Two Births, Two Deaths, was the title of Kiko Kostadinov presentation today, his very first since graduating the Central Saint Martins MA this year. Thankfully, there were neither births nor deaths, which could have been really very messy, and potentially ruined our shoes. Instead, the titled referred to a Robert Bresson quote, referring not to humans but ideas, “my movie is born first in my head, dies on paper; is resuscitated by the living persons and real objects I use, which are killed on film but, place in a certain order and projected on to a screen, come to life again like flowers in water”. So what did this mean in practice? Well, workwear – utilitarian dressing – direct, to the point. Clean-lined boiler suits, tied at the waist, or with simple utility pockets. A take on tool belt, wrapped around the body, Kiko’s name, printed, badge-like, on the chest. Lab coats. And those hats – a kind of protective worker’s cap cum Elizabethan bonnet. Which worked. Well. And, as the press release informs me, the fabrics were similarly utilitarian – protective Tyvek coated in gloss paint, Ventile in various neutral shades – crisp white, stone, green. All in all, a much assured debut. Where do we put our orders?
