"Cactuses represent a vivid vitality and a striving to live," notes recent Central Saint Martins MA grad Xinyuan Xu. Her cacti-inspired looks which combined veiled women and the drought-loving plants stood out on the Fall 2015 runways for being simultaneously odd, off-kilter and cool as can be.
But what I found interesting was that my first impression of this look wasn't "cactus" but "chromosome" - that distinctive "X" which which contains an intricately-coiled set of our DNA that which makes each of us who we are.
And while the resulting expression of the dress may have been one of those happy accidents, the underlying urge to address questions of identity is anything but - particularly in an era increasingly defined by synthetic life and lab-generated acts of creation. "I was simply sketching the Saguaro Cactus and drew eyes and lips on them to make them look like humans."
Naturally.
- Lesley Scott
Actively embracing the future via the roots of life - be it technology or gender roles...or cacti - is a signature of the Futurenetic fashion tribe.
For more of my posts about this tribe, CLICK HERE. To learn more about each of fashion's four mega-tribes that I track, START HERE.
(Chromosome illustration via source)
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