A SURREAL MACHINE
CRITIQUING THE CURRENT STATE OF ST. PETERSBURG – SATURATED WITH THE IMPORTED FASHION, INEFFECTIVE COMMERCIALISATION STRATEGIES, AND THE SUPERFICIAL PARTY-HOPPING ACROSS UNDERUSED LANDMARKS - I PROPOSE A NEW LOCAL FASHION HUB THAT WILL LINK THE TWO CORE TYPOLOGIES OF THE CITY, THE FACTORY AND THE PALACE. I WANT TO BRING THE PRODUCTION BACK INTO THE CITY AGAIN, REINVENT THE FASHION VANGUARD AND GIVE THE PALACE SITE A NEW STATUS. I AIM TO REDEFINE THE LOCAL CREATIVE INDUSTRY TO COMPETE WITH OTHER FASHION CAPITALS SUCH AS MILAN AND PARIS.
WHILE TODAY THE PALACES ARE DESERTED MUSEUMS, I BRING BACK THEIR ORIGINAL FUNCTIONAL COMPLEXITY. I HIGHLIGHT THE DOUBLE-SIDED PROGRAMME OF DISPLAY VERSUS SERVICE. I PUT TOGETHER THE CIRCUITS OF PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION, RUNNING A CONVEYOR OF FASHION THROUGH VARIOUS PLATFORMS – THAT CATER TO A WILD RANGE OF PARTY MENUS AND GENERATE THE ACTORS, COSTUMES, PROPS FOR THE ULTIMATE PARTY WORLD. KEY MOMENTS LEAKS OUT INTO THE ENCLOSED COURTYARD – A GIANT EVENT PLATFORM.
IT IS LOOPED PROCESSOR THAT RECYCLES THE ‘NEWNESS’, AN INTERIOR CATALYST THAT AFFECTS ARCHITECTURE OF THE CITY LONG-TERM. IT FEEDS OFF AND GENERATES THE CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL SCENE. IT IS A MACHINERY TO CREATE THE SURREAL.
Diagram of the machinery that shows the sequence of four systems: 1st skin (transformation of model), 2nd skin (production of the costume), 3rd skin (production of props) and output/think-thank to create the surreal, which leaks out in the courtyard. It is a constant circulation of events, adaptable to each or of the day. The conveyorbelt become the main element in the surreal machine, it is a travelator for models, props and found objects.
Fashion events are today randomly spotted out in the city, they are extravagant, temporary and surreal, comparing to ordinary people's route which are more static and slow. I change the status of the site by condense the surreal into one spot, I break the homogenous strip of Nevsky Prospekt, the main shopping street in St Petersburg.
it is a machinery, a prison for models...
...based of four systems; 1st skin, 2nd skin, 3rd skin and logistics. The menu tool is an instrument to create the surreal...
...it is a process of layering, a hidden production with support programme such as sleep laboratory (recharge of models) and storage.
Rather than create an explosion, I make an implosion, I condense all into one whole. It is a machinery with a constant circulation, recycling of found sources. Fashion become an catalyst for its interior, which long-term will reflect of the city's architecture.
It is a transition of the real to the surreal.
I reinvent the vanguard into the palace again, I reinvent its lost function: display and service.
Fragments of the production in Stroganov Palace shows injected infrastructure, the conveyorbelt become the main element in my machinery, the foundation to create the surreal.
