World Chess Hall of Fame Puts Focus on Fashion

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone, 

Here is a nice feature by Marc Karimzadeh on the World Chess Hall of Fame. 

 

An illustration of the décor at the "A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes, Fashion & Chess" exhibition.

From the checkerboard floor at Alexander McQueen’s spring 2005 collection to Marc Jacobs’ spring Louis Vuitton lineup, which could practically double as a board to play on, the game of chess has played a recurring role in fashion.

From Oct. 19 through April 18, 2014, the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis is drawing a direct relation between the two with “A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes, Fashion and Chess,” an exhibition of garments that explore notions associated with the game. Don’t expect checkerboard mania, though: The exhibition will explore the theme more subtly via variations on the Queen theme.

“It’s very much about the use of archetypes from a chess perspective,” noted curator Sofia Hedman, who had helped catalogue “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2011. “Each [chess] piece can be seen as having different personalities, and the exhibition investigates these archetypes of the queen.”

The nine different themes in the exhibition — based on the number of queens who can technically be on the board at once during a game if all nine pawns are elevated to queens — are reflective of Carl Jung’s theory of archetypes. They are Mother Figure, Heroine, Magician, Sage, Enchantress, Explorer, Ruler, Mother Earth and Orphan.

To gather pieces that correspond to the themes, Hedman considered a wide range of designers who have, at some point in their careers, directly or more loosely embodied the theme with their designs, including Gucci, Maison Martin Margiela, Gianfranco Ferré and Pam Hogg. Among the pieces on show in St. Louis will be McQueen’s Annabel Lee poem coat with prose by Edgar Allen Poe; Hussein Chalayan’s 2007 bubble dress, and the snake dress from Iris van Herpen.

“A Queen Within” will be previewed next Tuesday at Christie’s, which plans to auction off select pieces from the show after it closes next year.

“Everyone has some relationship with chess, whether you are a player or not a player,” said Hedman, who doesn’t actually consider herself a chess pro. “I played a little bit,” she said. “I am not very good.”

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Indian designer unveils chess fashion collection at Lakme Fashion Week

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011

Hi everyone,

According to a special press release sent to us, Indian designer Amalraj Sengupta presented his 'In the Game of Chess' collection at the ongoing Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) in Mumbai today.

The collection included 32 garments - two sets of eight ensembles each, designed to provide perfect ready-to-wear options.

Moving into a more formal avant garde section, Amalraj merged the black and white colour duet into some interesting creations. Bringing to life his theme, Amalraj selected summer fabrics like cotton, linen, silk, organza, satin and chiffon. The construction was extreme with flaps, layers, pleats, pin tucks for both the men’s and women’s garments which almost gave them a space age feel.

For men, Amalraj visualized rolled front double breasted shirts, white pin tucked bib Ones or some with fully pleated sleeves. Zig zag closures for jackets or an elaborate sleeveless version, a light quilted waistcoat, the extended double shoulder coat and the final pleated cape layered in a magnificent shape gave a futuristic look to garments for the stronger sex.

Women’s wear was more subdued with pouched will- power mini, pin tucked asymmetric petal skirt dress, an extended sleeve layered flap creation, a folded tiered frilled gown and a double shoulder coat which were truly conversation pieces.

For a dual tone dramatic line of garments, Amalraj Sengupta’s Chess inspired collection for men and women will make all the right moves anywhere.

You can find a video of the collection at this link.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com