Meet Isabelle de Borchgrave, the Belgian artist who utilizes paper to recreate fashion!
- Isabelle’s great art is on display now at the SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film
- She is the Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave
- She recreates the fashion of historical importance not from cloth but from paper
Sounds interesting!
The exhibition at SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film
Presently, there is an exhibition ongoing at the SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film. On display, there are dresses of historical fashion. Mannequins are seen wearing court gowns of Queen Elizabeth I and crinoline tutus of the Ballets Russes.
It is a breathtaking beauty. ‘Silk’ can be seen pooled at the feet of some of the figures. Some are wearing beaded bodices enhanced by the light falling on them.
But as you move closer to the mannequins, you realize that the material used for the dresses is not silk at all. Neither are the beads for real. It is all PAPER.
Isabelle de Borchgrave and her paperwork of art
Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave has designed all these paper dresses that look so real. It is called fashioning art from paper and Isabelle started it at an early age.
Isabelle was just 14 when she decided that she did not want to attend regular school. She decided to focus her complete attention on learning only drawing. She had supportive parents who agreed to her request for the switch.
Isabelle joined the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels and sketched nude models for 3 years. She visited several museums to get more inspiration. She has, no formal training in fashion. But that itself boosted her creativity. She told Mental Floss:
“I never studied fashion—that means I stay really free,”
Isabelle starts fashion designing
Isabelle commenced with making hand-rubbed dresses which she would either wear herself or sometimes also sell. A visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art changed her life. She decided now to paint on paper.
She saw the work of French designer Yves Saint Laurent and said:
“I was so touched by the beauty, by the elegance, by the fabrics, and I wanted to have everything for me,”
She began reconstructing garments from paper. She added:
“When I finish a dress, I put it in a room. I don’t show it to anybody. But I feel better, because I have done something I can be proud of.”
But when people came to know of her extraordinary paperwork, her talent was out in the open. And then came exhibitions. She uses papers of various types such as a thin, gauzy paper from England for veils and some lace trimmings. But mostly she uses inexpensive paper which is used for chocolate wrapping in Belgium.
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Her designs capture the spirit of the historical styles and she does do some alterations to the original pattern. But the resemblance is uncanny and you cannot but appreciate her great creativity and skill with the simple paper.
Source: mental floss
