Why are fashion creatives so into ceramics lately?

From Creative Director Jonathan’ Anderson’s support of ceramicists through initiatives including the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize to Hedi Slimane’s collaboration with sculptor Katinka Bock to create an artwork for Céline’s Rue Duphot store in Paris, via glob-like earthenware designed by Kris Van Assche for Berluti’s SS21 collection, both the worlds of fashion and ceramics are steadfastly becoming more intertwined.

“I think the reason why fashion creatives are starting to experiment with ceramics for the body is because we’re part of a new generation of artists that just don’t work in single disciplines anymore,” says Lucia Farrow, a third-year BA Fine Arts student at Central Saint Martins. Farrow has been delving into ceramics since the age of 16, making her first wearable clay bra in 2019. “It made so much sense to me that this relationship between clay and the body exists, this strange amorphous material that can adapt and bend and do anything you make it to. I really wanted to flip old stereotypes and notions about ceramics being a certain thing and to kind of push the material to enter something outside of ‘craft’ or ‘art.’”

“What made me pivot from fashion to ceramics and the art world was realising that true creative expression within the fashion world has many more hurdles than the ceramics world, whilst within the ceramic world the vision of the creator is more respected.” – Sam Linguist

More and more young artists and designers are keen to sink their teeth into multi-disciplinary mediums. So, why ceramics? Responding to a @1granary poll, a great number of creative accounts expressed their thoughts on fashion turning to ceramics. Whilst some spoke of their career pivots from the former to the latter – as well as vice versa – others reasoned as to why this intersection is taking place. “With ceramics, there are nearly no limits of what is possible to do, but at the same time there is a lot. In one afternoon you can go from a block of clay to an object – even if it’s not finished yet.” Antoine Moulinard, a previous BA Textile Design turned MA Ceramics student, shares.

Sam Linguist, a Parsons student who showcases his ceramic works of art across galleries in North America, believes there is more integrity built into the ceramics world than that of fashion. “What made me pivot from fashion to ceramics and the art world was realising that true creative expression within the fashion world has many more hurdles than the ceramics world, whilst within the ceramic world the vision of the creator is more respected,” he says. “I think the reason why a lot of fashion creatives are turning to ceramics is that it’s everything which fashion isn’t – yet it’s still a craft which requires precision. Both mediums are objects that are meant to enrich people’s lives, and I think fashion has lost track of that much more than ceramics has.”

“I believe that ceramic objects have a very specific and personal touch; you can still see gentle lines in bowls, for example, created by your fingers and hands.” – Philipp Loewenstein

The personal touch rendered in the art of ceramics is perhaps the additional element that the fashion industry of today is desperately craving for. Indeed, for some multi-disciplinary creatives, ceramic objects can embody more sentimentality than that of an item of clothing. Philipp Loewenstein agrees. Currently interning in the fashion design department at Iris van Herpen, the designer’s interest in working across different mediums and approaches was greatly inspired by the work of Young Jae Lee and her ceramics studio in an issue of Architectural Digest. “This dedication to the product in this studio was fascinating – they literally gave a handprint in the moulding and development process,” Loewenstein says. “I believe that ceramic objects have a very specific and personal touch; you can still see gentle lines in bowls, for example, created by your fingers and hands.”

“Ceramics is a process which you can’t really speed up, and it takes ages to make, no matter how much help you have because of the firing and drying processes. It’s kind of amazing that this time-consuming craft is being applied to the fast-paced fashion world.” – Lucia Farrow

To Farrow, the process of ceramic-making reaps far greater rewards than that of just creating an item of clothing. The two disciplines, therefore, cannot be compared. “Ceramics is a process which you can’t really speed up, and it takes ages to make, no matter how much help you have because of the firing and drying processes,” she shares. “I think it’s kind of amazing that this time-consuming craft is being applied to the fast-paced fashion world. Applying something that’s completely rigid and fairly fragile to the body is interesting because it is kind of nonsensical. It’s impractical, but beautiful!”

Given the fleeting nature of TikTok and fashion trends – which disappear just as quickly as they emerge – will fashion’s experimentation with ceramics live to tell the tale, or will it simply die out? “There’s kind of a novelty to it, and I think that’s why it’s becoming more popular. The thing is that fashion always goes through cycles and trends, so I’m not sure for how long it will be around,” Farrow affirms. “I’ll probably still be making ceramics for my body when I’m 92.”