"Fall of Hell the Damned"
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
Due to the current worldwide incredibly escalating situation of environment and society, fashion designer Isabel Vollrath and photographer Patrick Walter initiated a cross-divisional campaign - merging fashion, photography and classical ballet. Inspired by Peter Paul Ruben's painting their vision is to represent the "falling humanity" - moving, dancing between heaven and hell. The result of the collaboration is a deeply emotional imagery, demonstrating the mortality of beauty and art.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
"Fall of Hell the Damned" - Inspiration and Concept
Due to the current worldwide incredibly escalating situation of environment and society, designer Isabel Vollrath and photographer Patrick Walter initiated a cross-divisional campaign - merging fashion, photography and classical ballet. Inspired by Paul Peter Ruben's painting (1620) their vision is to represent the "falling humanity" - moving, dancing between heaven and hell - wearing pieces of the designer's archive. The result of the collaboration is a deeply emotional imagery, demonstrating the mortality of beauty and art.
Key objectives for sustainability
For Isabel Vollrath garments are three-dimensional drawings, collages, objects of "sculpture", socio-critical/political statements and/or "cultural travelogues". With an extraordinary, sustainable choice of materials and valuable details, the Berlin designer, who merges fashion and art, sets accents with recognition value. Using both, historicizing and avant-garde, sculptural-futuristic stylistic elements, a contrasting, abstract and at the same time figure-accentuating cut, she creates expansive, expressive silhouettes - while displaying her strong background in bespoke tailoring.
As a graduate (and Master of Arts) of the renowned Berlin Weißensee School of Art, Isabel Vollrath has already recieved numerous national and international awards and scholarships, including the "Wilhelm-Lorch-Foundation's Promotion Prize for Young Textile Talents", the "Baltic Fashion Award", the "Berlin Trade Chamber's Promotion Prize", an award at "International Talent Support Competition" in Trieste/Italy and the "Elsa-Neumann-Scholarship" of the State of Berlin. Her work have been shown in exhibitions, galleries and museums.
Before her fashion studies, the designer completed an apprenticeship as gentlemen's tailor in Baden-Baden and then worked for six months at Couturier Stefano Nicolao in Venice.
2015 she founded her own label I' VR ISABEL VOLLRATH and shows her collections as part of Berlin Fashion Week and the Berlin Salon/Vogue Salon. Her atelier is located next to renowned art galleries at former "Scheunenviertel" in Berlin-Mitte.
Key objectives of this projects and of her collections in general are: the choice of sustainable/u-circular materials, inhouse production/manufature/craftmanship, production only by request/order, zero-waste as much as possible, conservation of resources
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
As hobby ballerina Isabel Vollrath ever had a strong passion for dance and movement. When she was a child her parents took her to see "Marcia Haydee", "Maurice Béjart", "John Neumeier", "Swan Lake" and more. When she moved to Berlin to study fashion design she immediately hired for a side-job at the Berlin Opera Houses, first as guest attendant, later as dresser to work behind the scenes - where she met the at that time stars Vladimir Malakhov, Polina Semionova... - and Solodancer Nadja Saidakova, her personal favorite.
Meanwhile the designer has her own brand, and Nadja Saidakova is her fan and friend.
Then last year - 2020 - Covid appeared, no thought of a new collection - but the idea of the cross-divisional campaign "Fall of Hell the Damned" arised. At the same time Isabel got to know photographer Patrick Walter. He was immeditaley enthusiastic about the idea to combine art, fashion, phography and ballet and create an aesthetic but sociocritical accuse. First the designer talked to the "Staatliche Ballettschule" and got positive feedback. Then she convinced Martin Buzcko, former dancer at "Staatsballett Berlin" and Lia Kemendi, dancer and model, living in Paris and Berlin, to be part of the project. And, what she never expected: Nadja Saidakova visited the designer in her studio, only a few days before she shooting should take place, and also said "Yes". The whole team was extremely excited and happy.
What you see on the more than 50 retouched/edited images is movement in perfection, beautified with pieces of the designer's archive of past award-winning collections - revived and customised to Rubens' fallen angels... - and: the eye of a photographer that shows an artistic point of view.
Key objectives for inclusion
As explained in chapters before the interdisciplinary campaign shows how different art divisions and creative persons get together to create new art and to tell the story of "Fall of Hell the damned":
Concept & Fashion: Isabel Vollrath
Production & Photography: Patrick Walter
Photo Assistant: Nico Gragge
Hair & Make-up: Luca Ueding, Ella Vey, Vanessa Müller
Dancers: Nadja Saidakova (former principal dancer at Staatsballett Berlin), Martin Buczko (former principal dancer at Staatsballett Berlin), Lia Kemendi (dancer and model)
Graduates of "Staatliche Ballettschule": Matheus Barboza, Matteo Andrioli, Isabell Arnke
Students of "Staatliche Ballettschule": Rashmi Torres, Pedro Libri, Giovanni Cancemi, Patricia Radcke
Manager "Landesjugendballett Staatliche Ballettschule": Franziska Mölle
Production Date: June 2020
Studio: HVH Studio Berlin
Results in relation to category
During Art Week in September 2020 the campaign "Fall of Hell the Damned" was published at "Berliner Tagesspiegel" and during Berlin Fashion Week in January 2021 at "Berliner Fenster".
The campaign was sent to many international high fashion and art magazines but due to the financially difficult 2020 situation everywhere further publication was not affirmed even experts were impressed.
How Citizens benefit
Culture and art always affect citizens and society what might be more than obvious since the pandemy and the dramatic situation there since months.
Innovative character
"Fall of Hell the Damned" -
Due to the current worldwide incribly escalating situation of environment and society, designer Isabel Vollrath and photographer Patrick Walter initiated a cross-divisional campaign - merging fashion, photography and classical ballet.
Inspired by Paul Peter Ruben's painting (1620) their vision is to represent the "falling humanity" - moving, dancing between heaven and hell - wearing pieces of the designer's archive.
The result of the collaboration is a deeply emotional imagery, demonstrating the mortality of beauty and art.
