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Resort 23

'Sculptura'

“It is natural to use earth as a canvas. I think of earth as a sculpture in space.”

— Lita Albuquerque

Encapsulating a place where art, the body and nature entwine, Resort 23 ‘Sculptura’ is an exploration of the inherent interplay between form and space.

In creating the collection ahead of its debut at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week, Creative Directors Edwina Forest and Adrian Norris sought inspiration in the philosophies of emerging sculptors, drawing from their sensorial interpretations of the world around them.

Showcased at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, Australia on the 11th of May, 2022, the collection represented a deepening of Aje’s perennial reverence for art and nature. Creative Directors Edwina Forest and Adrian Norris looked to the ways in which sculptors interpret the natural world around them through their art; the landscape forming both the inspiration and subject of their creations.

Beginning with the bursting hues found in the vast landscape art installations of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the genesis continued with the wave-like fields of Maya Lin, the painterly botanicals of Simone Bodmer-Turner and Emma Kohlmann, and Malene Knudsen’s sinuous, unglazed stoneware.

LOOK THIRTEEN
Patina Lace Midi Dress

Envisioned to evoke the experience of being cocooned in a soft cave carved out of a tonal landscape, the meandering runway of ‘Sculptura’ was designed to envelop guests in both art and earth. Created in collaboration with bespoke London-based events agency, Studio Boum, the space – like the garments sent down the runway – drew on the notion of the earth as a canvas, forming the perfect backdrop for Resort 23.

Curated through a desire to both co-exist and create with the landscape, the collection manifests in a melange of tonal textures and unexpected shapes that defy traditional forms, underscored by a cacophony of coloured blooms gracing minimal and maximal silhouettes alike. A collection of contrasts born of an assemblage of influences, Resort 23 combinines sculpturesque silhouettes with textural pleating; dramatic draping with unexpected cutouts; sheer overlays bedecked with glass beading and cornelli lace boasting interwoven metalwork: each element working to both reveal and conceal the body.

LOOK TWENTY THREE
Rhythmic Frilled Mini Dress

LOOK TWENTY FIVE
Maison Tiered Gown

Drawing from the undulating hills of Maya Lin’s ‘Storm King Wavefield’, asymmetrical accents, tubular trims and radical ruffles appear across hemlines, sleeves and the bodices of dresses, creating voluminous shapes that tease the eye. Aje’s signature raw edge trims cameo throughout Resort 23, presenting predominantly on hemlines and as latticework adorning miniskirts for an elegantly undone effect.

LOOK TWENTY NINE
Cruise 23 Tulip Midi Dress

LOOK THIRTY TWO
Sartre Tiered Maxi Dress

Vivid citrus hues imbued with golden undertones form the collection’s core colours, with this season’s prints borrowing from the same palette; unfolding in bold, hand-painted botanicals and broad, free-form brushtrokes. Invoking shape, depth and texture alike, vibrant fringing on epaulettes, hemlines and denim further submerge the body in colour.

LOOK THIRTY THREE
Joan Puff Sleeve Mini Dress

LOOK THIRTY FOUR
Amour Ruffle Midi Dress

LOOK THIRTY FIVE
Monument Tulip Maxi Dress

LOOK THIRTY EIGHT
Gretta Bow Back Mini Dress

Continuing to play with form and space, the accessories echoe the vibrancy and sculptural qualities of the garments. While clutches boast exaggerated weaving, mini bags exude a greater sense of shape through tubular metallic tassels, playfully distorting their sense of size. Pared-back metal necklaces and mobile earrings complete the collection; forming sculptural objets d’art unto themselves.

LOOK FORTY
Manifestation Gown

Celebrating the innate need to create with earth as a canvas, ‘Sculptura’ embodies a fusion of forms inspired by nature, reimagined through art.

In Partnership With
Hair Direction by John Pulitano for O&M
Hair Tools by ghd

Beauty Direction by Isabella Schimid
Flavedo and Albedo
Sunday Riley
Nails by Gloss and Co.

Creator commerce partner: LTK - Reward Style

 

Show Collaborators
Event Direction by Lara Inc.
Creative Direction and Set Design by Studio Boum
Styling by Ashlee Barrett-Bourmier
Casting by Rachael Fair and Lara Karamian
Welcome to Country by Yvonne Weldon
Technical Direction by Production Technologies
Music by Dan Lywood
Front of House by Adam Worling
Content Production by Sam Defalco
Global PR
The Lede Agency
Purple PR

 

Photographers
Anna Pihan
Christopher Quyen
Felix Forest
Ivana Martyn-Zyznikow
Juliana Pedroso
Myles Kalus
Gemma de Maria
Joel Garrett
Dave Blake Runway Stills by Indigital
Runway Videography by Indigital

 

#AjeWorld #Sculptura23

Aje's head office and atelier are on Gadigal land, where we pay our pay our respects to the Elders past, present and emerging. Aje acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which our teams work, live and learn throughout Australia. Aje also pays respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation: the traditional owners of Tallawoladah, the land upon which we present our Resort 23 show at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

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