Tuesday 26 January 2010

Imagining Oscar

Hormazd Narielwalla's latest creation, Oscar.

I first came across Hormazd Narielwalla's work at EXIT Gallery's "A Fairytale About Fashion" exhibition. Narielwalla's Dead Man’s Patterns was a design story, beneath the trappings of menswear into the book, the man, the pattern, and his images really captured my imagination. and I just had to post about it. I have kept in close contact with Hormazd since falling for his artwork and he has just sent me through his latest work, Oscar. Fresh from exhibiting his last body of work at Paul Smith's Furnishing Gallery, Hormazd has imagined Oscar, an old English eccentric brought to life by old bespoke Savile Row suit patterns belonging to men who are sadly no longer with us....

Hormazd Narielwalla's work originates from sets of bespoke patterns belonging to now deceased former customers and from a by-gone era. Everyone sees the finished suit, yet few are privy to that private dialogue which assesses, measures, and catalogues the subtle details which make up one single man and his suit. These patterns have recorded a history of intimate dialogues of customer measurements and fittings over a lifetime but no longer have any practical use to the cutter and are often discarded. The talented artist takes these fragile pieces of parchment out of their original context and breathes fresh life in to the creases and careful folds, along finely traced pencil marks and measurements, giving them a new lease of life as art objects.

Hormazd's creations channels the quirky sense of English tailoring style which is a fundamental facet of Savile Row. They remind me of the E. Tautz film presentation last season. E. Tautz is a label which offers simple tailoring with a little something extra, a bit of pomp, colour, a sense of humour and that Quentin Jones film captures it all. Here Hormazd has gone a little deeper and has exposed that wry smile, sharp wit and sense of eccentricity prevalent within so much of English tailoring.

4 comments:

J said...

These made me chuckle. Oscar is a true English gent. I particularly love the bow ties and mustaches.

Make Do Style said...

Love the colour injections to the yellowy beige base. Great illustrations, Oscar is a delight, pity I shan't be bumping in to him.

Matthew Spade said...

these are abit silly arent they, thats what we need in this serious fashion world from time to time.

certainly different!

Style Salvage Steve said...

J: Yes, these should bring a smile to your face and I agree, Oscar certainly knows how to wear his accessories.
Make Do Style: I might channel a little of Oscar in the coming months...so all going well, you might just see a version of him wandering the streets.
Mat: After so much talk of fashion week these offer a welcome reprieve. We need to be reminded that dressing, even in Savile Row bespoke tailoring requires a little pomp and humour.

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