Chalayan - One Hundred and Eleven Collection (Robotic Couture)

The final six looks from Hussein Chalayan's S/S '07 show, the 'One Hundred and Eleven Collection,' as revealed in Paris, October 2006. A show that has had extensive coverage on the internet, but demands repeated viewing for its combination of technological innovation, fashion critique, and spectacle. Culminating in a series of robotic dresses, which transform iconic historical fashion silhouettes in a mechanised instant - from the hourglass Dior New Look to the Paco Rabanne metal-link shift, for example. Listen out also for the highly sophisticated sound design of the runway show, taking in Reich-ian handclaps, ambient military-industrial noises and a slowed down phrase from 'Anarchy in the UK' . A 2o minute 'making of' video exploring the project's fruition can be found here, courtesy of SHOWstudio. Click here for the complete collection in photographs, and here for the (roboticless) first part of the collection in video.