Taking Margiela's Artisanal collection to Kingsland Road

Taken from the summer 2014 issue of Dazed:

For our summer art residency, Lorenzo Vitturi explores the surreal world of the obsessive collector, juxtaposing everyday items from Dalston’s pound shops – which he calls “pop-art destinations” – with Maison Martin Margiela's eclectic spring 2014 Artisanal collection. “I wanted to create a unique and abstract visual composition,” he says, “so you don’t see a difference between the set, the model and the clothes.” 

Behind the Maison’s Artisanal collections are fashion’s most elusive alchemists. For this season, they sourced and resurrected rare objects from the past – a 1920 Bauhaus tapestry, 50s pin-up tattoo embroidery designed by Sailor Jerry, a tapestry of Paul Gauguin’s 1896 painting “La femme du roi” – and turned them into spectacular wearable works of art. It’s a collector’s collection (one item alone could take 110 hours to produce), the creation of which resonates with Vitturi’s own layered and makeshift aesthetic. 

For the shoot, Vitturi took to Ridley Road market, an area that’s been close to the photographer’s heart since he moved from Milan (where he worked as a cinema set painter for erotic director Tinto Brass) seven years ago. Like the surrounding areas of east London, it’s a place that’s fallen victim to gentrification – a theme that manifested in Vitturi’s first photo book, Dalston Anatomy. “I love the energy and the mix of cultures,” he says. “But if there’s one strong indication that Dalston is changing, it’s that all the pound shops are closing down!”

Images from Lorenzo Vitturi's Dalston Anatomy will be exhibited at the Photographers' Gallery between 1 August and 19 October. Click here for more information.

Filmmaker Amy Gwatkin went behind the scenes on the shoot to produce an exclusive flm. See what happened when Margiela met Dalston below:

All clothes by Maison Martin Margiela Artisanal spring 2014; Photography and artworks Lorenzo Vitturi; Styling Robbie Spencer; Hair Kei Terada at Julian Watson Agency; Models Tiara, Julia and Sophie at Storm Model Management; Set design Lorenzo Vitturi, Irene Fuga; Photographic assistant Andy Price; Styling assistants Lizy Curtis, Katy Fox; Hair assistant Takuya Uchiyama; Set-design assistants Abigail Middleton, Dani Sims; Production Francesca Seravalle, Giulia Civardi