Following collaborations and exhibitions with architect Zaha Hadid and designers such as Gareth Pugh, Jeremy Scott and Vivienne Westwood, Galeria Melissa in Covent Garden is being taken over by Claire Barrow from Febraury 16th -May 15th 2017. ‘Dancing With Dreams’ is an immersive art piece integrating sculpture, performance, technology, fashion, film and music from the multi-disciplinary visual artist. photograph by Flo Kohl
Watch "Move On" A Fashion Film Featuring Claire Barrow's AW 2016 Collection
Fashion designer Claire Barrow and photographer Eloise Parry have been friends and collaborators since they attended the University of Westminster to study fashion. Though they moved in different creative directions (Claire to design, Parry to photography) the women have cultivated a fascinating visual aesthetic in Barrow's campaign ads. Parry, who was drawn to Barrow's style defined by black drainpipe jeans and Slayer patches, understands the values, beliefs, and ideas that Barrow filters into her clothing, allowing for a synchronicity that is difficult to find within the confines of high fashion. Parry has shot a film to promote Barrow's recently available FW 2016 collection. Entitled 'Move On,' the video finds a room full of female and male-dressed-up-as-female unknown models in a room, scowling and looking disaffected, dressed head to toe in Claire Barrow. Styled by Haley Wollens, who is known for a gender blurring aesthetic through campaigns with Martine Rose for dis Magazine and Blood Orange's Champagne Coast Music Video, the campaign video purposefully downplays background settings and narrow notions of gender identity. 'Move On' focuses solely on the quality that defines the essence of the Claire Barrow brand: attitude. Text by Adam Lehrer
Read Our Interview With Fashion Designer Claire Barrow On The London Fashion Scene and Her All Encompassing Eponymous Label →
UK-based fashion designer Claire Barrow has always married art and fashion in a way that feels proper. While most fashion labels re-interpret graphics by their favorite artists, Barrow has used her garments as a vehicle for her own images. Born in Stockton-On-Tees, UK, Barrow found herself seduced by the sounds and imagery emanating from her local record shop as a teenager. While her classmates listened to Top 40 and wore their school uniforms, Barrow listened to bands on the atonal side of the rock spectrum (from Slayer to Sonic Youth) and found her own style by deconstructing and adding flair to her own school uniform. “I would wear all these ‘80s earrings. I would put patches on. I cut my tie,” says Barrow. “Getting into music, I just preferred metal and punk. I was finding my own records and being fully immersed in it. Music became my entire life.” Click here to read more.