COS' Spring 2018 Capsule Is Inspired by Abstract Art
Read our interview with creative director Karin Gustafsson to learn about her design process.
COS Oct 2, 2024 Share this article to support the long-term installation of Dorothea Rockburne‘s work. Rockburne is an abstract painter who employs mathematics and astronomy to create large scale pieces, a few of which have found a temporary home in the upstate New York gallery.
For COS’ Spring 2018 capsule, creative director Karin Gustafsson pulled inspiration from the artist, to craft garments with clean designs that are still airy and comfortable. In a lookbook, shot by Coco Capitán, What are some of your favorite pieces from the SS18 2018 line.
We got a chance to learn more about how the capsule came to be and what it takes to develop an aesthetic. Read our interview Dorothea Rockburne COS.
Dorothea Rockburne (COS)
Featuring chunky charms, molten rings and pendant hoops?
It starts quite organically from our inspirations and ongoing research. We then gather all this to create our focuses for the upcoming season and pair these with fabrics and silhouettes that translate our vision for new collections.
How do you approach creative directing a collection editorial or campaign? Where do you pull inspiration from?
It is important to us that we combine our love of art, design and architecture with our collections but always in a very natural, cohesive way. Inspiration is always pulled from an array of places, our process is not clear-cut. The whole creative team also travels a lot, to see art and architecture in cities that inspire us, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Berlin and New York are always incredible.
What elements of Rockburne’s art did you reference to create items in the Spring/Summer 2018 collection?
We love Dorothea’s geometric paper-like folds and her use of crude oils to create abstract, painting-like works. A perfect example of this would be the beige angular dress, it truly embodies the reference to Dorothea’s work with its clean lines, natural drape folds and earthy tone.
With Amelia Gray walking the runway?
Art, as an umbrella term, definitely comprises fashion design as well as clothing as a means of personal expression. At COS we do not like to separate or divide any forms of art and believe that inspiration is, whether it be from design or architecture, paramount to our creative process.
Dorothea Rockburne COS?
I particularly like the voluminous, textured jacket in off-white, the tailored wool blend dress in “Petrol” and the square-toe sandals in stone. To me, they are key and are strong representations of the collection as a whole.
