Being Born Again Couture initiates partnerships between leading designers and artists to develop one-off couture garments and ready-to-wear art collections.
Each designer’s garments have been created directly in response to a chosen artwork incorporating, the colours, patterns and linear elements, to produce theatrical couture garments and entire art to wear collections. The textures and colours of these art works are being given shape and form and vice versa, blending the boundaries between fashion and art as separate means of expression.
Being Born Again Couture’s focus is on the crazy, yet the beautiful; the obsessive, yet the controlled. The colours of art and the shapes of the fashion musically harmonize into a united explosion of texture and style, creating cohesive and unforgettable enchantments
The quality garments debuting represent a creative statement from the artists without the limitation of mass production concerns and will create revolutionary fashions that are more than just apparel. Their fantastic vision was skillfully shown off, and offered the lure of collectability of an exquisite object in its own right.
Being Born Again Couture is an experiment in collaborative matchmaking and a platform for a new kind of creative synthesis of art, fashion, and performance propelled by the idea of Founder and Managing Director, Davina Reichman
Davina Reichman
Davina played matchmaker, pairing each of these designers up with Australian and international artists, including Akira Isogawa with Lindy Lee, Marnie Skillings with Tracey Moffat, Michael Lo Sordo with Chris Horder, Nicola Finetti with Guy Peppin, and ANTO with Casi((O)) Ono.
cell block theatre, darlinghurst , sydney
In spaces transformed by large-scale art installations, Being Born Again Couture creates innovative musical and theatrical performances to celebrate this unique melding of art and fashion
Akira Isogawa/Lindy Lee, Michael LoSordo/Christopher Horder, Nicola Finetti/Guy Peppin and DEmbyDavina/Susan Andrews collaborations
All these works of textile art/artistic fashion were unveiled on the 15th of April alongside the musical talents of Guineafowl, MA, Jack Colwell & The Owls and art installations from JD Reforma, Rosie Deacon, not to mention the theatrical headgear of Shayli Harrison.
Art student Emily Fitzgerald and Being Born Again Couture’s Davina Reichman wearing their own creations
Akira Isogawa and Lindy Lee for Being Born Again Couture 2010
Isogawa has collaborated with first generation Chinese Australian Lindy Lee whose work can be seen at the National Gallery of Australia and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
The special collaboration of Lindy Lee & Akira Isogawa for Being Born Again Couture was recently featured on the cover of Northside Magazine.
Juz Kitson for Being Born Again
The models will have different looks created according to each garment with varying coloured hair styles and makeup, wearing unique pieces of Juz Kitson’s jewellery which have been specifically crafted for this show. Her collection has been acquired by MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) in Tasmania.
Susie Williams for the Being Born Again light display
For Being Born Again Couture Susie Williams created this magical peacock in keeping with animal themes.
Shayli Harrison
Shayli Harrison has designed some incredible new headpieces for the spring launching showcase! We are in love with Shayli’s work for Being Born Again Couture, where she designed the head piece for Akira Isogawa and Lindy Lee’s couture garment.
Anto in collaboration with Casi((o)) ONO
ANTO & her partner in crime CASI((O)) ONO, referred to as simply (O), create interesting objects which reminisce with strange creatures from another land or underworld. In keeping with sea-green and electric blue colour schemes. Anto also made hundreds of bright yellow and fluro orange crochet flowers, which the Cell Block Theatre hall was decorated in.
Nicola Finetti in Collaboration with Guy Peppin
The Nicola Finetti label was launched in Australia in 1995 and has been selling nationally in leading boutiques and giant department stores around the world. Nicola Finetti has now secured leading stockists in Singapore, Dublin, Dubai, Kuwait, LA, New York and Moscow. Nicola Finetti is the latest label to gain cult status and inspire interest around the world.
Finetti has an established client base that spans through to celebrities such as Naomi Watts, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Hawkins, Dannii Minogue, Dita Von Teese, Kristy Hinz to name a few.
Sarah Breen Lovett
Sarah Breen Lovett is a moving image artist whose work lies at intersection of expanded cinema and architecture. Her moving images and interactive installations have been exhibited at film festivals and exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne, London, Dublin and Rome.
Sarah is currently carrying out her architectural PhD with a specific focus on the intersections of light and shadow in architecture to engage experiential awareness of our surroundings and create alternate architectural encounters.
Mies Nobis in Collaboration with Parris Dewhurst
Mies Nobis in Collaboration with Parris Dewhurst
Mies Nobis is an innovative young fashion/jewellery designer with a fascination for hand crafts, repetition, fabric manipulation and offbeat materials. This has resulted in unique pieces such as a hand knitted evening gown, fly screen mesh jewellery and a dress created from recycled felted jumpers.
Mies has worked with labels Hannah McNicol and Scissors Paper Block and can currently be found discovering Berlin and generally being creative, arty and slightly dishevelled. Mies graduated from The Sydney Design Studio in 2009.
This gorgeous creation for the Being Bron Again Couture is intricate in it’s repeated painted motif, by painter Paris Dewhurst. A controlled structure is created by Mies Nobis, with the sleek silhouette of the tight fitted body contrasted against the voluminous forms of the hand died sleeves
Parris Dewhurst is an emerging artist based in Sydney. Influenced by Japanese pop art, and the innocence and naivety of children’s drawings she works in a wide range of mediums including illustration, painting, animation and textiles.
Parris’ work is a form of genre art- a social commentary. Documenting images from every day life, particularly her personal experiences. Often drawing from darker subjects like pain and injury, her bright and quirky images are more than what meets the eye. The childlike style and innocent qualities in her work can be unnerving.
The Horder /Lo Sordo Collaboration in a different light.
Dhini & Pat Brassington collaboration in white with Leigh Schubert & Susan Andrews collaboration.
The Anna Shin stockings, with Susan Andrews/D&Em by Davina collaboration. In hibiscus pink, the Susan Andrews/Leigh Schubert collaboration proved magical
Immense inspiration from these individual artist/designer pairings will be taken from such brilliant creative exchanges. Visual light projections of all artists/designer collaborations will be on display, highlighting a developed description of each unique amalgamation. Being Born Again Couture events are planned as annual major shows, worldwide, harnessing the creative abilities of artists by developing an original event.
This was a visceral and intellectual experience at the intersection of art, fashion, music, installation and design that will blur and fuse the lines between these entities.
