As blog partner for Hyères 2013 I was offered the chance to submit a few questions to the panel of judges, a diverse group of industry professionals whose talents any aspiring creative would be eager to parse - what makes these people tick? What inspires them? How do they apply that? To what? The creative duo of Maurice Scheltens and Liesbeth Abbenes is of particular interest to me as I've known their work for a few years now, having first discovered it in an editorial context in Fantastic Man (the latest issue of which I purchased last week; I recommend it.)
Scheltens & Abbenes' work reduces without being reductive; it distills, is elemental, essential. It's incredibly inspiring and demandingly beautiful; compositions that may at first seem distant or stark reveal a hidden sense of humor, in a French New Wave sort of way. Their clients include Valentino, Hermès, COS, Louis Vuitton and the brand formerly known as Yves Saint Laurent, and magazines such as the aforementioned Fantastic Man, The Gentlewoman, Pin-Up, The Plant and T the New York Times Style Magazine. In addition to their independent exhibition works, the duo also shows their projects in cultural institutions such as Galliera Musée de la Mode Paris, museum of photography Foam Amsterdam and the Kunsthal in Rotterdam. See below for an interview with the duo featuring questions from myself and other blog partners, PLUS there's a video!
{all images Scheltens & Abbenes}
How does a garment get your attention? What are you searching for while on set?
Sensitivity in material and design. Looking at a garment it often tells if the designer understands it's own work without stopping to early (or to late) in the process. This attitude is connecting in the way we are also trying to stretch our own sensibilities.
Your work is striking in its simplicity and for its reductive qualities - is fashion more interesting to you in theory more often than in its execution?
We are more interested in what we see then in what we know or should know. After 'building' is the moment of truth. Our curiosity by testing an idea for it's visual qualities is the driving force. That is also why we keep on searching, experimenting and checking during the shoot instead of making photographs from a sketch made on the drawing table. This doesn't mean that thoughts or drawings as they are can be beautiful and interesting to. It's a matter of where to put all these aspirations.
As jury members used to shooting Fashion as objects, can you abstract the mise en scene, the show, the person to judge only the garments?
Actually we see the same struggle and solutions in the garments as we face while shooting fashion or any other object in front of the lens. Maybe it's a healthy distance that we have looking at fashion because we're not 'over informed'. We're responding to what we see with the same critical eye as we do in our own work.
Look closely at Liesbeth's outfit - she's wearing a tie! Oh, to be a Dutch creative...for more of Scheltens & Abbenes, check out this feature on Nowness and this post at Trendland. And don't forget their website! I'll be tweeting and Facebook sharing the other parts of this interview series in the coming week; keep your eyes peeled!
