Dublin’s fashion scene is constructed on consumerism and capitalism, leading to the expression of art in relation to contemporary culture being suppressed by the importance placed on gaining profit.
Although private salon shows were organised in Paris in the 1800s, it wasn’t until 1943 that Eleanor Lambert created ‘Fashion Press Week’ in New York, which ultimately began categorising fashion into seasons. Since then, major cities around the world have been celebrating their local talent, as well as appreciating the current universal fashion trends during Fashion Week, yet Dublin remains voiceless. The lack of a clear organised Fashion Week is detrimental to the progression of Irish fashion, as the lack of a standardised layout for showcasing their collections means many Irish designers are showing elsewhere. The lack of a clear organised Fashion Week is detrimental to the progression of Irish fashion, as the lack of a standardised layout for showcasing their collections means many Irish designers are showing elsewhere.
The eighth annual Dublin Fashion Festival was held in September 2017, which was a commendable attempt to regulate some form of interest in Irish fashion, and the culture that surrounds it. However, this effort can only be understood as driven by revenue, not focused on the appreciation of the art-form. The featuring of ‘fast fashion’ above Irish designers is extremely reflective of the festival’s interests. Designers competing for the title of ‘Young Designer of the Year’ is the only organic element to the main event, which illustrates local talent. Each designer, however, only shows one look from their collection, compared to the multitude of looks that are shown consisting of fast-fashion that claims to represent our current ‘trends.’ These trends, however, amount to the capitalist aspects of fashion, in which the talent displayed by an individual is disregarded by the featuring of commercial products.
The placing of fashion within a business context is extremely complex. Art and fashion are inextricably intertwined, yet definitely represent individual ideals that can overlap. Salvador Dalí and Elsa Schiaparelli ignited a conversation between the intentions of art and fashion, as in 1937, the Spanish Surrealist and Italian fashion designer united to create the infamous lobster dress worn by American socialite, Wallis Simpson. The importance of meaning in relation to art became the topic of investigation, as the motivations behind Dalí’s artwork were revealed to be complex psychological symbols with sexual attachments. However, when we situate this meaning, which is employed by the artist, in a fashion context, the meaning becomes monetised. The monetisation of meaning remains complicated, as accepting money for your artwork somewhat deems it as a ‘good or service,’ which in turn challenges the ideals of an artist.
The intertwining of art and fashion remains extremely interesting, especially since each artist defines themselves within their own parameters. Whether you view the act of designing as a ‘craft,’ rather than falling under the umbrella term that is ‘art,’ there’s no doubt that each vocation demands creative appreciation. I wanted to dedicate this article to shedding light on emerging Irish talent within the art and fashion scene present in Dublin, which is incredibly populated with young, liberated voices that fear no boundaries.
Jai Thorn, originally from Monaghan, defines himself as “an artist that designs.”
Tell me about your background in art and fashion.
I’ve always been interested in the art of fashion. My mum’s a dressmaker and is how I learnt to sew. I was always interested in clothes and wanting to fabricate garments. My dad has this huge warehouse; with a huge yard, I call it the graveyard of objects. There’s cars and so much old steel. I have always been around material and steel for as long as I remember and that’s why I would have so much respect for these objects and the process that goes into the making of these materials.
What was the inspiration for your research project?
There was many inspirations for my project, one being the suicide note from Vincent Van Gogh “The sadness will last forever.” It was the morbid nature of the note that began my thought process for this project. I was extremely interested in the objectivity of objects, and the objectification of models in the fashion industry. One key concept that remained throughout my project was the fact that every object has a beginning and an conclusion.
What were the key elements to your design process?
I was interested in exploring fashion in an art context. I chose to use durational materials that would eventually decay and weather over time, with iron and linen being the most used in my practice. The actual process itself was a key element, as iron and linen are natural, but they’re processed to be made for general use so I’ve used them in a non-conventional way. At the time, these were the objects that I spent so much time thinking about and now since the exhibition has ended they’re objects that serve no purpose, until I need to use the steel again. But now it’s the idea of the preciousness of this material that’s important to me.
Who are your art garments aimed towards?
I didn’t really want to have a gender on the clothes. I feel like in the Irish scene, because it’s such a new topic, it’s been ‘hot’ lately. I liked idea the idea of genderless garments. Why can’t men wear skirts, why is it only women that can wear them. That was the conversation I wanted to have. I wanted it to be as fluid and minimal as possible.
Tell me about your exhibition.
I wanted to stay away from the cliché fashion show; I wanted this to be an exhibition that showcased art garments and also display structures from my research. The live element of the event went really well, based off of the engagement of the audience with the two wearers. Everywhere the models moved; the audience moved with them, that added to the atmosphere of the space and to the event. The art garments were the most important objects, not the models. I feel that people get lost in that idea; I wanted people to focus on the art garments and the iron display structures and the wearers interactions with these display structures.
Each piece represented a body or situation from my past. The piece entitled _0908 which is the only art garment that wasn’t worn by a wearer, I wanted this piece to represent a body that is no longer in my life, for example the art garment being 6’1” in height representing the body in question. The addition of my logo on the garments served commercial advantages, they could then be identified as my own.
What is the Dublin fashion and art scene like?
The Dublin designer scene is quite small. I’m kind of different than everyone else, as I’ve come from an art background, with a unique and different perspective to the idea of fashion. I have an art context. I don’t want my work to be on a runway. However, the process of making clothing is exciting, as you always have ideas of what you want to create, but it doesn’t always end up like that, ideas change and I like that. The emergence of art collectives is extremely exciting, especially when you can see the diverse talent Ireland has to offer.
What are some of your inspirations?
I’m heavily inspired by a lot of areas, art, fashion, photography, philosophy. Streetwear and minimalism would be my favourite fashion styles, brands such as Acne Studios, COS, Balenciaga, Sunni, Montpellier. Types of artists I looked into were Nina Canell, her work had a huge influence in my research as an artist. Photographers I researched and am a huge fan of are Nan Goldin, Richard Avedon, Bert Stern and Wolfgang Tillmans, all of which inspire me creatively through their work and their research. Another huge influence on me during this project was the French philosopher Alison Lurie. He wrote about this idea of a wearer, and what is a wearer so I wanted to continue his conversation on this topic.
What’s next for you?
As a fashion artist, I would love to achieve some form of practice. Being able to introduce the art world to a fashion element is exciting to me. Ideally, I would love to be a Dublin and an international fashion artist . I would also love to open a art design studio/gallery to support artists. It’s something that I feel strongly about and I hope I can achieve this next few years. ■
From speaking with Jai, it was clear that the talent and vision of Irish artists and designers is being completely overlooked, with revenue being placed above our local talent. The nuanced approach to art and fashion he takes is extremely fresh and exciting, with a dedication to his heritage acting as a celebration of our Irish roots, describing his work as “how [he] translates situations.”
Evidently, it’s a shame that we cannot translate these memories and feelings into a recognised showcase, that can be open to the wider fashion world. The conversation between art and fashion proposed by Jai is thought provoking, challenging the audience of his pieces to conceptualise fashion garments in an art context, where the emphasis isn’t based on superficial aspects of the commercialism of fashion. The future for Jai seems exciting; if only Dublin could truly harness his, and many other artists and designers’ energy to propel them to international recognition, the Irish fashion scene could become one that perfectly captures the heart of our heritage intertwined with our youth’s liberated ideals.
If you’d like to find out more about Jai Thorn, you can find him on Instagram(@_jai__jai and @_thorn__). Also, his Fashion Art film can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/209177793. All photography by Justina Brazauskatie for Jai Jai by Jai Thorn.
