DANISH MENSWEAR ON THE RISE!

Check out Dazed Digital for the full article.

ARE YOU READY?

Dazed & Confused is shooting the‎ Henrik Vibskov SS14 collection "The Bathtub Observer" - online tomorrow at Dazed Digital.

Follow the show live tomorrow on INSTAGRAM.

PRESS: 'HENRIK VIBSKOV GOES BEYOND' FROM DAZED DIGITAL '

Enter the designer-turned-artist's dreamlike world of woollen clouds and surrealist stalactites in his new exhibition, Neck Plus Ultra.

Playing with the Latin motto “Nec plus ultra”, meaning “nothing farther beyond” and the more literal subject of the anatomical neck, comes the title of the celebrated Danish fashion and interiors designer, Henrik Vibskov’s first solo art exhibition in Paris – ‘Neck Plus Ultra'. Not satisfied with graduating from Central Saint Martins in Menswear, producing several collections under his own name, directing films and making music, Vibskov has now taken on the world of art. Having been considered part of the 'New Nordic Movement' of designers and artists from Scandinavia in the 21st century, his playful, avant-garde and sometimes cartoon-like creations have earnt him his name.

Devised under his signature surrealist vision, Vibskov's new exhibition introduces us to what inspires and influences him on a deeper level, inviting the visitor into his dreamlike world. Utilising a mix of visual, audio and tactile works, the pieces featured aim to propel the senses further. Neck plus Ultra will include original installations, deliberate mixtures of pop, surrealism and psychedelia, and conscious artistic hybridisations dear to an artist who enjoys mixing genres.

Dazed Digital: Is the boundary between art and fashion a definable one for you? 

Henrik Vibskov: Well, I am felling pretty good and free to switch between these two disciplines without thinking too much. I just see myself as a creative person that likes to explore new materials, structures and settings - and hopefully new ways of realizing these explorations...Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't!

DD: Where did the idea to focus on 'the neck' come from? Why is it of particular interest to you? 

Henrik Vibskov: I have been in a period where the human anatomy was a big focus for me, last year it was the tongue as a transport-, cleaning- and sexual-system. This time it is the focus on the neck - how we pose and how we act. "Stiff neck people" from the bible to the building industry, the stiff night like a viagra - death rituals in Guatemala and dark dance ceremonies.

DD: The exhibition feels very surreal and like a fantasy world, is this a recurring theme in your work?

Henrik Vibskov: Probably there is! I usually like surreal, abstract, twisted and colourful universes and it seems like it occurs once in a while when you look at my visual history. So I'd say yes!

DD: What are your favourite fairytales and perhaps local folklore that you grew up with? 

Henrik Vibskov: I am not sure but I like the "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" scenario - a truck that runs over some Disney stuff ending up with some wheel spinning on some classical sci-fi cartoons. Does that make sense?

DD: How did you build the pieces and what is your favourite in particular? 

Henrik Vibskov: We built most of the stuff in Copenhagen in my workshop - painting foam bubbles, sewing long bird necks, forming landscapes with raw wool, "face wool" explosions and building a long optical illusion time loop tunnel - my favourite is maybe the soap bubble or the foam nylon socks objects.

DD: What do you want the visitors to leave the exhibition with? 

Henrik Vibskov: Hopefully they walk out with a little "visually carried away time-loop-kit-kat-break" - a feeling of being carried away for a while, with stimulated senses and thoughts, sounds, visuals and structures.

Neck Plus Ultra. Until May 4th 2013. Galerie Des Galeries, 1st floor - Lafayette Coupole 40, bd Haussmann, 75009 Paris. 

Source: Dazed Digital

Henrik Vibskov Menswear A/W12 by DAZED DIGITAL

The Danish designer celebrates his 10th year of shows in Paris, with a quirky yet wearable collection of gentlemanly knitwear, harem pants and 1920s felt hats

Danish designer Henrik Vibskov will soon celebrate his 10th anniversary of Parisian runways. This collection, despite its typical theatrical, multi-media setting, was surprisingly wearable: a controlled colour palette of blues, earth tones and occasional red or yellow splashes. Belted knitwear, harem-inspired slacker pants and plenty of suits brought a whiff of gentleman-ness to the hairy sock shoes and 1920s felt hats that appeared on each outfit. As for the recurring small handbags and nightgowns worn on top of trousers, they contributed to the designer’s timelessly cuckoo charm.

Dazed Digital: What story are you telling?
Henrik Vibskov: Seven years ago I created an instrument, and I thought I should do it again. It’s kind of a Henrik instrument: all the models are generating a sound, an analogue sound, an acoustic sound and a sample sound, so they can actually create a chaos, for a massive and spectacular result.

DD: Do you sense of stylistic evolution?
Henrik Vibskov: Kind of. I’d done a lot with glasses in the past, you know, small, funny glasses, so I thought that’s something I shouldn’t do this time. Instead, we worked with hats to cover the eyes; we used a lot of energy to create that identity and in three-week time when we do the show in Copenhagen, the female connection will also come in and make it even stronger.

DD: What’s the connection between today and the next female collection?
Henrik Vibskov: The two are always part of one story – this time, it’ll be like a small society, a little group where the men and the women all come from, a group of weirdo straw people; there’s less makeup overall. All the men have beards. Pretty hot, no?

View article HERE

Text by Alice Pfeiffer
Photography by Yang Yang

PRESS: COPENHAGEN FASHION WEEK S/S12: HENRIK VIBSKOV ON DAZED DIGITAL

The Danish designer presents a visually stimulating line of graphic prints against huge immersive installations with ethereal sounds

Henrik Vibskov always manages to impress his audience by giant installations, graphic prints, imaginative accessories and otherworldly sounds. This time around he was true to his style and presented a collection on a rotating catwalk with models opening and closing doors almost in a working class factory environment which provoked a feeling of paranoia or you might just say Panopticon.

Dazed Digital: Where does your inspiration come from for this collection.
Henrik Vibskov: We always look in different directions. Music, art, life, whatever. If we're talking about this season, S/S12, we looked at workwear, 19th century artisans, like...

View article HERE

Photography by Louise Damgaard
Text by Dorothea Gundtoft

Nice interview with Walter Van Beriendonck from Dazed Digital.com

Not satisfied with being been known for inspiring and politicising fashion for nearly thirty years, or curating numerous exhibitions and publications that have seeded discourse on popular culture, Walter Van Beirendonck has also been heavily involved in the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Art course since the late 80s. As is sometimes the case with high profile figures attached to subsequently high profile university courses, Walter has much more than a remote connection to the Academy. He is far from a guest lecturer, and in 2007 became the head of the department.

Numerous forward thinking designers have studied under Walter at the Academy over the years including Bernhard Willhelm, Kris Van Assche, and Wim Neels. As we were interviewing him about his long-standing career for the September issue of Dazed & Confused, we decided to ask Walter to highlight a number of his current and recent students that you should definitely keep your eye on in the future. His selection of a few talented Antwerp students is Walter Van Beirendonck's own version of the Antwerp 6 in 2010. From today, and for the next five days, Dazed Digital will profile the students, giving you an insight into their inspiration and ambitions, plus images from their latest collections.

Click here for full interview at DazedDigital.com