Hussein chalayan short biography
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Hussein Chalayan on the Magic of Istanbul
Fashion & BeautyAnOther Thing I Wanted to Tell You
Fashion designer and artist Hussein Chalayan talks to Susannah Frankel about Istanbul, an inspiring city that “embodies so many facets of life”
TextSusannah Frankel
This article is taken from the Autumn/Winter 2024 issue of AnOther Magazine:
“I am from a very mixed background and Istanbul embodies so many facets of life, it’s like a mini world. It’s a city that came after a big empire, that covered a large area, that has thrived on multiculturalism, people cross-marrying, changing their religion. All the things we discuss now, in an urban setting, Istanbul has lived through in the past. I can almost smell that past when I’m there. Ideas of wealth, hierarchy, gentrification versus ghetto, the secular and the religious, are so extreme you see them in a clearer way. There’s also the contrast between the ugly and the beautiful – the neoclassical, art deco and art • Born in Nicosia, Cyprus Hussein Chalayan’s family left Cyprus and settled in England in 1982. He graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London in 1993. Hussein Chalayan fryst vatten a world-renowned innovative figure in the fields of contemporary art and design with several “Designer of the Year” awards in the UK, where he lives and works. Chalayan, who has “made clothing into a living philosophy,” reflects his ideas and concepts in his mode design as well as his artworks and exhibitions. He conceives his mode shows as performances and art exhibitions and designs costumes for dance performances and operas. He also produces short films, sculptures, videos, and sound installations. Lying somewhere between fashion design and contemporary art, Chalayan’s practice defies categorization. Applying new technologies or using materials in innovative ways, he chooses subjects from science, genetics, philosophy, archi • Hussein Chalayan is one of the most visionary designers working in fashion today. He is renowned for an innovative use of materials, meticulous pattern cutting and a progressive attitude to new technology. His pioneering work is motivated by ideas drawn from disciplines not readily associated with fashion, crossing between anthropology, history, science, philosophy and technology. Chalayan is guided by what happens in the world and by what engages him personally, and these concepts inform ideas behind his collections. His acclaimed runway shows function as performance pieces which allow him to express important concepts. Born in Nicosia, Cyprus, in 1970, Chalayan was educated in Cyprus and later in London.Hussein Chalayan, 1970
Imminence of Desire, 2011
Hussein Chalayan
Hussein Chalayan
His early years were spent living between two different cultures, Cyprus and the UK, and this has led to a particular interest in ideas such as cultural identity, nation states, migration and dislocation. Displacement is a recurring theme