First Year Fashion Student: Deconstructing

Deconstructing in fashion is when a garment has an unfinished and unrefined appearance that alludes to the process of design and creation. There is a lot of psychology behind the idea of deconstructing. The idea of deconstructing challenges widely held perceptions of beauty that garments must be flawlessly finished and enhance accepted definitions of beauty. Deconstructing is said to examine and dispute the way that Western thought is structured regarding Binal oppositions (the separation of conceptual material eg. Tall/Short, Black/White) with one always being more favored than the other. Exposed zips and seams, distressed textiles and missing segments of material are all common features on contemporary runways.

A collection for me that communicates the concept of deconstruction very strongly is the Autumn/Winter 2004/5 Ready-To-Wear collection by Comme Des Garcons. This collection of altered garments sees sleeves and extra material sown at hap-hazard onto alternate locations of the clothes, zip panels incorrectly aligned and lots of uneven hem lines. The material has not been placed on the body purely to accentuate it. These punk style creations are nebulous, complex and intellectual. All this is accompanied by an alternative, rebelious and confrontational attitude;