Image
Walter van Beirendonck, designer
Description
Maker
- Walter van Beirendonck, est. 1983, Belgian, design label
- Walter van Beirendonck, b. 1957, Belgian, designer
Title
Year
Medium
Dimensions
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Center back length: 58.4 cm (23 inches)
Signature / Inscription / Marks
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Label: Walter Van Beirendonck
Tag (see object file): Walter Van Beirendonck AW1617 / Art: 6011 Frame-Sweat / Col: comb III naturel / Size: XS Type
Credit
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Gift of Mark Pollack
Object Number
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2017.25.2
About
Fighter jets swirl and missiles explode around a leopard with rider on this sweatshirt. The 2015 Bataclan concert-hall attack in Paris prompted the designer to embroider the word woest across many of the garments presented in his 2016/2017 fall collection. “It’s a Flemish word, my language,” said Van Beirendonck. “It means furious. Because I am really angry.”
The decorative mirror work, or shisha, was applied using a technique that originates in northern India, where mirrors are considered powerful protective amulets against evil. The wild and furious imagery and talismanic embellishment afford this everyday garment the power of a cuirass, or armored breastplate. This reference is reflected in the removable panel buttoned to the front of the garment.
Label: Walter Van Beirendonck
Tag (see object file): Walter Van Beirendonck AW1617 / Art: 6011 Frame-Sweat / Col: comb III naturel / Size: XS