Parade

Over the past years, Ashkan Honarvar has been one of the most shared artist here on Another Something. We’ve marveled at many of his projects, and have been following Ashkan for years. His latest project is another very exciting one; this time collaborating with Thomas Bradley, a garment designer working within the framework of costume for dance. The result is a series of 21 collages showcasing Thomas’ 14 garments in the extraordinary Honarvar way.

Thomas Bradley’s work is intuitive, not bound by formal training, and thusly free of any technical know-how, which might pre-define his work. Preferring second-hand objects and fabric off-cuts, his designs emerge from the Chaos of ‘found things’ [which reflect subconscious desires]. Following palette, Order is found in symmetrical or asymmetrical working, depending on the form of the objects and tissues; in this way, he merely frames the spirits of things into his preferential ‘cohesion’. In a manner of speaking, Bradley is less focused on ‘What could be?’ and rather ‘What is?’

The 14 piece collection was produced by Emanuel Gat Dance and Chaillot – Theatre National de la Danse, Paris for a new movement/fashion film by Emanuel Gat / Thomas Bradley.

Thomas about this collaboration:

I fell head over heels into a big pile of glorious shit when I found your work yesterday. I had goose bumps and all kinds of guttural communication between organs and my brain; it resisted words until now, but I’m glad you wrote to me.

This was my first message to Ashkan after discovering his collage work. The sentiment still rings true as I scour over his profile again, reminded of the visceral response I had.
Drawn to his somatic association, the work offers an anatomical and archetypal exploration of the body and its experience. I felt trust in his artistic intuition immediately, appreciating an earthly grounding as well as a dreamlike surrealism. In this way, I feel we operate on a similar frequency, regarding transcendence via the body. This made the collaboration very smooth and concentrated, given that no excess ‘inspiration’ or fashion / art references were added to the conversation. Indeed, they were not needed given the similarity of our aesthetic preferences.
– Thomas Bradley

Ashkan about this collaboration:

“I discovered Thomas Bradley ́s work on Instagram a while back, I remember feeling amazed when I saw his garments for the first time. They were beautifully layered and had a strong sense of human anatomy. They played fluently with shape, colors, and texture. Sometimes it seemed as if they were extensions of the human body, muscles, or organs. These almost bodily modifications/transformations were the main reason why I reached out to Thomas to see if we could collaborate on a project.
Lucky for me, he just had finalized a series of beautifully designed garments for a theater production (Emanuel Gat Dance and Chaillot – Theatre National de la Danse). These creations were photographed by Julia Gat and Emanuel Gat.

And from there on I have used a selection of these photographs to create 21 handmade collages. Every time I tried to react to the garment differently, looking at different textures, layers but also models and poses. What also helped a lot in trying to create these collages was the extensive background information about each garment.”
– Ashkan Honarvar

Shoot credits:
Emanuel Gat Dance
Artistic Director: Emanuel Gat
Company Manager: Marjorie Carré
Tour and production manager: Antonia Auday
Photographers: Emanuel Gat and Julia Gat
Shoe design / production: Oldrich Voyta
Shoe material: Fillamentum Industrial
Hair Lead stylist: Séréna Galati
Make up: Make Up Forever Academy Forever Academy (Boulogne-Billancourt, France)
Hair stylist: Manon Maudous
Costume design: Thomas Bradley
Costume construction : Thomas Bradley and Atelier costumes de Chaillot – Théâtre national de la Danse

And if you want more:
Thomas Bradley
Ashkan Honarvar
Emanuel Gat Dance