Colourful illuminated surfaces based on 8-bit graphics and Rubik’s cubes formed the backdrop for designer Anya Hindmarch’s London Fashion Week catwalk show. Set designer Stuart Nunn of INCA Productions worked closely with Hindmarch to create the pixellated platform and props inside Lindley Hall, southwest London, for the presentation on Sunday morning.
The show continued the architectural approach to the staging that Hindmarch began using for her Spring Summer 2016 collection, which presented in the same space. A floor and giant wall made of square light-up acrylic panels were installed at the venue, with freestanding stacks of cubes covered in the same white materials. Each LED panel featured a three-by-three motif reminiscent of a Rubik’s cube puzzle.
As models walked over the 150-millimetre deep stage floor, the podiums moved back and forth along hidden rails disguised by the grid – manually winched on steel cables. The effect was designed to build a narrative about the threshold of artificial intelligence and ask the question: do computers dream when they sleep?
Patterns were illuminated across the back wall to give the impression of a computer trying to communicate with the audience. According to the studio, the challenge was combining the white of the photo studio with the bold colours and simple graphics of early 8-bit computer games.
LED pixel-panels were combined with a layer of frosted opal acrylic, creating a surface that could both emit and receive light. This gave the flexibility to shift between deep saturated colour and bright white light, which was optimum when each of the looks was first presented. The coloured squares were echoed on Hindmarch’s coats and accessories, formed by tiles attached to the fabric.
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