Patafisic´s science of imaginary solutions
18. March 2008 Designers & Labels, Knitwear
“…most of all pataphysics is the science of the particular (…) it deals with the rules governed by exceptions and expound a supplementary universe (…) rules are an exception to the exceptions (…) pataphysics is the science of imaginary solutions“. This is how Alfred Jarry explained pataphysics in “L’Echo de Paris litteraire illustré” back in 1893.
Patafisic borrowed the name from Jarry´s absurdistic philosophy and science concept and was established in Florence in 1995 by designers Brenda Cecchi and Andrea Sicuro, as a design studio dealing with fashion, interiors, graphics and live performances. Since 2005, Patafisic is designed exclusively by Brenda Cecci - and when I just came across the website, I was amazed about the highly elaborated pieces that thrill me with their unagitated beauty, awesome details and premium materials. It´s not very often that I wish I could afford to buy 80% of a whole collection…. The timeless and pure pieces are at the same time clear and complex and look so comfortable and playful that i can imagine easily, that if you once wore them, you will hardly doff.
The Patafisics self presentation describes the attitude towards the creation process, the fashion pieces and the work as follows: “As a conscious tribute to the rational absurdity described by Jarry as Pataphysics, the search of Patafisic is focused on the intimate relations between basic and pure concepts and their possible, imaginary, deviant possibilities. Patafisic looks at every item as an object, Each season is not a style, no themes are pre-ordinated, there is no attempt to define a closed and static vision. Every collection is built around a continuous focus on the relation between body and geometrical shapes, the action of wearing and its potential creative consequences. It can starts from a detailed body observation as well from the domain of traditional elements or any possible experiment of (un)conventional wearing.
“Patafisic is a true personal action. It is not couture neither architecture: it is design, in the meaning of care for what it will be. In motion and in meaning, a synthesis of language, design and - mostly - different considerations.”
Furthermore, there´s a list of additional keywords on the website and I would like to pick some, ´cause they complete the self-presentation in a fast and effective way: “objectivity (rigorously objective), geometry (from 2D to 3D), to fold a rectangle, flat thinking (flat), tridimensional wearing (tridimensional), to expand a basic, to expand a detail, anthropometry, movement (to play with), undefined fits, duality, imperfection, slowly wear”.
For those who want to know more - check out the Patafisic webseite here.
Photo credits: Patafisic
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