The Front Row

Human too Human

 

What is human & what is artificial? This question is becoming increasingly related to our bodies, fashion designer Kay Frank translated this visually. Taking her cue from reconstructive surgery experienced in first person, Kay Frank presents her graduate collection for Spring 2014 at the Pratt Institute in New York (Lancia Trendvisions 2014).

 

The theme of the connection between the real (human) and artificial (prosthesis) is very complex, but Kay plays with this contrast and interprets it in every stage of the creative process: shapes, silhouettes, construction and colour palette (Lancia Trendvisions 2014).

 

A central aspect of the collection is the development of fabrics. The initial silhouettes were defined by combining the images of MRI scans with sketches traced by robotic arms, in particular by the i-LIMB, currently the most advanced artificial limb (Lancia Trendvisions 2014).

 

I-limb ultra, allows the prosthesis to look and move like a natural hand.  Motorized digits allow the hand to bend at the joints of each digit and individual stall out technology gives the hand a compliant grip so that the hand accurately conforms around the shape of the object being grasped (touch bionics 2014).

 

Materials play a fundamental role in determining the clothing experience and the confidence of whomever is wearing them. Cold materials such as liquid PVC are in contrast with warm skin, while layers of transparent vinyl are alternated with neoprene wool or microfiber (Lancia Trendvisions 2014).

 

PVC Coating Compounds are liquid plastic substance which can be converted into solid plastic through application of heat. These compounds can be applied both through dip molding and coating process and is present in liquid state at room temperatures. At time of heating to specified temperatures, the compound fuses into permanent form of durable plastic/rubber-like material and can be hard as glass or as soft as silicon fishing lures (SBP 2014).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The combination of transparenct and matt finishes is a clear link to the Spring 2014 collection, resulting in a minimalist collection that evokes futuristic undertones (Lancia Trendvisions 2014).

 

I came across an image of Kay Frank’s Spring 2014 collection on Pinterest, fascinated I began to find out more about this graduate designer.

 

In my opinion, the spring collection of 2014, evokes an unemotional and frigid feeling. The lucid and clear cut silhouettes strike a balance between organic feminism against solidity. Which I gather stems from the inspiration in the title “Human too Human”, what is fiction & what is factual. Most women expect plastic surgery or prothesis to cover them up, to create a wall between such terms, or even blur the lines, contradictory, this collection is sheer and exposed than most woman’s thoughts on such a matter.

 

The combination of faded wood and pristine white brings forth the natural and the synthetic. The line of each seam is prominent and creates a path for the eye to mesmerizingly follow, each undeviating seam is met with a undulating line.

 

If I had to choose a favourite outfit: