4 Fashion Collections Inspired by Buildings

Fashion companies are drawing their inspiration from architecture. Of course, fashion and architecture are two sectors that mutually inspire each other. Designers explore the connection and interaction between architecture and fashion.

They also study the purpose that both fashion and architecture share. This is creating refuges for the human body. The designers also focus on the visual impact of their creative processes.

Fashion designers find inspiration in different movements and styles, including minimalism, modernism, and postmodernism. They play with traits and geometric elements such as folds, curves, and embossing.

Furthermore, fashion has also found inspiration in specific buildings from around the world. Let’s look at some of the most interesting fashion collections that were inspired by buildings.

Buildings – Louis Vuitton and Luis Barragan

First on our list is the Louis Vuitton’s 2016 Spring-Summer collection. It was directed by Nicolas Ghesquiere and is a great example of the bond between fashion and architecture. The inspiration for flowed from the famous Mexican architect, Luis Barragan— more specifically his Cuadra San Cristobal.

The collection features futuristic monochrome articles. It also uses tall, smooth pink and purple walls in the background. Together, these elements mimic the vibrant colors of the collection.  The colors were inspired by the emotional architecture of Barragan.

This Spring-Summer campaign featured Lea Seydoux as the model and Patrick Demarchelier as the photographer. It captured Barragan’s breathtaking scale and colorwork. Additionally, elements that reoccur in his work also had a background presence.

“I have devoted myself to architecture as a sublime act of poetic imagination. Consequently, I am only a symbol for all those who have been touched by beauty.”

Luis Barragan

Viktoria Lytra, architectonic exploration and fashion

Viktoria Lytra is a Greek architect who has designed a series of dresses that explore the relationship between architecture and fashion. She focuses on the influence that architecture has on fashion, and creates vanguard pieces.

This famous architect creates pieces that recreate iconic buildings. She works with Forms Follows Fashion, an ambitious fashion, and architectural project. Also, she analyzes the geometric shapes of buildings that impress with their curves, lines or entire shape.

Viktoria uses buildings like the Elbphilharmonie by Herzog & de Meuron in Hamburg or the Guggenheim Museum by Frank Lloyd Wright in New York for inspiration.

Collections inspired by buildings

Next, Honduran designer Carlos Campos finds inspiration in the buildings of Spaniard Santiago Calatrava. As a result, he’s used this to create a Spring-Summer collection for men.

Campos has always expressed his admiration for the Spanish architect. They first met in New York, when Calatrava invited Campos to assist him with staging the New York City Ballet’s 50th anniversary.

Campos has stated that he fell in love with Calatrava’s building that evokes a human torso. The building, Turning Torso, is a 190-meter-tall residential skyscraper in Sweden.

Guo Pei, inspiration from Gothic buildings

Fashion designer Guo Pei’s incredible collection also proves that there’s a dialog between haute couture and architecture. The designer draws from the exceptional beauty of Gothic buildings, particularly arches and spires.

The Chinese designer describes her work as “a dialogue between the human body and spatial dimension.” 

Time flows steadily while architecture remains unchanged.

The dresses in this collection are precise and created as though they were architectural structures. They are eye-catching because they project outwards, creating shapes that evoke Gothic churches.

Guo Pei faced the immense feat of converting tall, stony Gothic buildings into designer fashion pieces. The project called for incredible skill and the application of various techniques. Despite the challenges, the results are a true treat for anyone who loves architecture and fashion.

As you’ve read today, architecture and fashion are connected. In fact, they often intertwine, following the same path.

In summary, this beautiful synergy presents amazing high-end fashion collections. This proves that these two creative disciplines have the same goal – to fill our lives with unique experiences.