Fashion
Il Sarto immortale
(the immortal tailor)
The Digitally Imprinted Clothing of Alba D'urbano
Alba D'urbano has suggested that her new digitally imprinted clothes are appropriate to wear "anywhere". They are being sold, particularly in Europe but also in the United States, as "wearable photography".
D'urbano uses photographs of her own body, manipulates them on her computer and prints the images onto satin which is then cut from patterns. The basic pieces comprise two lengths of dresses, two tops, a coat, an overall, pants and a skirt.
While it is, arguably, an interesting concept for the consumer to parade around in someone else's skin, the fact remains ... the clothing is ugly and could not be worn in broad daylight without creating public outrage.
And yet, New York's prestigious Cooper-Hewitt Museum honored the textile artisty of Alba D'urbano in an exhibit titled "Il Sarto immortale" (the immortal tailor), which ran from May 2002 through mid-September 2002.
Somewhere among the sagging folds of the satin fabric that adorns the bodies of those daring enough to wear D'urbano's clothing, one can sense the snickering smile of the artist herself, as her printed skin steps beyond museum culture onto the runways and fashion boutiques of the world.
The first line, shown at an exclusive boutique in Germany, had hundreds of people gathering at the store's window to stare at the bizarre creations. For those with a reverence for art and for fashion, it will be difficult to determine which has been compromised the most by D'urbano's outrageous fantasy.
