Wearables for the imaginative

Iordanes Spyridon Gogos (ISG), “Wearables for the imaginative” was founded by Jordan Gogos in 2019 with the intention to use the brand as a conduit for community making and co-design. The brand is experimental, non-gendered and innovative in its approaches to sustainability through practice-led design research methodologies. The label staged its first runway show at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week (AAFW) in 2021, receiving widespread acclaim for its colourful celebration of community and collaboration.

For the Iordanes Spyridon Gogos x Powerhouse for Afterpay Australian Fashion Week 2022 runway presentation, ISG expanded their collaborative approach, directly engaging with the museum’s narrative and multidisciplinary collection.

The label joined forces with more than 50 individuals and institutions working across a range of disciplines, extending beyond fashion pioneers to include architects, musicians, florists, students and more to create the collection for the runway.

The Powerhouse workshop team collaborated with ISG to realise the vibrant ‘deconstructed castle’ runway. Artistic direction was led by Benn Hamilton, set design by Max Rixon and spatial design by Tayarch Design Studio, all mainstay ISG collaborators who worked with the Powerhouse team to create more than 15 sculptural works along with painted banners, set pieces and wearable art objects.

More than 1,000 hours of labour over five weeks and 123 litres of fluorescent paint, including much reused from previous exhibition projects, went into the collaboration. The full breadth of the workshop team’s skills and experience was showcased, from entry-level to experienced artisans and tradespeople with 30 years of experience across metal, timber and scenic work, plus drawing and 3D modelling.

The Powerhouse workshop were amongst 60 Australian and international collaborators from the creative industries engaged to realise 33 singular looks for the runway show. One stand-out was a steel ‘tubular vest’ designed by Benn Hamilton and crafted by the Powerhouse workshop, which housed a floral arrangement by the Colour Blind Florist Benjamin Avery. The workshop also collaborated on NYC-based artist Patrick Church’s sculptural look.

ISG’s collaboration with Australian fashion veteran Jenny Kee AO opened and closed the show. ISG utilised recycled materials from ‘Step Into Paradise’ (Kee and Linda Jackson’s seminal Powerhouse retrospective) for the lining of garments, shoes, set design and other elements. Kee’s archive of iconic prints and motifs, including her signature ‘Earth First’ scarf, were translated into textile designs by Brittney Wyper and incorporated into new garments, with the designer herself making a runway cameo alongside her granddaughter.

In his unique graphic style, Apollo Michaelides illustrated textile designs with cartoons featuring references to the Powerhouse’s expansive collection. Victoria Todorov’s textile designs also referenced a variety of collection objects for a garment designed by Shanghai-based Jake Siu. Photo media artist and sculptor Anna Pogossova’s oversized coins, seen on shoes, garments and jewellery, referenced real and counterfeit ancient Greek coins from the Powerhouse collection.

In collaboration with Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert, ISG presented a silhouette which captures the fashion label’s relationship with Sally and the Gallery. Clad in jacket and skirt, the model represented Sally as the gallery director, while a ‘shell’ reflected the distinct, considered textures of the gallery architecture, with a headdress symbolising the gallery’s iconic ‘halo’ light entrance.

Winner of the National Indigenous Fashion Awards 2021 Simone Arnol, working in collaboration with masters of Ghostnet woven totemic artworks Pormpuraaw Art Centre and Yarrabah Arts and Culture, presented a series of designs combining recycled fishing nets, textiles and printed fabrics.

Powerhouse x Gogos is a film by Motel Picture Company and Powerhouse following multidisciplinary designer Jordan Gogos and his runway show collaborators as they prepare to take over 2022 Afterpay Australian Fashion Week. The three-part short film series reveals Gogos’ high energy disruption of the fashion industry. Taking inspiration from the Powerhouse collection and working with almost 100 designers, sculptors and collaborators, the series explores Gogos’ unique style of ‘chaos with an underlying logic’.

For the Iordanes Spyridon Gogos x Powerhouse for Afterpay Australian Fashion Week 2022 runway presentation, ISG expanded their collaborative approach, directly engaging with the museum’s narrative and multidisciplinary collection.

The label joined forces with more than 50 individuals and institutions working across a range of disciplines, extending beyond fashion pioneers to include architects, musicians, florists, students and more to create the collection for the runway: