We had a chat with the revolutionary, creative Johny Dar. We wanted to know what’s behind his wondrous creations from accessories to sculptures and most importantly his SS15 collection.
First of all, what are your key inspirations when creating SS15
collection?
The same old inspiration: to never repeat myself, and stay true to creations
that inspire people to dream beyond their present state of possibilities.
Sum the collection in 3 descriptive words?
Everything and nothing.
During the show, you used a mixture of body art and fashion,
creating more than just a catwalk. Why is that?
Well, this collection was the cornerstone of my coming back into the world
of fashion, and I wanted to express a lifestyle beyond just a runway show.
I wanted it to be a journey through my creative process, allowing the
viewer to get in touch with the steps that come about prior to the final
creation of the fashion piece. I work with the body and rediscovering the
movement within the body, therefore working the construction of the
garment to the movement of the body, to the body’s expression, so it can
be an extension or aid for the body to express itself through another
medium. So the body can rediscover the way it expresses itself through
fashion.
What differences are there between your SS15 and AW15
collections?
I guess I am too immersed right now in the creation of my next collection,
therefore I cannot really make out the difference, other than I am going
back to my roots of constructed layered flow. So you will be seeing a lot of
construction within layers flowing into each other creating a new body
language for the wearer to enjoy.
What inspired you to go into the creative industry of fashion?
A motorcycle accident. And then I couldn’t afford my film making school
and my dad refused to pay for my film making school.
We see you have interests in painting, fashion (ready-to-wear and
accessories), editorials and sculpture. Any key favourite areas out of
these? And why?
I cannot decide if I like the roots of the tree more than the actual tree itself,
or it’s fruits – they are all necessary to create the overall tree that I see as
my creations, embodied within these elements. This year I am showing
my first film at the Fashion Film Festival in Berlin, and I will be releasing a
music video as well. So this year holds a lot of surprises sprung from my
ambitions of creating art through all these different mediums.
I believe my favorite, or the most crucial, would be art because I really
believe that without art humanity would still be hunters and gatherers.
Art for me is the seed of all my creations, therefore without it nothing else
would be possible.
What are we expecting to see from Johny Dar in the future?
Well, this year there are the things I just mentioned, then a trinity of
crystallised sculptures – the “Queen of Pearls”, the “Queen of Diamonds”,
and the “Queen Metal”.
Then there is “DAR the BOOK Vol.3” which is going to be quite a surprise
because it is a new expression within my art, and it’s further revealing what
“DAR the BOOK” is about. It’s like the last step of me being mysterious
about what I am expressing through “DAR the BOOK”, and it’s the step
that reveals the scenes that will come in the movie trilogy that we will be
making from “DAR the BOOK”. So it is dear to me and it continues to
surprise me and bring me lots of inspiration and joy, so I am really excited
about the release of “DAR the BOOK Vol.3” soon – it should be coming out
around April.
And there’s also is my most recently published book, “Perfekte Momente”,
which has been a great success in Germany, and now we are translating it
into different languages, and it will be available in English soon. It’s a
mixture of my art and wisdom quotes from around the world, and it’s
designed to be that perfect moment of inspiration anytime.
