"It's one of many ways to be a little irreverent". Entrevista a Elena Gallen

Same as Kate Moss, how he reflects on the Fibonacci series in his designs

How can you check Elena Gallen designs from his own conception of life using t-shirts as a support where to reflect, express themselves or merely show their interests and “paranoia”. Here we can learn a little more about the motivations and interests of this designer-artist.

– ¿in your own words, ¿what is Elena Gallen?

I understand what you mean about the brand, that bears my name because it does not have its own entity but is conceived as an extension of my creative work. For me it is one more form of expression that has had a certain commercial impact.. The brand is the link with my followers, enables them to buy my works without being collectors.

– ¿Expressive capacity of a t-shirt? ¿More than a garment?

I conceive it as a support, Nevertheless, On a personal level, I'm not particularly attracted to concept shirts.. I like to collect them but I usually choose to wear plain t-shirts.

– Icon References, like Disney cartoons, logos, symbols, etc… ¿you have to "break" the recognizable?

It is one of the many ways to be a little irreverent.

– ¿What is your favorite market, What type of public is Elena Gallen directed to??

Uhmm… This is a common question in interviews and the truth is that the answer changes with each collection.. My first designs attracted a very specific audience at the beginning, mostly trendsetters, bloggers, fashionistas and people of the night. Large part of the gay public. However, as they became more popular, the target broadened considerably.. The new collection is much more intellectual and less iconic, with which I have managed to reduce the target to a more specific sector.

– Matemáticas en el diseño de moda. Explain us that concept of Sacred Geometry. Very interesting about the golden ratio… ¿How is that reflected in your designs??

This collection is inspired by various mathematical concepts that have interested me for some time and have been researching for several months.. the divine proportion, platonic solids, fractal patterns, la secuencia de Fibonacci, entre otros. There are explicit designs like the Phi, which is a pyramid formed by the golden number with almost all its decimals, and others more tacit, such as the Nautilus Shell Spiral that integrates the spiral natural element par excellence with a human face, implying that the spiral structure is found in countless human features, natural and cosmic (fingerprints, the inner ear, weather events such as hurricanes, the swirls, vegetables like romanescu, the nebulae…). If you are interested in the concepts and ethereal aesthetics that inspire the collection, I edited a very visual fanzine that includes everything. You can get a copy at shop.elenagallen.com

– ¿De donde surge dicha inspiración?

At the time I was listening to the Walls album by Apparat and I started to become obsessed with fractals because of a personal wink. Shortly after, I was shown the beauty mask of the plastic surgeon Marquardt and I began to be interested in the presence of the golden ratio in nature. A few years ago I read a Japanese horror manga called Uzumaki about a people's obsession with natural and artificial spirals.. Remembering him, I decided to investigate with the paranoid chip of his characters how geometry was present in nature., la cultura, the cosmos and the human body itself. The results were surprising.

– ¿How to go from very popular references like the bleeding Kate Moss to references as far removed from the world of fashion as Fibonacci?

In the eyes of those who do not know my interests and my references, it may seem like a huge leap, but the first designs were a game that turned out to be successful and became a standard for my work. That it has made me popular does not mean that it is my usual line of work. In any case, interest in science and the reinterpretation of popular icons are perfectly compatible..

– ¿What is the best and worst of managing an "independent" brand?

The exceptional, the power to create with total freedom, not manufacturing exorbitant amounts and bonding with your public is the first thing that comes to mind. I really do not conceive cons in managing an independent brand because the magic of it lies in its exclusivity and changing any aspect that could be considered uncommercial would clash with its principles.

– what are you thinking now – Next projects, etc…

I just got the new number of FUEGO, the fanzine that I co-edit with Coke Batrina. I have in mind a new collaboration with the French brand Kulte for which I designed a capsule last year. And I'm still working as a freelance art director and designer.. I have finished an installation project together with the French craftsman Nicolas Kien, with backlit boxes carved by hand that is part of the project linked to Sacred Geometry. you can give them a look here.

You can follow her on her página de Facebook.

Imagery:

· LookBook submitted by Elena Gallen. Pictures of Paul Phung

· Illustrative of the post:  Kate Moss (ELENA GALLEN S/S 2008 Luxury & Trash) Photo by Cesar Segarra