SYNTHESIS PHOTOS
Photos / Loreto Gibert * Faith Study
Production / M. Eugenia Ibarra
Hair and Makeup / Bernardita Silva
Model / Claudia Cabezas * Elite Models
GENDER CLOTHING AW2016 Photosynthesis
By Francisca Jiménez
A trip, in every sense, is what is presented in the Photosynthesis collection of Gender Clothing. A journey towards the interior and towards the world that is based on Eastern and Latin American cultures make this exhibition a syncretic proposal full of sensitivity inspired by something as essential to life as the process of capturing light on the part of the plants to transform it into energy.
In this collection, Gender Clothing worked through Photosynthesis as a source of life in living beings. This is responsible for us being able to have the oxygen we need to survive. Chlorophyll -a green substance that leaves possess- is vital in this process since it is in charge of absorbing the adequate light to carry out Photosynthesis, and, at the same time, is responsible for the characteristic greenish color of plants.
Concepts from various parts of the world merged in this collection, making it a show full of syncretism. This is how they appear embroidered with the Asian Kiri tree, images of coca leaves, stems and ferns in textures and folds, reflections of the geography, the cosmovision and the colors of the landscape of the Sacred Valley -inserted in the Sierra of Peru- that were incorporated in woven pieces and in details of textile ribbons of plants in the outlines of coats.
Green is essential in this collection as it is the color of chlorophyll. In the process red and blue light rays are absorbed, reflecting only green. In relation to this, we worked with a litmus cloth that has greenish and reddish pigments, with a greater preponderance of the former. In addition, a double-sided fabric was designed where textures and ribs are generated in colors and contrasts that appear and disappear. This also emphasizes day and night, sunlight and its movement.
In the forms of Photosynthesis, molds from past collections were recycled and adjusted or merged through folds and geometries. Overside and vaporous vests are also part of this collection.
With this collection, Gender Clothing wanted to emphasize that all living beings are deeply related in a perfect balance where plants are fundamental to our existence. As Isaac Asimov says “plants are made up of tissues that contain the same complex substances as animals. Therefore, animals can live feeding exclusively on plants, stealing their wealth of tissues and putting them at the service of the one who eats.