Alan Hranitelj was my first ever favorite designer when I was a child. It's difficult to describe his iconic status in the Slovenian cultural scene -- although he's generally perceived as a fashion designer, (1) he doesn't do collections, (2) his clothes cannot be bought anywhere and (3) he's essentially anti-fashion. He mainly designs costumes for theatre and film and occasionally puts up an exhibition that will remain the talk of the town for at least one year (the last one was Jesen, zima 2008/09, ice sculptures made of everything but ice). He's currently working with Cirque du Soleil in Canada and China.
Alan was born in Zagreb, Croatia and moved to Ljubljana when he was 16, abandoning formal design education to dedicate himself fully to his work. At 23 they invited him to Milan, but he only stayed until the end of the contract. Although I often hang around the part of Ljubljana he frequents the most, I've only seen him once in my entire life. My friend N. has more luck and always sends me a text message "Just saw THE Dandy!" after a sighting ("The Dandy" being the original nickname she invented for him, we don't translate it). If I could have a dress custom made by any designer in the world, it would probably be him.
These photos are from his 2006 monography "Kostumografija" (Costume Design). It's one of my all-time favorite books even though there isn't much text -- sometimes you don't need words to create a story. How interesting would it be to live in his head?
(To view the photos in their original size, right click → View Image)
"The Useful Madness", Hyper Hall' 96 exhibition in Copenhagen, 1996
"Psyche", Slovensko mladinsko gledališče, 1993
Hat for the exhibition "A Handbag & 12 Hats", Gallery Equrna, 1993
(my favorite)
"The Bald Soprano", SNG Drama Maribor, 2004
Fashion show, Barcelona, 1987
Solo exhibition, Museum of Modern Art Ljubljana, 1991
"Psyche", Slovensko mladinsko gledališče, 1993
Alan Hranitelj by Hermetica. Fashion show, Milan, 1991
"A Handbag & 12 Hats", solo exhibition, Gallery Equrna, Ljubljana, 1993
"Alice in Wonderland", Slovensko mladinsko gledališče, 1994
"Capek and Klara", Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana, 1995
Hyper Hall' 96, exhibition, Copenhagen, 1996
"Pippi Longstocking", Slovensko mladinsko gledališče, 1998
"Trade Fair Aluminium", Essen, dress-structure, commissioned by Impol d.d., 1998
"Pygmalion", Mestno gledališče ljubljansko, 1999
"Stones Would Catch Fire", SNG Drama Ljubljana, 2000
Fashion show, Millenium Dome, London, 2000
"Mnemosyne", Gledališče Glej, 2005
"Love and Solitude", HNK Ivana pl. Zajca, Rijeka, 2005
41 comments:
OMG! Thanks for posting this! I have never heard of him before and I'm glad you wrote about him. His creations are incredibly creative and beautiful. I am going to have beautiful dreams about his creations :)
really amazing, i love pippi
I love so much pippi (she's swedish as me!).
Nice pictures.
HAppy sweet saturday, Eva!
Shame on my I didn´t know Alan Hranitelj before! He is so talented and his work is too beautiful! Wooow, you posted so many gorgeous photos of his creations!
Wishing you a joyful and relaxing weekend ahead!!!
Hugs to you ;)
Faboulous, it is like to go back in a glamurous past or to be inside a fairy tale!
mwwas!
His work is breathtaking, I can see why he is so loved.
lululetty.blogspot.com
This is a post and a half.
In.. Eva! Samo enkrat? Tsk! Ne vem a sem ti povedala... Upam da ne, otherwise se opravicujem za ponavljanje ampak enkrat poleti sva bili ravno z Vido na sladoledu v Zvezdi in sta enkrat vmes prisla v lokal dva res cedna moska, sedela sta tocno pred mano in sem mislila, kdo sta to, vsi ju poznajo in pozdravljajo, jst pa sem samo gledala kaksno kulj majico je imel eden od njiju, navaden t-shirt, ampak s tako slightly cheesy macko gor (a ves, tiste ki jih najdes v kaksnih tourist shops?), ampak ful fabulous, potem mi je pa potegnilo! To je Alan! Bil je tako dressed down, da sem ga komaj opazila.
Sicer pa mi je veckrat mami razlagala, da je bil ze takrat, ko je prisel v LJ in delal v Cankarjevem domu vedno nosil ful elaborate obleke, da je imel ravno, kot je moja mami rekla, eno ~frilly~ fazo s takimi okrancljanimi rokavi. Kjut imo. :)
such an inspirational post! love his work! its so timeless..
helen x
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this man is AMAZING. wow. amazing post!
leila grace
the vain and the bored
Wow-- these are fantastic, frothy and fun creations. Thanks for sharing a bit about this obscure designer. Never heard of him before-- and this is what I love about reading blogs!!! xxD
The first picture is so lovely! These are really extraordinary.
evaaaa..... what an amazing post - this is like the perfect Saturday night treat for a staying in!!! I am sharing this on unocosa's FB page :D
http://www.facebook.com/UnoCosa
xx
beautiful photos!
oh wow breathtaking designs
WOW, i'm stunned. he's so incredible 0_0!! every photo you posted i am going to look in detail because it's all so inspiring! thank you so much for posting about him :D
thanks for sharing this ^^
he's so talented and amazing!
I'm really inspired :3
the dandy is a really cute nickname too ^^
Wow, these dresses are really outrageous but amazing! Great selection of pictures.
your style is amazing and i love what you bring to fashion blogging...
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I have never heard about him, thanks for sharing this with us. He is definitely a real artist!
I have never heard of him before either, but he certainly captures your attention with the first pic! His creations are definitely one of a kind:)
interesting pictures!
kisses
mel
Wow,jedan od najljepših postova koje sam ikad vidjela!!!!!
This, is inspired.
Wow! Great designer, he's really talented!
Where on earth did you find all of these? They're incredible. So inspiring.
LoveLoveLove the dandy!
*kelsey
I love his work, so over the top and artisitc. I really admire people who design this kind of clothes, they can do whatever they want, and it always look amazing.
Thanks for share it.
Joj, tiste solne skulpture lani so bile tak neverjetno svetovne. Jaz sem si želela, da bi vsi odšli ven in bi bila sama v tisti sobi, joj, od tiste razstave še moraš dat enkrat fotke gor, da folk to vidi (:
Mir in ljubezen!
My goodness, these are amazing!!
only a word: WOW!
XoXo
i'm so glad you posted these photos! i had never heard of him before. the designs are incredible- so avant garde and over the top! i love it. i'm off to read more about him. ~joelle
simply astonishing. It's almost an inspiration overload. I can't pick a favorite, they are all too beautiful.
-indigo
simply astonishing. It's almost an inspiration overload. I can't pick a favorite, they are all too beautiful.
-indigo
wow, never heard of him before but these are absolutely stunning!!
Zaslužiš si najmanj en Alenov kostum za tole reportažo. Tud jaz ga obožujem.
jaz sem ga pa ravno danes videla v čajni. res je tak dandy v živo. prekrasne kreacije.
Just amazing, my favorite was Modo Modo. Totally awesome.
xxx
This is an amazingly enlightening post! I love delving into the bizzaro world of costume design where fantasy is combined with fashion and human aesthetics. Love your blog!
wow, nice composition
really interessting photos
xxx
I love all these photos!
Wow! Just amazing. Thanks so much for this post. I particularily loved the 1920's-esque bathing-suit thing- 'Fashion show, Barcelona, 1987', and the ice cream hat :) I've never ever seen that amount of attention to detail, that amount of creativity (his range of designs and materials is incredible), and I love the references to times past.
TOTALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLY fabulous. i love it. i dont even know what to say. the bigger the more elaborate the better!!
xx
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