After 6 years in development, fashion illustrator, sculptor and designer Aitor Throup has finally launched his first long awaited menswear product line. The recent unveiling of his 2013 menswear product line in an exhibit called New Object Research, focused on his fabulous Shiva Skull Bags. Constructed in the shape of a human skull, the black and grey tweed bags with leather accents and zippers will be launched to few key influential retailers globally and are the first of his products to be marketed.
An installation of his Archetypal Shiva Skull Bag as it transformed over the years:
And a close look at them:
Aitor's design process is centered around innovative methods of design and construction, in particular a construction process which utilizes his own sculptures of the human body as a system for blocking garments. Below you can see the Shiva Skull bags placed upon his own sculpted mannequins:
More of Aitor's sculpted mannequins from the exhibit:
close-up:
One complete outfit was in the show (shown below) and will be available exclusively through Dover Street Market, with whom the designer is planning an exciting event to coincide with Frieze Art Fair in London in October, 2012:
The artist at work (photo by Neil Bedford):
An incredible illustrator, Aitor's daily sketchbook archives (a few of which are shown below)are simply beautiful and can be seen here on The Breaks or on his official Facebook page:
About Aitor Throup:
Aitor Throup was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1980. He arrived in Burnley, Lancashire in 1992. It was in Burnley that Throup developed a passion for labels such as Stone Island and C.P. Company. A mixture of Aitor’s interest in these products and his own passion for drawing led him to begin a BA in Fashion Design at Manchester Metropolitan University, from where he graduated with first class honors in 2004. In 2006, he completed an MA in Fashion Menswear at the Royal College of Art in London.
Aitor is fascinated with anatomy and his main interest is drawing. His hand drawn characters become the primary tool in the exploration of his ‘justified design philosophy’, which highlights the necessity of a reason or function behind all design features. Aitor's design process is centered around innovative methods of design and construction, in particular a construction process which utilises his own sculptures of the human body as a system for blocking garments.
Aitor Throup began working as a creative consultant with the British football brand Umbro in 2008, which led to his involvement in the concept and design of both the ‘home’ and ‘away’ football kits worn by England at the 2010 World Cup.
Aitor has won multiple awards over the years, including the ‘Collection of The Year Award’ and the ‘i-D Styling Award’ At ITS#FIVE (International Talent Support #5). He has worked as an art director/stylist with i-D magazine, Arena Homme+, V-Man, and GQ Style, and he designed the cover for the December 2008 issue of Dazed and Confused Japan, which also included an 8-page portfolio of his work.
Here's a nice interview with Aitor about the New Object Research exhibit at Dazed Digital
Some of the images in this post were shot by the talented UK photographer Neil Bedford, other images courtesy of Fashionmag and Aitor Throup Studio
Aitor Throup