New Object Research - The Aitor Throup Thread

[Ivwri]

In this thread we discuss all things Aitor Throup. Photos of clothing, interviews, construction techniques, fit pics, the eye-watering prices, the works.

Aitor Throup approaches fashion design like a product designer. Working on refining a particular design over the course of many years and releasing iterations on a core "archetype" when he feels it is ready. This makes his approach fresh in the fashion industry, but also means that his product launches lack the typical "freshness" or "newness" demanded by the industry every season. Over the years of his studio's existence he has endlessly refined and tweaked his various archetypal designs. From the recently released Shiva skull bag (which has existed as a design prototype since his 2006 MA graduation collection) to his distinctive take on the male trouser with the built-in socks, and in some cases shoes. His archetypes are also explored in his drawings with a daily sketch by him appearing on The BREAKS website and on his company's Facebook and Twitter accounts.

The various archetypes he has have been explored multiple times in his shows, exhibitions and installations over the years culminating in a retrospective in January 2010 titled "Legs" where he showed his different takes on his archetypal trouser via his signature mesh mannequins.

He just recently showed his AW13/14 collection at London Fashion Week and in Paris it was available to handle in a showroom so now's the time for this thread like sipang pointed out elsewhere.


BIOGRAPHY (source)

London based designer Aitor Throup was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1980. He arrived in Burnley, Lancashire in 1992 and it was there that Throup developed a passion for labels such as Stone Island and C.P. Company. Aitor’s interest in these products and his own passion for drawing led him to begin a BA in Fashion Design at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he graduated with first class honors in 2004. In 2006, he completed an MA in Fashion Menswear at the Royal College of Art in London.
Throup’s MA graduate collection ‘When Football Hooligans Become Hindu Gods’ received wide critical acclaim focusing on its conceptual narrative thread and diverse influences ranging from generic military garments to Hindu symbolism.

Aitor’s fascination with anatomy is often evident in his figurative drawings. His hand drawn characters and the later development of his sculptural practice form the foundations behind his ‘justified design philosophy’, which highlights the necessity of a reason or function behind all design features.

He exhibited ‘The Funeral Of New Orleans: Part One’ at London Fashion Week in September 2007. The exhibition defied conventional ways of presenting clothing by showing pieces on life size sculptures created by Throup, each in a different stage of transformation. The exhibition also incorporated a film created in conjunction with SHOWstudio.
In 2008 Aitor collaborated with Stone Island on two projects presented at Milan Fashion Week: ‘Modular Anatomy’ and ‘Articulated Anatomy’. Aitor Throup and C.P. Company later launched a special 20th anniversary edition of the iconic Goggle Jacket in 2009 (The driving jacket originally designed by Massimo Osti). The re-design featured a fully ergonomic construction, based on a life-size sculpture of the human body in the driving position. It featured a unique transformational articulation built into the pockets, which allowed the jacket’s structure to morph into a driving position when required. In early 2010, the jacket was nominated for the ‘Design of the Year’ award by the London Design Museum.

Later in 2010 he began working as a creative consultant with British brand Umbro, this led to his involvement in the design of both ‘home’ and ‘away’ England kits for the 2010 World Cup. In 2011, Umbro and Aitor launched their long awaited collaboration line ‘Archive Research Project’. The launch was presented at an installation in London’s Dover Street Market.

Aitor then launched his on-schedule A/W10 product line during Paris Fashion Week. The presentation was titled ‘LEGS’ and was a retrospective of his various trouser concepts from the past six years, which culminated in a collection of three specially developed trousers exclusively exhibited and sold globally in a small number of stores including Selfridges London.

In July 2011, Aitor Throup was appointed as creative director of British rock band Kasabian; heading the design and art direction for their fourth album ‘Velociraptor!’. Throup’s involvement with the band resulted in him receiving the 2012 UK Music Video Award for ‘Best Music TV Advertisement’.

In June 2012 Throup previewed his eponymous product line ‘New Object Research’ where ambassadors Sarah Mower and Tim Blanks hosted the press preview. This was followed by an exclusive preview of four individual items from the product line at Dover Street Market London, where multiple sculptures were installed throughout various spaces within the space during the store’s Frieze Art Fair ‘open house’ event.

The complete collection was revealed at the D.E. Gallery in King’s Cross during ‘London Collections: Men 2013’. The exhibition consisted of 22 ready to wear product archetypes presented within six individual scenes featuring outfits worn by Aitor’s human form sculptures, suspended and framed in bespoke steel structures of his design. “It was the culmination of six years of work, and six years of intense optimism on the part of industry insiders who’ve patiently clung to the conviction that Throup brings something unique to fashion”, said Tim Blanks for Style.com. Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune described the collection as “an effort to make reason the essence of design and apply it functionally.”

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New Object Research

Aitor Throup's design manifesto

Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

 

[Ivwri]

MA Graduation collection, 2006

When Football Hooligans Become Hindu Gods.

 

[Ivwri]

London Collections Spring/Summer 2013


[VIDEO][/VIDEO]​

 

[Ivwri]

Autumn/Winter 2013
New Object Research

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]


Showroom pics via BSR on Stylezeitgeist

 

[sipang]

Awesome, thank you.

 

[Ivwri]

No problem , even if it ends up being just you and I in this thread actually, lol.

Getting some other images together and will post as I get them. Looking for images of his Topman collaboration.

 

[Ivwri]

X-post from Interview thread.

Style Salvage interview with Aitor Throup

Treasured Items
Friday, 14 September 2012

Visit the link to see the full text along with photographs.

source

SS: I've always been intrigued by the play between art and design in your work and the launch of your design manifesto plays into that. I remember you reciting a quote you had read at your talk with Sarah Mower at the V&A a few years ago, 'artists create problems, designers solve them'...
Aitor Throup: When I graduated, even though it was from a design school, I wasn't a designer, I was actually more like an artist. I don’t think that the things that got me noticed were about the design. I don't even feel as though I designed those things, that collection; it designed itself really. I ease my work into being but how could I design the jacket of a saxophone player which incorporates a deconstructed modular version of their saxophone case, for example? You can come up with the idea but all of those elements are already there, pre-determined. It's about not taking direct blame for the aesthetic components or results. I'm obsessed with the idea of justification. For example, with the New Orleans collection, it just had to be a double breasted peaked lapel jacket made from black wool suiting because that is what they wear, it is a contextual point of reference to make it relevant to my story. After that I'm just constructing it as the concept dictates. Everything is there, I'm just giving a skin to the idea and then it comes out and you're still left thinking 'wow, I didn't expect that'. That's the reward. The unexpected is the definition of true innovation.

SS: Everything you've worked on feels so new. This cannot be an easy process...
Aitor Throup: To achieve newness, you have to go through a process that's validated and justified before you know what the item will look like. That's what interests me and excites me - that true newness. It can be beautiful or ugly, it just has to be. Everything has to have a reason - that's the fundamental thing that I've realised. You don’t need a function or a purpose to validate; you need a reason. When I was doing these collections, my reasoning of the contextualisation of ideas were finished. They were perfect. That's why I was able to speak with confidence about newness and the process that I was going through. I wasn't designing products but rather designing processes, I already had my justified design philosophy and the idea of branding through construction and ideas of unique blocks that make an archetypal way of designing, but that was as close as I got to being a designer. All of that stuff was art - inventing new forms which were heavy with conceptual narrative - and then I felt that this could be important, if the same level of newness that I had achieved with the conceptual thinking and the creation of new forms could be accomplished through an equally new and unique methodology of product construction and manufacturing. At that point I shifted my focus away from Art, towards the mechanics and engineering behind true product design; in order for the overall ‘artwork’ to be about newness.

SS: It has been six years since your acclaimed graduate collection, 'When Football Hooligans Become Hindu Gods' and it has been a process of evolution to now. Could you talk us through this period?
Aitor Throup: At that point, six years ago, I had my concept and art and had to do one of two things. Firstly, figure out a way around the seasonal limitations because I knew that I didn't want to create bullshit newness every six months i.e. thematic newness, as it just didn't interest me and I knew that the concepts I was generating were so close to my heart that I didn't want to let go of them ever, especially after 6 months. Secondly, I needed the impact of the product itself and how it is constructed to be equal to that of the art and the new forms. In the pursuit for newness and new forms the beautiful thing is that regardless how much conceptual depth there may be behind a product, it should also be able to be enjoyed purely through its aesthetic value, without explanation. I guess that having that option is what defines successful Art. To appreciate great art, you can be well versed in the artist and their artworks; which is possible with my work and the manifesto, but a lot of people just know that it is good or right without knowing anything about it. Great artwork is penetrable on many different levels. I knew that I didn't have that level of impact with the product. You can't invent this new way of thinking and new forms and then stitch it all together with a cheap overlocking machine; it just doesn’t feel right.

SS: So you were conscious that it would belittle the concept and narrative. So much time has since been invested in the construction...
Aitor Throup: I wanted a complete experience. New thinking, new form and new construction - everything had to be new. It has to sort of feel alien, but not in a scary way; in an attractive way. It could be a simple t-shirt or shirt but it has to leave people wondering about it. My work can be misconstrued as a quest for perfection but for me perfection is a negative term because it is hierarchical. It leads to the attachment of words like good, better, best, perfect. To be honest, I feel like I will never have the resources to push myself to make things 'better' even. We have spent six years in the studio, not even having the luxury of working to good, better, best but rather just right or wrong. Once you get to right, which I often refer to as correct, then you can start thinking about improving it but to get to correct, it has taken us up to this point. Correct is so difficult to achieve because my thinking is so precise. People end up being lazy, so they concentrate on being ‘better’ without caring whether they are approaching the problem or the solution in the correct way or not.

SS: This attitude, sheer focus and investment of time is rare in fashion...
Aitor Throup: What happens a lot and what is sad to me in fashion, is that it is widely accepted for people to utilise existing standardised solutions to ongoing problems. Even clothing the human body with a piece of flat fabric for example; the way I think, that is a problem because you have a three dimensional form that moves and changes and you just have a flat piece of fabric: which fabric do you use for what purpose, how do you cut it, where do you stitch, what shapes do you make, that is always where I start but so many designers just use specific existing blocks without questioning it to start their process, borrowing pre-existing forms. For them the true design process comes in the decoration of an existing form but that's not what interests me. I love a lot of fashion and I would never want to under-value it but it is not what I do, I wouldn't get a reward from operating like that.

SS: Given your desire to create truly new products, it can be all to easy to forget that you do look back...
Aitor Throup: I think all successful art and design that is truly new has to respect contextual points of reference and has to reference the history that came before it, other wise it is just abstract art. It is ego-centric, like painting with your eyes closed, and is the antithesis of what I do. You need to use the vocabulary of history to create resonance. It is why narratives are important because they are a design tool to allow me to tap in to points of reference. When I reference garments, it is a conceptual borrowing. For example, in the Football Hooligans collection, everything was a direct replica of a generic military garment because it is a reference to the most widely adopted and respected brands by the hooligans. That is sort of how Massimo Osti started C.P. Company and Stone Island, by exploring and re-creating utilitarian garments and making beautiful Frankenstein monsters out of them. I was effectively mirroring his own design process by starting with the military garments and transforming them in my own way which just so happened to be a metamorphosis into Hindu Gods. Every garment was a football hooligan transforming into a Hindu God. Everything I do is set out in the writing of the concept and narrative; it almost becomes a recipe.

SS: How would you describe your design process?
Aitor Throup: When I'm designing I am following my own instruction manual to create specific boundaries to focus and contain the work. The design process is in the writing. I don't generally use drawing to illustrate an idea. I use drawing to either inspire an idea or to draw from it after it has been made - it's weird. I don't know anyone else who works like that, I'm interested to know if anyone does, where they don't know what's going to come out at the end, and the drawing process itself results in a design.

SS: Having followed your work for some time with a keen interest, the presentation at London Collections: Men made complete sense to me but I'm sure a few people were left scratching their heads because it certainly challenged the norm. How has the reaction been to 'New Object Research'?
Aitor Throup: There were obviously a few head scratchers, but overall we've been surprised and overwhelmed by how instantly adopted it has been, whether in London, Paris or Trieste – the three places I found myself at immediately after the presentation. I've been to all of these places before and there are people in each who have continuously supported me, but this year was almost like; getting the manifesto out, has done two things. Firstly, it has put everything into one place where I can just point interested people to it because everything is there which makes me confident, and secondly, at the same time, the cathartic exercise of completing it has made me a different person, it has taken a big weight off my shoulders. When I started generating my design philosophies it was really in order for me to keep my sanity, a system of thought in which I could make sense of stuff. The ultimate is, if you're like a ball of energy that needs to be creative but at the same time you need to be analytical and mathematical about everything, normally they would contradict each other and that can't exist, so I went about creating these perfectly hermetically sealed perspex boxes which is my concept, the process, the design philosophy and narrative and once created I could then let my creative energy go - it can bounce around within it. I see it as these beautifully created boxes which contain the artistic mass, it can't escape from it, it is focused yet free to be.

Ultimately, I used London Collections: Men to remind people of my concepts and explain why I hadn't fully launched previously. The reason being that I hadn't figured out a business model that allows me to keep expanding ideas whilst producing products at the same high level as the concepts themselves. I wanted to make sure everyone came for an hour and I engineered a way for that to happen with the BFC thanks to Tim and Sarah's presence. Really, in addition to acting as a re-introduction to the industry, it was subverting the power of it, just like I did with Legs: the idea of the newest designer on the block launching their brand with a retrospective. Ultimately, my point is to show people that they can do whatever is right for them. If everyone did then it would be amazing, far more exciting. It was a little frustrating because we had a number of products ready by the time June came around, but it was all about restraint and making the event all about launching in six months and showing and selling just one piece, the Shiva Skull Bag. Presenting one piece only is a great way to force people to consider you as a product designer.

SS: Buyers and consumers alike are attracted to the confidence of Aitor Throup...
Aitor Throup: I think so. When we went to Paris we had a list of all these incredible stores we wanted to work with, but we ended up having to turn some of our favourite stores down. It is testament to the fact that these perceived boundaries and rules don't really work. Some of my favourite designers in the history of fashion have been victims of the indoctrination of the industry, the fact that they were forced into doing things a certain way. If they had done things in a slightly different way, their output might have been more prolific. It is what my manifesto is all about, it is my instruction manual of the ways in which I can protect and communicate my true art within the limitations of the fashion industry. My particular approach is all about creating timeless product archetypes extracted from non-seasonal continuous concepts, but imagine what some people could come up with as a unique system and business model of design more suited to the way they naturally work. I want to encourage that and empower people if I can, as the prospect is truly exciting for me.

SS: You chose to unveil the ‘Shiva Skull Bag,’ a completely functional military bag constructed in the shape of a human skull, as your first archetypal product but I'd like to talk a little about its larger cousin, the backpack.
Aitor Throup: The backpack is from one of my concepts: 'On the Effects of Ethnical Stereotyping.' It was all about how a black backpack can represent terror and death when you look at it in a certain way on the wrong person. It stems from the terror attacks in London in 2005. Through personal experience, people would get off the tube or bus I was on because I had a black rucksack, a beard and a bit of a tan. The project was about political fashion and at the time, and perhaps still, the most political item of apparel was the black rucksack. It was about conveying that sense of terror through product design in a second; so, it became an upside down skull: representing death, but only when you look at it the wrong way. I love the simplicity of a message teamed with the complexity of the product. So much effort went into designing this beautiful thing but ultimately it is so simple, an upside down skull that's perfectly functional that conveys this real, moral and political message in its very form. It's an artwork but it is all about product design. It had to be the best rucksack in the world that just so happens to be a piece of art. A marriage of art and product design. I love the balance: you don't know why you like it, it could be its form, function, meaning, construction, you love it all, that's the feeling I want to capture.

SS: Even hearing you talk about that feeling is exciting...
Aitor Throup: It is kind of like how you used to see a new toy, it's the closest feeling I can think of. When you're a kid and you get a new toy, everything about that toy excites you. It's the form, the shape, the name of the character, the smell, the colours, the joints, you love everything about it. I want my work to be like toys. There's as much value in the object as in what it represents, the character and where it comes from. If you get an articulated figure of Spiderman you don't just say *dons serious voice* 'Oh yes, this figure articulates well, it is made solidly," it is heavy with contextual value, it's Spiderman! You've read a thousand comics, watched the cartoons and all the films and all of that is embedded in this object. It's as much about the non physicality of it and what it is about rather than just what it is as an object. My clothes are like toys, that's the philosophy.

SS: That's a lovely analogy. What were your favourite toys?
Aitor Throup: I never grew out of toys really. I still play with them. I picked up a few Starcom ones recently actually. They are amazing, so cool. They pack so much in to these tiny cubes; they contain so much thought and functionality. I want to collect all of them now. They just transform. They are similar to my clothes in a lot of ways, the fact you can stow certain functional elements away and their systematic aesthetics, they look like that because of their activation - just like the feet on my trousers for example.

There are more talks with Aitor Throup that are not formatted like a typical interview, but they have some more insights and sound bites from the designer about his work and influences on the same website.

A conversation with Aitor Throup

 

[Ivwri]

I find the influence of Massimo Osti on Aitor's work very fascinating. Obviously there's Osti's influence on "Casuals" culture in the UK and all that being a nice primer for Aitor with regards to the kind of clothing he designs, but Osti is also very famous for his innovations with fabrics. I wonder whether in the future Aitor will end up experimenting with fabrics a bit more once he has his production line and archetypes more streamlined. There are some hints at that with the stuff he did for his "Legs" retrospective with what look like metal leaf used to make some of his trousers. The use of jersey as well and of course wool was pretty impressive.

I guess like he said, he will go where the concept behind the product takes him.

Anyway, here's a video interview with Aitor on the redesign of the CP Goggle jacket.

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]​

 

[bows1]

The collection is absurd and I love it. I was fortunate enough to see part of his LEGS exhibit at 7 New York a year or two ago. I wish I had the funds to pick up some of the trousers then, they were incredible. Hopefully I can grab something from this collection although I'm sure the prices will be exorbitant and sell out quickly.

Thanks for all the links Ivwri

 

[sipang]



No problem , even if it ends up being just you and I in this thread actually, lol.

Haha probably, oh well...

edit: bows1 is here too, success





A closer look at the C.P. Company collab

C.P. COMPANY 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION MILLE MIGLIA / GOOGLE JACKET (2009)

The Goggle Jacket is the reason why I became a designer. Back in Burnley where I (partly) grew up it was a cultural icon utilised almost as a status symbol. What the Goggle Jacket did for me was that it opened the doors to the world of the design, and so I began to become more aware and passionate about brands such as C.P. Company, Stone Island, Boneville, Left Hand, World Wide Web, and of course Massimo Osti Production. I have drawn for as long as I can remember, and clothing became a natural platform through which I could develop all the ideas that had so far been limited to the two-dimensional constraints of pencil and paper.

The Goggle Jacket taught and formed me, and through my studies I strived to replicate an approach to design which could equal the precision and integrity of what I considered (and still consider) to be the pinnacle of design.

Spoiler: Read on

My goal is still to develop (even 'invent') functional features which are dictated and justified by a narrative or point of origin.

Massimo Osti's iconic design was first released as a gift, as part of C.P. Company's sponsorship involvement in the '988 edition of the iconic Mille Miglia (One Thousand Miles) Italian open road endurance race, this is why it is often called 'Mille Miglia' jacket. Its design features embodied the notions of functionality and innovation. The Mille Miglia race, since the first edition in 1927, traditionally consisted of some of the most beautiful and fastest road cars, most of which were typically roadsters. Osti ingeniously considered this when building hinging goggles into the hood of his jacket. With the use of another plastic insert, he created a window on the left sleeve through which a driver could check his watch whilst driving.

It is, needless to say, a true honour to have been asked by Carlo Rivetti, owner of C.P. Company, to design and develop a re-worked version of my personal design icon to celebrate 20 years since its release. The basis of my approach has simply been to take Massimo Osti's classic back to the race itself. I have taken a literal approach to driving ergonomics and functionality, with the aim of creating a piece which is even further informed by its driving concept than the original.

The overall structure and balance of the piece has been constructed around a human form in a driving position (the arms are forward and slightly bent, and there is excess volume built into the back) in order to maximise driving comfort. There is a completely unique feature that allows the volume of the lower part of the jacket to morph from a standard 'standing' position, into a more complex 'driving' position, eliminating awkward fabric build up when sitting, and creating a waterproof cover for the legs.

The hood has been completely re-constructed, which not only results in an anatomically accurate fit, but also is able to fit over a traditional driving helmet when the draw cords are relaxed. The goggles section has benefited from a more ergonomic construction, including a deeper nose ridge and a closer fitting shape; and the goggles themselves have become circular, mirroring the watch viewer, and creating an aesthetic which is reminiscent of the one of its racing origins.

The placement of the watch window itself has been considered, and the driver can now easily glance at his watch through his sleeve whilst driving. The watch viewer also interacts seamlessly with the detachable padded lining and with the accompanying gloves, which not only offer further protection against the cold and wet conditions when needed, but also provide helpful steering wheel grip. A detachable driving pouch is included, which can also act as a protective case for gadgets such as cameras, and can be easily accessed when driving. The fabric use also manages to encapsulate the integrity and authenticity of the concept, allowing the wearer to remain warm and dry throughout the multiple conditions encountered during the race, considering that the majority of cars were cabriolets. The material itself is a 3-layers GORE-TEX

Performance Shell fabric with a waterproof membrane, and every seam is finished with GORE-SEAM

waterproof thermo-taping. Most interestingly however, is the appearance we have managed to give this material, by means of a natural pigment garment dyeing process called 'Tinto Terra', which quite literally utilises natural pigments extracted from soil and earth, which embeds the garment with the rich visual identity of C.P. Company.

I spent many hours in the 7th floor studio obsessing over the idea of 'process' being more important than 'product'; and in some ways, that is the idea behind this exhibition.

Our aim is to present a sort of chronology of this icon of design and culture, going back to the very first version (1988) and ending with my re-designed version. The exhibition also offers an unusual look at the design process itself, with the actual first blocking sculpture and subsequent calico prototype suspended with the same amount of importance as the adjacent 'finished' piece. There is also a sort of 3-dimensional step-by-step 'user guide' showing how all of the jacket's driving-based features function. We don't just want to show what the jacket is, we want to show what it's about..

i-D October 2009

The New Order #2, 2009

source 1
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source 4

 

[Ivwri]

Beautiful post sipang. Looking at this you can see some crossover design elements in his Mongolian Rider Coat which he did for AW13. The vents at the back, the front flaps that follow the movement of the thigh once in a seated (riding) position and of course the integrated hood. There was also a shirt in a shoot for Vogue Homme Japan that had looked like it was based on the concept of the Mongolian riding coat as well. Maybe a Spring/Summer variant?

bows1 that's excellent that you were able to make it for one of his exhibitions? Would love to see his clothing in person. Like you said, the collection is pretty absurd and awesome for it . Would be very curious to see the people that picked up his pants originally. Even with the Topman collab and the Umbro stuff, you never see pictures of anybody wearing them online (or maybe I am just not looking hard enough?)

 

[Ivwri]

Anatomy of a skull (bag).​

One of Aitor's most iconic pieces, the Shiva skull bag archetype was initially shown back in 2006 as part of the "When Football Hooligans Become Hindu Gods" collection. One of the titular football hooligans transforms into an avatar of Shiva and the skull bags came out of that.

Fusing the imagery of Shiva, the god of destruction and rebirth with a functional utility bag, Aitor has been able to use design to capture his conceptual narrative while giving people a place to keep their wallet, keys and other knick knacks.

Also in keeping with the origin of the idea, leather straps can be attached to it at numerous points allowing for the bag to be worn in multiple configurations around the body, evoking the spirit of some of his drawings for the concept and the image of Shiva dancing the end of the cosmos with skulls swirling around him.

This attention to detail from concept to execution is one of the things that makes Aitor really stand out to me as a designer as it satisfies one's imagination while simultaneously providing a functional piece of clothing or accessory.

Anyway, here are photos showing the Shiva skull bag over the 6 years of its development into the final product that will soon be in stores.

Shiva Skull Bag

Shiva Skull Bag in drawings

Shiva Skull Bag modeled

​

images via
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[Ivwri]

Some magazine scans of various Aitor interviews and features all via the press kit PDF he has on his website.

Another Man magazine #11, 2010

Fantastic Man magazine #12, 2010

Scans from "Fashion Designers Sketchbooks by Hywel Davies"

 

[slstr]

Really Great video showing construction/material details about some of Aitor's pants.

That floral silk pair

​

 

[Lionheart Biker]

This is an amazing thread. Great stuff, Iwvri. I had been seeing a lot of from aitor in you tumblr; makes sense that you started the thread about his work. Really interested in his designs. The pieces from the last show are mindblowing.