CGD

The Wardrobe 2 and Wardrobe 3 collections seem part of a single design line – one wardrobe which does not expand every season but rather develops through repetition, shifts and detailing. For Aleš Hnátek, the individual collections remain open units that add further layers to his one approach to garments. Just the essential remains: the most concentrated cuts, constructions and craft processes. What changes based on the availability of fabrics and their combinations are the details, shades and structures.

The garment construction is precise and developed to the last detail, including the reverse sides of fabrics, which Aleš considers as important as the top. For him, a garment is a functional whole that must pull its weight in everyday contexts for as long as possible. Meticulous craftsmanship is standard for him, indeed his entire design approach is based around it. He creates garments from archival, deadstock and recycled fabrics often previously used for other purposes. They usually have a unique, original structure, sometimes even a pattern. He no longer uses upholstery fabrics as in his graduate project for UMPRUM; he has recently rather opted for the most ‘virgin’ materials available, such as high-quality wool, cotton and technical textiles which he decomposes, resews, layers, irons, etc. He does not repress the materials’ past but rather lets it naturally re-enter in new form. Apart from forming the cut and silhouette, the material determines the surface as well. That is why his looks have visible pockets, overlapping zippers and broken seams.

Aleš Hnátek’s shapeshifting approach runs along two main lines – the materials he uses and his design approach. His graduate work Wardrobe 1 spilled over into the second Wardrobe, and that into the third. They overlap. Certain cuts appear again in altered form while other outfits are made by actual salvage of the previous pieces. The process of resewing, deconstruction and subsequent re-definition is a natural part of Aleš’s work. Wardrobe 3 extends this continuity further, adding new textures, patterns and technical details that shape the already-existing system. But the spotlight remains on basic garment types – pants, shirts, coats and jackets. These pieces best show the designer’s maturity and ability to design a garment that would not rely on a momentary effect but would work in the long term, in various contexts and situations. The garments show their full potential only when worn, as that is when they react to the movement, proportions and individuality of their wearer. They often look very different and much less conspicuous on a clothes rack.

Handbags comprise an important part of the collection. Aleš creates them from massive pieces of leather that are often hard to tame – he does not force them to conform to any predetermined form. He rather lets the material naturally crease and fold in its own way. The handbags’ shapes develop from the weight of the material and the ways they are worn, making them objects rather than accessories in the classical sense.

In the context of contemporary fashion, it is interesting that the Wardrobe collections do not take emotions as their main focus. They do not aim to create a vibe, act as (self)therapy or a manifesto of an ego. We do not identify with Aleš’s designs in terms of style but rather through our very being. Wardrobe is an autonomous world that is being developed at the designer’s own pace. This wardrobe is becoming ever more particular, dense and profound, and testifies to the designer’s firm position and long-term potential. Each of us is sure to revisit such a stable fashion style in ten, twenty, even thirty years.

Danica Kovářová

Aleš Hnátek recently graduated from the studio of Fashion and Footwear Design at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague and, although it may at first seem contradictory, his Wardrobe 1 collection is as poetic as it is realist. And that’s how it should be, because this graduate work and never-ending collection will keep growing even after he leaves school. It is just extremely personal for him.

An ambitious young man dazzled by the Arte Povera movement collects upholstery and covers from used armchairs and couches, hunts among deadstock, and receives strips of fabric from his friends and family. He uses these (along with discarded towels) to make sophisticated garments and shoes. He disrupts traditional forms, shifts proportions, switches from coarse to smooth, from rough to elegant; but he is, most importantly, trying to make his clothes affordable and open to everyone. Perhaps this is naive, but all the more determined and genuine. And his effective price-making shows that he has been successful in his mission. Aleš is able to balance his punkish source materials with the difficult craft in the studio, offering the resulting outfit at an affordable price.

On an intellectual level, his collection is perhaps more complex than he would let on. As per the style of his beloved Arte Povera movement, the collection avoids the impulse to take on overdetermined themes, so as not to paint over the simple sensations provided by the things in themselves. Perhaps this is the reason Aleš’s work often remains misunderstood by a large segment of his audience. But that needn’t be a bad thing; it would be much worse if he settled for compromise. The aim to “design an outfit which just is” would however require a more precise distancing from the context of contemporary fashion brands. “I place the incongruous together. Some garments give a sense of being unfinished, which contrasts with the precise crafting of some of their inner linings. I assemble these seemingly antagonist materials into compositions which are unexpectedly harmonious,” explains the designer. “I think a fitting modus operandi for today’s world consists in working on never-ending collections. We don’t have to begin from scratch each time, but can develop and complement what’s already there. Further and further, one step at a time.” Aleš’s outfits are not weighed down with gender stereotypes and he doesn’t even assemble “looks.” He rather offers the building blocks of a wardrobe repurposed according to his vision, and assumes that the character of each client will do its thing and will give the individual pieces a mark of authenticity. The form fills itself with content.

Jan Králíček