IAN BERRY
X JONATHAN CHRISTOPHER
Ian Berry X Jonathan Christopher - Secret Garden at Textil Museet by Jan Berg
Dutch GLOBAL DENIM AWARD and Euro WOOLMARK Winning designer Jonathan Christopher collaborates with Denim Artist Ian Berry
To celebrate his Material World exhibition being shown at Textil Museet - The Textile Museum Of Sweden, artist Ian Berry worked with guest designer Jonathan Christopher to interpret and comment his work. The Dutch designer has created garments inspired by the most notable bodies of work; Behind Closed Doors, Hotel California, the American Jean and The Secret Garden of the artist famed for his work using on denim jeans.
Menswear designer Jonathan Christopher (Hofwegen) Celestial Risher graduated from the Willem de Kooning Academy in 2009 going on to do his MA at Artez in Arnhem.
Next to his own brand, Jonathan Christopher, the former Karl Lagerfeld designer was chosen by Marc Jacobs to be one of the five finalists for Designer for Tomorrow by Peek en Cloppenburg and won many accolades. In 2014 he won the very first Global Denim Awards and in 2015 he won the Woolmark European Finals.
He has now launched St.Ape in Amsterdam, basing the idea around using dead-stock fabrics from high end designers, to make his collections of limited editions, like he has throughout his career. Reusing old materials makes him a perfect and authentic collaborator for Ian Berry.
Here you will see some of Jonathan Christopher’s interpretations of Ian Berry’s work displayed at Material World at the Textil Museet using sustainable methods and also including his own long term collaborator PG Denim’s Paolo Gnutti from Italy with the dress with inspiration from the Secret Garden together with Tonello and Cone Denim.
Residui- leftover
Based on the painting of the ‘Bound’ portrait. The waste we create and ship off to other countries to dispose of is what inspired these pieces. Countries finding use of the garbage of others. This garment is made with the offcuts of the looms.
Where this material is usually discarded there is a lot of beauty in it, yet it is thrown with little thought. Knitted to make a dress and partially hand dipped in natural indigo. Combined with the head wrap made of foam indigo dyed denim and washed with eco bleach type wash.
photo Ian Berry
photo by Boras Punkt
photo by Boras Punkt
Cunae- cradle
Based on the Secret Garden. But now the issues are no longer a secret. Everything we have and take starts from nature, we alter, we add, and we consume. Once we have used it, it will return to nature with all the harmful chemicals and additives we used.
The dress is representing mother nature with her vines connecting the circle of life. Where the butterflies symbolise the butterfly effect we have on mother nature. We create our own toxic environment where our harmful practices aren’t able to be undone by nature and things like microplastics are found in the animals, soils and plants.
Momentum- moment
Based on the changing of the city and the lines in the New York pieces from the American Jean.
The movement in the pieces, the ever-changing views and the excitement of the city is what inspired this piece. The garment is made with a deadstock denim from former itv denim (now pg denim) the bomber jacket has parts that can be taken off and changed with a lacing detail with thick rope. The city is ever changing and so is this jacket, also in the piece of the subway there are a lot of fold in the fabric, and to exaggerate it there is a pull up construction in the sleeve.
Verso – reflect
Based on the reflection of light bouncing off the water in the pool pieces from Hotel California.
The jacket and pants are made with pg denim’s flock denim, recycled viscose flock on a indigo base, lasered with an hand drawn print. The beauty of the material is the more the wearer uses it, the more the denim will come through. The garments are shaped to style swimming floats around the arms and around the pants. The top underneath is created with a foam indigo dyed denim and washed with eco bleach type wash, and resembles a bathing suit bouncing off the light on the water.
Abdo-conceal
Based on Behind Closed Doors, the intricate tiles on the floors inside these melancholy beautiful homes. But it also challenges the hidden feeling in the faces of the people in it. The feeling of these pieces inspired to make this jacket and sweater. The top layer hiding away all the intricate handcut pieces that make up a tiled jacket underneath. The jacket is made from foam indigo dyed denim and washed with an eco bleach wash and the tiles cut of old discarded denims, mixed with pg denim’s flock denim. It show you more and more of the beauty underneath the more it’s worn. It adds beauty into the garment with wear. Wearing it and tearing it more is like an archeological finding that true beauty is hidden.
