‘Avant Garde’, the French term that pushed the boundaries of creativity and revolutionized many industries like art, architecture, literature, music and most importantly fashion. Avant Garde means ‘advanced guard’ and is synonymous to works that are innovative, radical, out of the box and ahead of their time period. It has been prevailing through over a century and is considered to be an art movement like Modernism, Expressionism, etc.
In Fashion, Avant Garde is considered to be wearable art rather than clothing. Through years, many notable designers chose fabric and clothing as a medium to portray a story, feeling or message, and completely changed the way people perceive about clothes. Avant Garde marked the beginning of clothes with unconventional structure, new forms and an extraordinary touch that separated these clothing from that of the mainstream clothing.
Its Evolution in Fashion
Avant Garde fashion traces back its roots to Japanese designers and is claimed to have began in the 1920’s. Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo and Junja Watanabe are few Japanese designers whose designs have been a great source of inspiration to many designers. Yohji is claimed to be one of the very few Avant Gardists who was successfully able to incorporate his avant garde style into mainstream fashion brands. The Adidas-Yohji collaboration, known as Y-3 brand, has built a new ground in fashion wear, where the designer has intertwined a non conformist approach to his designs.
Image Source: www.store.y-3.com
Over the years, designers chose Avant Garde as the medium to stay away from the main stream commercial fashion and create their own distinct style in clothing. While some designers worked on the silhouettes, future possibilities in fashion, few created clothing that were never understood by common audiences. Victor & Rolf, Vivienne Westood, John Galliano and Manish Arora are few of today’s contemporary Avant Garde Designers who have found a large number of clientele, including many Hollywood celebrities for their Avant Garde designs.
Here, we bring to you these designers’ Avant Garde collections and we leave it to you to decide whether its art, fashion or just plain creativity!
Famous Avant Garde Designers and Their Collections
Viktor & Rolf
The duo, Victor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, commonly known as Victor & Rolf are known for their surrealistic designs that stand as examples for ‘work of art’ within the fashion industry. Their designs are highly structured, sophisticated and distinct with high collars, wide variety of materials and distorted proportions. The Dutch designers first exhibited their collection in 1993 and from then their collection has always been a head turner to all in the industry.
Eco conscious fashion has been the duo’s main theme for the past few years and the recent collection had models dressed up as dolls with over-sized heads wearing up-cycled clothes. All the dolls were wearing jackets that had ruffles, frills, smocking and gathers. While walking up the ramp the models kept their doll heads and later they revealed themselves. Diversity was beautifully embraced by the designers with different kinds of dolls: Black, Asian and White. Below are some of the designs from their recent Autumn/Winter 2017 collection.
Image Source: www.irenebrination.typepad.com
Vivienne Westwood
This British designer is largely credited for bringing ‘punk’ style to fashion and for introducing the innerwear like corsets as outerwear. Often cited as the ‘Mother of Punk’, Westwood brought this subcultural style that included safety pins, razor blades and the household tartan fabric to fashion’s forefront in the 1970’s. The designer is known showcasing her collections as a platform to campaign for positive activism (against war and climate change). At 72, her designs are still evolving and authentic, and the recent menswear collection is a classic example to her design ideologies.
Images Credit: www.vogue.com
John Galliano
John Galliano, the name that changed the face of fashion with his daring, out-of-the-box designs. He is known for bringing back romantic themes into fashion and for his delicate and extremely well tailored garments. John Galliano has been the design head for many big names in the fashion industry, including Christian Dior and Givenchy. Though he goes on and off within the industry due to personal reasons, he manages to come back with great glory and success with his talent undiluted through difficult times. John Galliano is currently the creative director of Maison Margiela, a French based luxury fashion house. For the recent 2017 summer collection, the designer collaborated with Fabric artist Benjamin to create portraits made of tulle fabric. Elaborate garments with romantic ruffles and layers of fanric that graced the feminine persona stood true to his design philosophy and he once again proved that he can never be replaced. Below are some of his designs from 2017 summer collection.
John Galliano and Benjamin; Images Source: www.wmagazine.com
Manish Arora
Called as the Indian John Galliano, Arora’s designs has brought in a whole revolution of couture in India. Bright hues, psychedelic and surreal prints, juxtaposing surfaces, exaggerated silhouettes and flattering fabrics that enhance feminity are some of the trademark of his designs.
Below are some of his creations from his recent Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter 2017 collection. Heavily embellished lehengas, tiered dresses, sweatshirts all having plenty of colors were the signature of this collection. Looking at his collection makes us wonder how the designer has beautifully managed to incorporate so many colors and still achieve harmony? No one can deny that this great designer is the ‘king of colors’.
Images Source: www.vogue.in
It is very exciting to see how each of these designers have incorporated their signature design philosophies into their designs and created sophisticated, intriguing, and striking clothes that separate themselves from the mainstream fashion industry. Avante Garde, now, is truly the style that is defined through a designer’s personality.
FAQs
A good definition for avant-garde fashion is “a forward-looking movement animated by innovative designers and artists who dare to go against the mainstream and propose ideas that stand out from the conventional”.
What is an example of avant-garde fashion? ›
Avant-garde clothing is usually voluminous and textured with inspiration from cultures. These are wearable work of art that uses the body as a vessel but do not burn attention. The fur helps to conceal the body. A clear example of this is the Rei Kawakubo spring/summer collection known as Lumps and Bumps.
Who introduced the avant-garde concept of fashion? ›
Some of the most well-known originators of the avant-garde movement in fashion are Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo and Martin Margiela. Other notable mentions include Boris Bidjan Saberi (BBS), CCP, Julius and Rick Owens.
Is avant-garde a fashion trend? ›
The avant garde movement in fashion is based on fresh, forward-thinking and is generally unorthodox and experimental in concept. Mixed into this new and often considered unusual style movement is the desire for minimalism.
What are the 5 characteristics of avant-garde? ›
Bold, innovative, progressive, experimental—all words that describe art that pushes boundaries and creates change. These characteristics are also all associated with a term that is often used but sometimes misconceived—avant-garde.
What are the characteristics of avant-garde fashion? ›
In fashion, avant-garde manifested in a similar way to other fields. It presumes forward thinking, artistry, unconventional designs, new forms, structures and an extraordinary touch that separates the ideas from the mainstream. Avant garde fashions distinguishes itself through the fact that it embodies a way of living.
What is the American avant-garde? ›
Henry M. Sayre. Sayre defines for the first time the apparently diffuse avant-garde art of the past two decades in terms of its distinctly postmodern concerns. The range of arts discussed here encompasses contemporary dance, photography, oral poetics, performance art, and earthworks.
What is avant basic fashion? ›
The term Avant-Basic thus refers to the kind of maximalist, extravagant and hyper-colored aesthetics that have conquered social media and spanned different areas, from fashion to design to art thanks to the super-popular DIY home decor and fashion videos.
Where did avant-garde fashion start? ›
According to legend, avant-garde fashion first appeared in the 1920s and has Japanese designers to thank for its origins. A few Japanese designers whose works have served as a major source of inspiration for many other designers include Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo, and Junja Watanabe.
Why is it called avant-garde? ›
French for “advanced guard,” originally used to denote the vanguard of an army and first applied to art in France in the early 19th century. In reference to art, the term means any artist, movement, or artwork that breaks with precedent and is regarded as innovative and boundaries-pushing.
Haute couture, which is a term for expensive, frequently extremely detailed designs created by major fashion houses, literally translates to high-end fitting or fashion design. The term "avant-garde" does not refer to a certain type of consumer.
Who is the American father of avant-garde? ›
Jonas Mekas (1922 – 2019) – Godfather of American Avant-Garde Cinema.
What is the synonym of avant-garde? ›
synonyms for avant-garde
advanced. ahead of its time. cutting-edge. experimental. groundbreaking.
Is avant-garde a theme? ›
Block themes continue to trickle into the WordPress theme directory. Classic design submissions still outpace them by margins that make it look like blocks are not even in the race yet.
What is Bella Hadid fashion style called? ›
March 15, 2022. Along with her sister Gigi, Bella Hadid has pretty much ruled the street style universe for the past few years. The two top models are snapped almost daily in eye-catching ensembles that not only push forward major trends, but also set them, too.
What are the three dimensions of the avant-garde? ›
Theories and historiographies of the avant-garde have tended to emphasize one of the three dimensions of this basic ideological metaphor—political, formal, and temporal-historical—while downplaying or even excluding the others.
What are the rules for creating avant-garde looks? ›
When creating an avant garde look, avoid putting too much in one image. Keep the focus on the hair and don't over do the styling. I've seen some collections that are more millinery than hairdressing, which defeats the object in my opinion. Producing striking hair should always be front of mind.
What is special about avant-garde? ›
Although the term avant-garde was originally applied to innovative approaches to art making in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it is applicable to all art that pushes the boundaries of ideas and creativity, and is still used today to describe art that is radical or reflects originality of vision.
What are the elements of avant-garde? ›
Hint, metaphor, symbol, association, imagery, synesthesia and perception are widely used in avant-garde music techniques to excavate the mystery of human heart and the flow of consciousness, so that many seemingly unrelated but essentially very important events interweave into multi-level structures and forms.
Why is avant-garde important? ›
Avant garde art became a symbol of progress, exploration and innovation, of everything and anyone ahead of their time and ways of doing. Picture of the 1898 Salon de Refuses in Paris, the “salon of the rejected” established in 1863.
American Gothic is a work by the artist Grant Wood. It was produced in 1930 and is categorized under the Regionalism movement in art. It is the reaction against avant-garde styles and the preference for rural subjects and realist style in painting.
What are the two avant gardes? ›
Film history has developed unevenly, so that in Europe today there are two distinct avant-gardes. The first can be identified loosely with the Co-op movement. The second would include film-makers such as Godard, Straub and Huillet, Hanoun, Jancso.
Why did the avant-garde end? ›
But the nascent art market in London and Paris was cut short by another World War and the art scene moved to New York. It was here in the post-war financial capital, New York, that the avant-garde really entered its death throes.
What is the difference between avant-garde and Avant basic? ›
To be avant-garde is to defy norms and rather than simply being ahead of trends, to be immune to them entirely. And on the other hand, basic means the total opposite. To be common, generic and eye-rollingly predictable.
What is Avant apocalypse fashion? ›
Avant Apocalypse is a fashion aesthetic characterised by neutral maximalism and wearing pieces incorrectly. The aesthetic contains elements of Plaguecore and Post-Apocalyptic, as well as upcycling and subversive basics.
Which are the main avant-garde movements? ›
Here are some of the major twentieth-century avant-garde art movements:
- Abstract Expressionism.
- Constructivism.
- Cubism.
- Dadaism.
- Expressionism.
- Futurism.
- Impressionism.
- Minimalism.
"Certainly the painter who best embodies the dual implications - both artistically and politically progressive - of the original usage of the term "avant-garde" is Gustave Courbet and his militantly radical Realism."
What is the difference between avant-garde and modernism? ›
While the avant-garde uses drastic new ideas to express and reinforce dramatic political and social changes, modernism attempts to celebrate modern society without connecting artwork back to life.
Is avant-garde the same as surrealism? ›
While surrealism was most certainly born out of the avant-gardes of the early Twentieth century, it claims to be different in kind. Firstly, the cultural avant-gardes are concerned as much as anything else with novelty.
Is Paris avant-garde? ›
Paris, France
Modernism, the characteristic style of cutting-edge art and literature in the first half of the 20th century, was born there, which is why avant-garde artists and writers from all over the world would flock to Paris until the beginning of WWII.
With this mode of aesthetic production the concept of the avant-garde was reinvigorated much beyond the creation of a new style. He had no time for high avant-garde art.
What does avant stand for? ›
Avant- is a prefix meaning “before” or “forward.” It is very occasionally used in some technical terms. Avant- comes from French avant, meaning “before.” Avant, in turn, derives from Latin ante, “before,” which is the source of the English combining form ante-.
What is the meaning of garde? ›
Noun. garde (plural gardes) guardianship, safeguarding, covering, authority.
Is futurism avant-garde? ›
Futurism is an avant-garde movement founded in Milan in 1909 by the Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti.
What is Zoe Kravitz fashion style? ›
Zoë Kravitz's Style
Zoë's personal style can be best described as comfortable edge. She always manages to look cool, edgy and extremely comfortable in whatever outfit she happens to be wearing.
What type of face is Gigi Hadid? ›
If you have a round face like Gigi Hadid, go with long layers.
What fashion style is Twilight? ›
The style as a whole is compromised of many different clothing pieces, notably low rise bootcut jeans, henley shirts, camisoles, peasant blouses, converse, v-necks, boots, and long layered necklaces.
Where did avant-garde fashion originate? ›
According to legend, avant-garde fashion first appeared in the 1920s and has Japanese designers to thank for its origins. A few Japanese designers whose works have served as a major source of inspiration for many other designers include Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo, and Junja Watanabe.
