Alexander van Slobbe

The exhibition Unresolved Matters refers among other things to the longing for nature and the designers’ task to design from the view of a new ‘natural’ relation to the body. In the Netherlands, Alexander van Slobbe’s designs are known to have a distinct connection with views of Henri van der Velde and the ‘freie korper’ culture of the first half of the twentieth century; a tradition that Mr. Van Slobbe mingled with the abstractions of designer Balenciaga and modernism. Recently he said in an interview: “I do not make statues with legs. I am interested in the unicity of a woman; I design clothes that will get its definitive character only when related to her.”

This idea is made explicit in the 2009 winter collection. The basis is a right-angled pattern which is so often used in orson + bodil’s collections. This right angle is locally tied with ribbons to the body and creates a new silhouette or a different kind of fold. In other words, the form of a garment is never conclusive but will get its final form by the proportions of the right angle to the body, the material and how the ribbons are placed.

Alexander van Slobbe: “In my view, a period will dawn in which we no longer want to be like the logo of a brand. I hope to see a more democratic relation with a public in which I as a designer no longer set the scene but offer conditions. I aim to have an intimate relationship with a user, not via the camera but by its use!”

Alexander van Slobbe will hold a retrospective at the Centraal Museum, Utrecht from February 2010.