Daydream Nation At The ICA
Published 34 months ago
Daydream Nation is a fashion/theatre project by brother and sister Kay and Jing Wong.
- Text by Sonia Zhuravlyova
Daydream Nation is a fashion/theatre project by brother and sister Kay and Jing Wong, both Central St Martins graduates. Their aim is to design garments that tell stories. "Daydream Nation is the name of a Sonic Youth album," says Jing, "but it only struck me one day when I read about a theatre director called Phelim McDermott who believed that society has a 'Racism against Daydreamers'. Being born in the rigid Hong Kong education system that stifles creativity, we found it our mission to cultivate a culture of imagination."
Their AW 08 collection, "Good Night Deer", tells the Kafka-esque story of a deer hunter who wakes one day and finds himself transformed into the deer he killed. Accompanied by the caterwauling band Naked with Horses, who are dressed up in deer head-gear, the models slowly act out the scenes of the tale.
Jing's specialty is theatre and Kay is the authority on fashion. Although billed as a fashion-meet-theatre experience, this performance is of course a vehicle to showcase the designers' pieces. "The idea came from a comic I saw on the internet," says Jing. "A couple are going to bed, the husband turns to his wife and says 'good night honey' - and she's really a pot of honey, and she turns around and says 'good night dear' - and he's really a deer. This is where the name for the collection comes from. The name reflects that it's an autumnal collection, the colours are dark."
The result is more creative freedom that either a conventional theatrical experience or a run-of-the-mill fashion show could allow. By creating a catwalk narrative, the garments are allowed to come alive. Some of them are unbelievable creations - like the two-man trouser suit which forms the deer - and the majority of garments get the space and time that they wouldn't on a conventional catwalk. It's clear from the performances that you'd be able to move around freely in Jing and Kay's fey creations.
