Dark Fiction Fashion - Design Bureau

Barbara I Gongini

Barbara I Gongini

Barbara I Gongini

Headdress and top by Barbara I Gongini; Outfit by Barbara I Gongini
Photographer: Cille Veerasawmy / Hair & Makeup: Tina Kristoffersen / Model: Maja M. at Unique Models

Rachel Freire

Rachel Freire

Rachel Freire

Cigarette wire neck piece by Rachel Freire; Custom made Ecco Leather Bolero Jacket by Rachel Freire; Parachute Corset Dress by Rachel Freire
Photographer: Fiona Garden /   Makeup and Styling: Rachel Freire / Model: Victoria Sekrier at Models 1

Gabriela Marina Gonzalez

Gabriela Marina Gonzalez

Gabriela Marina Gonzalez

Mask by Gabriella Marina Gonzalez; Shoes by Gabriella Marina Gonzalez; Mask by Gabriella Marina Gonzalez
Photographer: Eric Luc / Photography Assistant: Peter Panszczyk / Hair: Joseph Dimaggio / Makeup: Tomoyuki Tamura for MAC Cosmetics / Model: Sasha B of APM Models
Photographer: Sarah Piantadosi / Stylist: Paul Joyce / Model: Maryna at FM

Emma Griffiths

Emma Griffiths

Emma Griffiths

Dress by EG By Emma Griffiths; Necklace and bracelet by Maria Francesca Pepe; Dress by EG By Emma Griffiths; Clutch: vintage, Jacket and leggings by EG By Emma Griffiths
Photographer: Simon Thistle / Stylist: Suzie Street / Stylist Assistant: Maggie Ibiam / Hair: Roxane Attard / Makeup: Celia Burton / Model: Skye Kelly-Barrett

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Dark Fiction Fashion

Monday, June 13th, 2011

My Aim Is

Barbara I Gongini
Valby, Denmark

"There’s always a hidden aspect in my clothes, due to my belief that there is always an existing opposite. A certain amount of harmony contains certain amount of disharmony.

A part of [designing] is also to work with the sexuality, or the whole defined scene for the two sexes. Often within fashion you portray women as this very sensitive, very over-female creature. It looks helpless and princess-like. This is a political issue for me: to give some space for physical dimensions and dynamics for both parties."

The Girl I Never Was

Rachel Freire
London, UK

"Most fashion designers are creating looks and palates to sell on trend, but I create characters in my mind. Imagine a fantasy world in your head inspired by your reality. It’s a story that constantly rewrites itself, like an ability to influence the future, depending on your mood. I am creating a universe.

[My spring/summer collection “The Girl I Never Was”] is based on a photograph, a picture of me as a little girl. I have a big frown on my face, I’m wearing my father’s work boots and I have this leather purse around my waist and a girlie little dress. This little girl that I potentially was—little dresses with these heavy, contrasting accessories and this frown on her face—is how I am now. That picture is exactly how I felt about being a girl.

I am somebody who does not follow fashion. I make a point of it. I live in army boots. I don’t purposefully try to dress in a masculine way, but its practical application probably makes it come across so. In contrast, I love beautiful, structured underwear beneath it. I am turning myself back into a girl through my work.  Still in army boots, of course. But now I own some badass heels too!

I like structured materials [that] have longevity. Leathers, denims, drill-weave fabrics that can take a good battering and still come out looking good. I tend to avoid things like satin, as I really don’t see the use in it. Though I do have a penchant for stupidly delicate materials, as I love things to show the passage of time as they break down and decay. It’s a perfect complement to their counterparts, which will weather the storm."

The Cyclops' Apprentice

Gabriella Marina Gonzalez
London, UK

Describe your personal style

Discount sportswear meets monster-truck-rally-dandy-assault-victim.

Which book or movie best exemplifies your collection?

Federico Fellini’s Satyricon.

What otherworldly creature are you most like?

I wouldn’t want to insult anything magical by comparing myself to it.

A Tiny Dark Side

EG by Emma Griffiths
London, UK

“[My collection] comes from my heart and my innermost thoughts. Everything makes perfect sense when I’m in that zone, and when people ask me to explain, I find it difficult—like I should be in a shrink’s chair.

I design primarily for my alter ego, which is stronger than what I am as a person. With this collection, I was really feeling structure. I don’t like anything girly; I left my girlish ways behind me quite a long time ago. Life is hard and you have to fight and strive against the obstacles life throws at you, and I guess I feel like you can’t do that in a pretty dress. If my designs had no emotion behind them they would be just clothes, and that’s when I would stop designing.

Maybe there’s a tiny dark side to me… I think there is always a slightly sinister side to my work.”

Interviews by Kyle Gilkeson and Kristin Lamprecht

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