photographic and sartorial sophistication gives a precise description of the era. It is not narrative but disturbing, it does not quote correctly but makes you give answers.
"The starting point for the inspiration was a fantastically organized exhibition in Balatonfüred, in the Vaszary Villa. It introduced André Kerétsz’s career path, thematically, with original photos. It was most likely this exhibition that worked in me when I chose Hungarian photographers as a subject, and an era when they took their most iconic photographs, between 1930 and 1950. This inspiration line was strengthened by a Munkácsy exhibition at Ludwig, and Blumenfeld’s exhibition at the Somerset House. They used light and shadows, viewpoints, interconnecting ideas and composition in a way that marked an era. Logically, Moholy-Nagy and the Bauhaus movement was associated with them in me, and this became more and more accentuated with time,” says Zsanett about the collection. “To position myself in the aspect of the great ones, to draw an instructive picture with my own means was a real challenge for me. The perfect lines of fine cut continuously cross the haute couture world of shadows and lens projections, creating the shadowgraph of my thoughts about the silver era, which seems to be imaginary and unreal by now.”
The SHADOWGRAPH collection debuted on the runway of Vancouver Fashion Week in September 2014. VOGUE chose 15 from the 70 designers, AIAIÉ among them, the runway photos of which were published on Vogue.uk and Glamour.uk as well.
AIAIÉ / SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram / @hegeduszsanett
