New Object Research - The Aitor Throup Thread

[Ivwri]

Yeah, the fact that Aitor draws as well as he does and has all his characters in a lot of superhero poses sold him to me long before I actually saw any of the clothing online, lol. Been waiting for a proper release from him since I first saw his work online (about two years ago now?). Those that have been following him for even longer must have had it even rougher, hehe.

His graduation collection (Hooligans Become Hindu Gods) was the final push especially because I am a huge fan of Robert Heinlein's "Lord of Light" and it made me think about that in a way.

Editors and journalists seem to be pretty enamored with him as they have covered him for the last six years pretty well despite him having very little "traditional" output so I expect that if he can sustain his output in the coming years he is pretty much going to have smooth sailing for a while, but the response to his stuff over on places like SZ and even here is pretty lukewarm to say the least. It's like people cannot or refuse to see beyond the trappings of his presentation (skulls, wireframe mannequins etc) to actually see what it is he is doing with his construction and his concepts both for the clothing and his approach to the industry.

Maybe when more of his clothing starts showing up in street style shots and WAYWT photos people will get a bit more interested. Not that everyone needs to like what he is doing of course as aesthetically I can see how it won't be for everyone, but damn, people keep asking for "something new" and complaining about how everything is "boring" and when something like this comes along that is actually quite fresh, no one bats an eyelid. I guess it is the typical, people saying they want new things but not really wanting it to be too different to what they already have.

 

[el Bert]

Pretty bad ass honestly I think the casts he uses for the show are pretty bad ass too imo

 

[Ivwri]

TOPMAN BLACK TROUSER PROJECT

Along with designers like Patrik Ervell, Todd Lynn, Anne-Sofie Back and Tim Hamilton, Aitor Throup was asked to design a pair of black trousers for TOPMAN. Unfortunately, the pictures I have been able to find online of the actual trousers produced are pretty small so there's just this one below in any reasonable size -

Spoiler: Smaller promo image

 

[Ivwri]



Pretty bad ass honestly I think the casts he uses for the show are pretty bad ass too imo

Yup, and he hand assembles them himself -

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]​

 

[Ivwri]

Not sure whether it is Aitor himself or just some lucky (and loaded) guy that picked up the Skull backpack.

Yeah, that's Aitor Throup himself on the way to the showroom apparently.

 

[jwjp]

looks like he's wearing AT trousers too, judging by the back of the ankles

 

[Ivwri]

Oh yeah, you're right. Wonder whether it was the denim pair at DSM or something earlier/more recent.

You saw the collection at DSM right jwjp? I think I remember you saying the denim felt pretty stiff. Would be cool to get your thoughts on that collection in this thread .

 

[hendrix]

that skull rucksack is so cool.

My girlfriend's sister is a very talented artist in high school at the moment (she came first in the world for cambridge art exams or something ridiculous) and she doesn't know what she wants to do at university. She's mentioned product design, architecture and just straight fine arts...I think I might show her some Aitor Throup and get her to read about his concepts.

I just love some of the things he was saying about coming up with a goal you want to achieve and then just doing each step the right way. It's quite applicable to a lot of things.

 

[Ivwri]

Shapes of things to come:
Aitor Throup's menswear is conceptual but eminently wearable

Article by The Independent

There are few contemporary menswear designers who confront the conventions of the genre. While notable visionaries such as Rei Kawakubo, for Comme des Garçons, and Martin Margiela are revered for their radical approach to fashion, their main focus is still womenswear.

The German designer Bernhard Willhelm and the Belgian Raf Simons may be at the top of the current crop of menswear mavericks, but even they are, at times, rebuked for creating collections that are impenetrable to the average gent. In an increasingly vulnerable economic climate, designers are presenting commercial collections, since being radical in menswear is not now the favoured direction.

Aitor Throup's work is distinct, communicating a conceptual approach to design while still creating accessible garments. "My work is primarily based on exploring new structural solutions to clothe the human body," explains Throup, whose uncompromising approach to design and presentation has attracted the attention of influential names in fashion: Stone Island, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Topman, and the football brand Umbro are all eager to be associated with him.

Born to Argentinian parents in 1980, Throup lived in Spain before moving to Britain, where he grew up in Burnley. Graduating from the Royal College of Art in 2006, he received awards from Umbro, Evisu and Levi's before leaving college. His graduate collection, a synthesis of street sportswear and religious symbolism, entitled, "When Football Hooligans Become Hindu Gods", won the ITS#FIVE (International Talent Support) Fashion Collection of the Year Award in 2006.

Immediately wary of the cyclical nature of the fashion industry, Throup believes that the seasonal structure is liable to force ideas, which can result in collections that lack depth. "I'm not saying that all clothing should have a conceptual depth," he explains. "I'm just saying that mine does."

Throup's concept, Aitor Throup Tailoring, launched during London Fashion Week in 2007. His first clothing model was based on his distinct design process, which begins with his drawings of characters. These illustrations are converted into tiny sculptures, which then inform the patterns and shapes of the garments.

"Drawing has always been my main passion and interest," says Throup. "My work is about finding a reason to create or design anything. I am interested in justifying all design features and avoiding gratuitous detailing. I only believe in origin, process and innovation."

The Aitor Throup Tailoring concept involves the release of a single outfit every season, with the whole process becoming the product. So the final package includes a copy of the drawing, a replica of the sculpture, and the finished outfit.

For his first on-schedule catwalk presentation as part of the MAN menswear showcase at London Fashion Week, Throup created a film with photographer Jez Tozer. Entitled The Funeral of New Orleans, it was a response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Throup's collection told the story, through clothes, of how five members of a marching band protect themselves and their instruments. The presentation confirmed Throup's radical approach to both fashion design and the communication of his collections.

Recognising Throup's talent, and inviting him to collaborate on a project, was the president of Stone Island, Carlo Rivetti. "He has an original and personal point of view, and to have both talent and ideas that are not mainstream, obvious or unrealistic is very rare," he says. "His theories have roots in design and engineering, and his fascination with shape related to anatomy and function are very interesting."

As one of the driving forces behind the Stone Island label is research into fabric innovation and treatment, Rivetti invited Throup to view the archive, find a piece of interest to him, and reinterpret it. The result, the Modular Anatomy Stone Island jacket, is a limited-edition version of a traditional down jacket, and as Rivetti explains, "is brilliant, both handsome and clever". Next season, the second instalment, Articulated Anatomy, will develop further, with the release of four garments. The aim of the collaboration is to compile an Anatomy Series, with a new approach each season.

Throup's latest creative collaboration is with Umbro. Previously, Kim Jones, now creative director of Dunhill, gave Umbro a stronger fashion identity, so an opportunity awaits Throup to innovate and stamp his design identity on the brand. Jones and Throup share a design sensibility that creates wearable clothes. According to Throup, the collaboration is still at the development stage. "Umbro has an incredible football heritage, which, as a football fan, is amazing to explore," he says.

The inclusion of Throup's work in the current Fashion V Sport exhibition at the V&A confirms the acceptance of his work by the design establishment. "It's a great honour. The V&A is such a landmark of art and design, and for me, a key source of reference and inspiration," he says.

Throup is comfortable with his work being viewed in a gallery, but aware of the issues surrounding fashion being presented as art. "I think it certainly can be, but only if the work has enough content to be viewed beyond its aesthetic values," he says. "There's fashion that proclaims itself as art, perhaps because it's sculptural or unwearable, but if the depth of the process or concept behind it doesn't stretch beyond its surface, it's probably fashion, not art."

Throup admits to having an issue with the psychology of fashion shows, where the viewer is passive and static and the work is active. "So far, I've desperately tried to force conceptual ideas on to a sometimes disinterested audience." With the viewer having no control over how long to look at something, or from what angle, Throup is keen to challenge and ultimately change the conventions. "I prefer the idea of my work being static, and the viewer being active around it, exploring and analysing at will. But I don't want the work to lose any of its validity in the fashion world either. I guess I just partly want it to be a new way to look at fashion."

More positively, clothing, according to Throup, can simultaneously be viewed as art and be practical. He gives Stone Island's Ice Jacket as an example. Also, the work of other conceptual designers, such as Carol Christian Poell, Issey Miyake and Hussein Chalayan, successfully bridge the gap between art and fashion and are inspirational figures to him.

Although Throup thrives on his work crossing creative disciplines, he has a commercial sensibility. He recently designed some trousers for a Topman project, and is eager to further develop his own lines. "I definitely see a product line in the near future extending beyond the limitations of clothing," he enthuses. "I want eventually to create toys, books, animations, sculptures and drawings. I want to show everything."

source

 

[jwjp]



Oh yeah, you're right. Wonder whether it was the denim pair at DSM or something earlier/more recent.

You saw the collection at DSM right jwjp? I think I remember you saying the denim felt pretty stiff. Would be cool to get your thoughts on that collection in this thread .

I did indeed, here are my original thoughts:

Just got back from DSM. Aitor Throup stuff is really cool.

The jacket and the trousers are made from really stiff denim with hard rubbery plastic backing on the cuffs and hem and behind the pocket flaps. Lined with cotton, but neither seemed like they would be particularly comfortable to wear (unfortunately I didn't get to try them on). (The plastic backing reminded me of the pulls on the cuffs of my Veilance jacket, for reference.)

I thought the t-shirt was kinda lame -- material didn't feel very special, nor was the cut or design that interesting. Certainly not worth to me what he'll be charging (forgot to ask ).

The rucksack is phenomenal though, with a price tag to match -- £2055 -- the SA said there are only four in the world. I really hope that any later iterations (of which there will be plenty if the leaflet accompanying the installation is to believed) will be more accessible.

The rest of the small installation is good too and the wire mesh sculptures are impressive in person. The whole experience has me excited to see where he goes from here.

Seeing it in person was a great experience, pictures don't do it justice - truly sculptural clothing. The denim was rubberised in some fashion - very stiff - and like I said I don't think it would be comfortable, although perhaps it would be the sort of thing that would mould to one's body. This thread has renewed my excitement for his clothes, I definitely intend to buy one of the new coat styles whenever they come out (even if it means saving up my pennies); I presume DSM will be selling them when the time comes.

I hope his archetypal design process succeeds - to know your favourite design or a piece you missed out on will return in some form or another is very reassuring.

 

[Ivwri]

Thanks for re-posting your comments man .

I hope his archetypal design process succeeds - to know your favourite design or a piece you missed out on will return in some form or another is very reassuring.

Yeah, this for me is one of the main things I really hope can work out for AT and his team. I also really like the idea that he spends a lot of time fine-tuning and testing various ideas before he takes them to the development stage and then adds them to the archetype library for production. I just hope that with the apparently demanding production process, they can meet up to store demands.

Hopefully he won't end up going the CCP route with haphazard release schedules and really small runs of items.

It can't be easy creating clothing like this I imagine.

 

[reedobandito]

+1, great thread. Love AT's work, wish he had a retail side where some of these could be purchased (at likely ridiculous prices, but w/e)

 

[Ivwri]

Shiva Skull bag installation at Atelier New York FEBRUARY 11 - 14, 2013

More info here

Dear Friends:

Aitor Throup’s London design studio has taken the last six years to properly realize the Shiva Skull Bag product archetype, drawn from the concepts and methodology of his design manifesto, ‘New Object Research.’ His studio’s commitment is to innovate single objects rather than collections and to design the process instead of products. Aitor directs a traceable line beginning with a narrative and conceptual framework to thought, execution and appropriation in fashion. With reason being his philosophic conveyor, Aitor aims to imbue validity into products that transcend both function and aesthetics. Subverting the seasonal nature of the fashion industry by patiently amassing a ‘concept archive,’ he seeks to iterate established products into a potential infinity of generations. This approach ostensibly resolves the unravelling tension between artist and designer.

Looks like there will only be 10 available at Atelier and they will be going on sale from the 26th. I am pretty sure they will sell out before they hit the website actually, even at the purported $1700 price point, hehe.

Other places the shiva skull bag will be available are:

H Lorenzo - L.A
I.T - Hong Kong
Dover Street Market - London/Ginza
Rail - Italy
Antonioli - Italy
Oki Ni - Online
L'Eclaireur - Paris

 

[Lionheart Biker]

Not as steep as I thought it´d be, so it looks like they will probably sell out in a matter of seconds.

 

[Ivwri]

Lol, yeah probably. Can't wait until I can travel and handle his stuff somewhere.