http://www.dazedgroup.com/Fashion/article/4164/1/Maria_Blaisse_The_Visionary
"The Dazed August issue went back to the 80s for otherworldly fashion that looked towards the quiet legends that have been making an impact on fashion for decades without people realising it. Dutch designer Maria Blaisse is one of those legends. She began in the early 80s' by creating spherical foam forms that moulded and folded in ways that were revolutionary at the time and she worked primarily in dance wear where she is still breaking new ground today. Blaisse then went on to collaborate with Issey Miyake for whom she made mitre-like rubber hats. For the August issue, Karen Langley was inspired by Blaisse's work and re-interpreted her sculptural feats with the help of set designer Gary Card and photographer Jason Kibbler. We speak to Blaisse to see what she makes of the reinterpretation and how her work still permeates fashion today.We also spoke to Gary Card to find out how he went about constructing these pieces for the shoot...What reference points from Maria Blaisse's work did you use to construct your pieces?
Karen Langley sent me a few photos of Maria Blaisse's work and simply told me to re-interpret them how I saw fit. The important thing was to keep a balance between respectfully referencing without directly copying her. For me the biggest challenge was 'the spike dress', it was a really key piece so I wanted to give it a lot of attention. It took about 20 hours to construct. Your work has been used in many fashion contexts now; do you see yourself progressing onto 'wearable' cardboard pieces?
I've been asked this a lot recently and it's something I've always thought about and I'd absolutely love to explore the idea in the future. Me and my boyfriend always talk about one day becoming a Victor and Rolf style duo, so who knows, I've got such a strange career right now it could really go anywhere.What are you working on at the moment?
This week I'm working on a very exciting project with 'Matches' for fashion week, customizing some instruments for Lady Gaga and making some costume pieces for a Steven Klein shoot with Nicola Formichetti." CREDITS - Photography Jason Kibbler, Styling Karen Langley, Hair James Pecis at D+V Management using Bumble and Bumble, Make-Up Ayami Nishimura at Jed Root using Chanel Autumn/Winter 09 collection, Manicurist Teresa Smith at Jed Root using Manglaze, Prop Design Gary Card at CLM, Model Hana Soukuova at IMG
