POP 892 Friday 20 April 2012

Today's POP is Lily. Cutting the neck of her T-shirt so it hangs off one-shoulder.

 

 

I have two jobs. When I’m not undertaking fashion-related work (such as eating cake in front of models), I’m teaching dance. Now whilst fashion and dance are by no means mutually exclusive industries, the overlap between them is not considerable, bar the odd genius Lanvin advert or agonizingly cool Meadham show. When the two do cross paths, however, it’s as if the world slows down and for a brief moment in time, my life suddenly simplifies. These minimalist moments are pretty rare, but this week I was lucky enough to have one thanks to a sneak peek of a little film sent over by ASOS.

 
  
For SS12, ASOS Revive, a relatively recent ASOS sub-collection that fuses sartorial elements of a past decade with a contemporary approach, has chosen the eminent sportswear specialist Ebru Ercon as their inaugural guest designer.

 

The resulting collection is an inspired, sportswear-themed take on the 90’s: oversized sheer shirts and undersized bra tops, all in a predominantly white palette. As a child of the 90s, I am in love with everything it has to offer. It reminds me of what I wore to my 9th birthday party when I was desperately trying (and failing) to look like my effortlessly cool older, American cousins.

 

 

 

As the former head designer at Stella McCartney for Adidas, Ercon knows how to design high fashion that can be danced in. And danced in it most certainly is! To launch the collection, Ercon pooled together a shortlist of London’s young, emerging creative talent to create a fashion film. The treatment, written by Zaiba Jabbar, is willfully up-beat, youthful and energetic. With a nod to the music videos of the late ‘80’s – dance acts such as Inner City and Yazz – the film staunchly avoids the ‘80s pastiche-trap, eschewing the principle context of the decade’s excess to be decidedly contemporary. The film’s models were cast and styled by

Madeleine Ostlie and art directed by Anna Walker, who heads up the website The Resee, a hub to showcase fashion films. To compliment the film, the soundtrack was written and performed by Casually Here, who release their album this summer.

 

The result is a super fun, totally amazing video lookbook which harks back to the late 80s, early 90s days of happy hardcore, albeit a softer, more ethereal version. Fashion, dance AND THE 90’s, I’m seriously happy right now.

 

EBRU ERCON

 

So tell us a bit more about the inspiration for the collection?
90's sportswear pieces and the simplicity of that era’s styling; the way girls wore Air Max trainers with bra tops and oversized sweatshirts, supplemented with surplus, street & rave clothing as well as high fashion brands of the time, such as Moschino, Fiorucci, Chevignon and Chipie.
 

Who are your favourite icons of the 90’s?
La India (who sang with Masters at Work), Yazz, Neneh Cherry, En Vogue, TLC (minus dummies and hats in "Ain't to proud to beg" video!) and of course Inner City.

 

 

How do you feel fashion connects to sportswear?
I found sportswear researching Jean Patou. He created clothing for the tennis stars of the 1920's. Sportswear is really ready-to-wear that kind of got disjointed by technology and then became a branded lifestyle product. Now people are designing by re-visiting ready-to-wear and using clever sportswear manufacturing techniques. I think we are going to see a real merging of the two in the future, which is exciting!

 

What was the inspiration and idea behind the film?
With ASOS Revive, it felt right to look back at a time when youth had a very creative power that actually changed things around them. The late 1980's and early 1990's was exciting to re-visit, especially when you take a look at what’s happening today. We wanted the collection to be light, movement orientated – items you can dance in. It was also heavily influenced by music, I looked at music videos and photos/clips from raves. The most inspiring film was Mark Leckey's "Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore". It is spot-on about youth and sub cultures. It makes you think about the fact that when Acid House/Rave was happening, no one knew they were in a Teen Trend. Today, it's hard to escape the labeling that occurs; people immediately attach one to you and your friends….. Now you need a facebook event to justify your moment in time, back then it was more about actually moving around, meeting people rather than the documentation.

 

 

 

 

How was it to work with such a wonderful group of young creatives on the film?
I wanted the collection to be reinterpreted and presented by young guns like Zaiba, Anna and Madeleine. It's about the energy of these young women now as much as it's about the energy of that time. It was so great meeting them and I was so happy with the way they pulled it all together. They just got it, they knew exactly how to shoot it and they made it their own.

 

 

How would you style the ASOS REVIVE collection?
I can see many different types of women wearing the pieces, because women today really understand how to create their own looks and appropriate items to their own wardrobes. I love how it's been styled by Madeleine (Ostile) in the film, but I also love how it's been styled on the [ASOS] site, very clean and natural. I could even see schoolgirls wearing it mixed in with their uniforms… I have noticed a lot of long socks out there! It would be great to see some sixth-formers [students aged 16-18] styling it up.

 

Who or what inspires you?
Girls/women doing their own thing; dance moves; Scaffolders/builders and their layering; early 1920's sportswear; the very beginnings of ready-to-wear.

 

Which other designers are you excited about?
Martine Rose, Junya Watanabe, Raf Simons, Kim Jones at LV Men's, Norse Projects.

 

What’s the most treasured item in your wardrobe?
An Indian motorcycle-logoed knitted cardigan from Johnson's in Kensington Market and my Dad's MA1 bomber jacket.

 

What is your favourite sport?
Dancing for 10 hours in a dark nightclub.

 

Finally, if you could revive an item from the past, what would it be?
It wouldn't be an item it would be an attitude. I think we are too savvy in how we create a "look". Not many people have developed personalities, ones that transcend that initial "she looks cool" response we have to attire.

 

 

The collection launches on April 23rd, but you can register your interest in advance at asos.com.

Related Pops:

• POP 703 Thursday 22 September 2011
• POP 777 Tuesday 13 December 2011

Related posts:

1. POP 886 Friday 13 April 2012
2. POP 881 Thursday 5 April 2012
3. POP 878 Monday 2 April 2012
4. POP 567 Friday 22 April 2011
5. POP 942 Monday 18 June 2012

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