When everyone is going fast, Tilda Swinton slows down. The Oscar-winning actress has come together with fashion curator Olivier Saillard to present her latest project: “Eternity Dress” – a very special new, ballet-like performance in Paris which follows the design of one dress, made directly on Tilda Swinton’s body, from the measuring up to the creation of the pattern, from the cut to the sewing together.
During their fifty-one-minute performance starring which was sponsored by Chloé and staged at the École des Beaux-Arts as part of the annual French Festival d’Automne, Saillard and Swinton explored the art of dressmaking. Instead of mass production, high speed and an ongoing pressure on everyone working in there, the renowned fashion director, author and poet as well as Tilda Swinton thereby pointed the way to an alternative way of thinking and acting in fashion. These are not equal circumstances but what is shared at the heart of them all is the act of designing and creating which is a skill that often gets lost in the muddle when we talk about fashion. Inspired by a 1950s method found in the museum’s collections, “Eternity Dress” reminiscences about the art of true creation, initiates an archeology of the craft and resonates with the history of fashion.
While IWISHUSUN aims to change our handling and understanding of fashion and to create a win-win-situation that gives you a great product and at the same time saves another person’s eyesight, Olivier Saillard takes up another unusual position by creating a contemplative moment within the fast pace of fashion today. Learn more about the performance “Eternity Dress” here.
Photo: Olivier Saillard/ Tilda Swinton – Eternity Dress. © Vincent Lappartient.
