Telfar And A Whole Army Of 3D Printed Models Turn The New Museum Into An Interactive Runway

Courtesy of Dan Lecca.

Avant-garde unisex designer Telfar Clemens likes to go all out when presenting his collections, and this season was no exception. Clemens turned his Telfar autumn/winter 2014 fashion show last Monday into a multimedia bonanza spanning two floors of the New Museum, starting with a larger-than-life—7-feet, that is—3D printed sculpture of himself by Shapeways that greeted guests with a huge smile.

Courtesy of Dan Lecca.

After being ushered upstairs to the top floor of the downtown museum, Telfar put out a collection that was based on size adjustment. “I’m all about adjustable fashion and this collection was based on size and proportion, so everything was bigger, smaller, or it just comes in one size and you can adjust it,” said Clemens. The loose-fitting garments included long monk-like sweaters that were a riff on a shorter version of a past season, along with several oversized peacoats.

Courtesy of Dan Lecca.

Guests headed back down to the first floor after the runway show for an exhibition that encompassed an A/W 2014 Grand Opening Sale featuring #knownewtrends# beanies and totes sponsored by Kmart, along with racks of Telfar t-shirts. On display were tiny 3D printed versions of the models, also by Shapeways, wearing the same looks from the show. It became quite a Meta scene when the models started playing with their mini-mes. “It looks really cool because you could get the individual look, and you can buy the miniature version of each look,” said Clemens.

Courtesy of Dan Lecca.

A teaser of the upcoming video look book that Clemens made in collaboration with artist and art director of the Shanzhai Biennial, Babak Radboy—know for working with artist Marco Brambilla on the Kanye West “Power” video—ran. The models, who were dressed in the same looks that they were in the show, were filmed with a 3D camera in front of a green screen. Radboy later designed a futuristic animated rotating set surrounded by the Telfar image and logo with editor and effects specialist Rodrigo Trombini Pires. “I don’t just want to do something cool,” explained Radboy. “I want to do something that’s really going to make results, so I take it seriously, like a client.” Radboy wanted to make sure that the video really connected to selling and marketing the collection, so he made the looks serve as the video’s centerpiece, while Telfar branding swirled about.

And why does Clemens take this multiplatform approach to fashion? “I think it means more than clothes,” said Clemens. “That’s why I try to show people exactly what this thing does and how that can work for you, so video and technology is like the hugest part of that.”

For more on Telfar at NYFW/The New Museum check out some of our favorite show looks below:

Courtesy of BFA.

Courtesy of BFA.

Courtesy of BFA.

Courtesy of BFA.

You can also visit Telfar's website here.