The fashion industry has never been so hot with topics and events that have never happened before the 21st century, and Nicolas Stephan Fischer wants to celebrate feminism and gender-neutrality by being a part of the undergoing subjects through his final master collection at Central Saint Martins. He is creating propaganda, dissing Bertolt Brecht's beliefs by executing moments he experienced from both his past and present to create a line of clothing that looks optimistically into the future. Each piece in the collection is Nic's fashion political views and ideology that he has picked up along the way to where he is now.
Profurniture is at the centre of Nic's spider web from his evolving manifesto about contemporary youth society, based on his point of view, art, and artists that inspire him. Implementing the body as part of social processes and disciplining practices, this society consists of individuals who are fighting battles from, to, and among themselves for the sake of bringing hope back to the table. They live in a world that is hard to decipher but every aspect is essential, and each act by the individual moves them forward. Aforementioned is also what artist Anne Imhof interprets in her performances, intriguing people who watch her as the sane ones. Even though each individual has their own complexities, they are not going to have the same perspective after they have been disturbed by her performance. She creates situations for people who would enjoy or be confused about what was going on, as a part of society that orbits from different aspects. Her spontaneity describes what youth is about and leaves the judgment on how her guests feel about it.
Nic takes photographs, under the title ‘Contemporary Still Life’ which is a series that depicts mattresses, chairs and other items left on the street in a way that he finds unexpectedly beautiful. Nic interprets youth through the randomness of the discarded furniture that reflects most through his chosen fabrics and found objects, from linen, cotton, a used-car seat to an old curtain with a Paisley motif. He wanted to transform the used material from home into a contemporary garment, mixing them with new fabrics to reinforce the modernity of his collection. Each cloth is a wearable statement piece that is, unlike many avant-garde designs, restrictive.
The act of clothing is about pleasure in dressing and provocative about dressing other people and getting dressed. Nic’s prolific and steadfast habits are the fundamentals of this collection. Not an effeminate person, tailored silhouettes and proportions are all made, adjusted and twisted by the way he dresses up every day. His personal clothing preferences also play an important role. He prefers his shirt slightly tilted back, remodelling vintage treasures, and he wears black when doesn't have time to get ready. In his foresight, his collection is made to be worn by the people who have the same vision as him. This view is one of many reasons he is using the ideology of gender-neutrality through buttons so that both male and females who do not want to be restricted by gender can wear his pieces. Motorbike gloves emphasise the-power-in-my-hand feeling. Nic believes that being modern is to be liberal by opening doors of possibilities in a state of no limitation, drawn from the 1830 painting called ‘Liberty of The People’ by Eugène Delacroix. "I like the representation of the woman, it can be both historical but gives emotions at the same time," Nic adds.
Reversed time intervention is happening in Nic's collection. Capturing post metropolitan Berlin as a city full of graffiti, graphics, and colours before the demolition of the infamous wall exposed grey parts described as the loss of hope. Nic distinctly wants to bring back the future through colours and visual imagery, reinforcing his sense of the importance of gradients that can be translated only by using spray paint. The colour itself is a mixture of many types of paint except fabric paint, so that they can be ironed and washed as routinely.
As warm-hearted as sunrise, the shocking orange and pink with a hint of black in the collection are affected by Olafur Eliasson, showing expression, freedom, and hope of what the city has endured. A calmer than red colour, shocking pink conveys compassion and an open heart for both male and female, making them look approachable. Known as an attention caller, orange speaks excitement, and enthusiasm. Black, on the other hand, is a go-to colour in which everybody needs just to give a touch of classical sentiment in dressing.
Katharina Grosse inspires the technique of spray painting that Nic is using. She pushes limitations of the media surroundings by using the body or ceiling of a space. During this process, sculptural garments appear flattened by making color flows and the storyline feel coherent. There is one jumpsuit in the collection full of textures, which has a graphic of Lorem Ipsum all over it. It is a Latin text that means nothing but blabbering words, like a whisper that desperately needs to be heard by people only when they pay attention. There are also graphic prints designed as banners protruding from the shirt tails. Nostalgic, back when garage and jungle culture maniacally excited the UK and the rest of the world, prints and labels were merely more important than the quality of the print itself. Nic reminds people of the importance of looking at things closely.
After seeing Profurniture, there is no expectation to believe Nic’s political beliefs, ideologies and philosophies but to understand that one might not have the same visions and characters based on the historical point of views, cultures, and other self-appropriation elements. It challenges one despite their own personal objections to understand his perspectives.
At the end of the day, Nic has been given carte blanche to explore his collection this season and showed consistency towards the voice he wants to assert. The most critical part of any war, at any period, is to know who your enemy is. One has to be able to emphasise the good while throwing arrows and swords on the bad.
Note: consent given by the respective designer.✿A
