Dirk Van Saene’s NºA is certainly one of the most “fashion-heavy” issues of A, having been created as one of the fashion statements of the 2001 LANDED-GELAND fashion festival in Antwerp, Belgium. Page after page opens to a new editorial or series that discusses clothing, its designers, and the nature of the industry – particularly that of Dirk’s hometown Antwerp.

It seems the artistic conceit of NºA (and hence its innate success) is the presentation of a very specific time period, place and group of people in a suitably diverse and unusual manner as to render it new and fresh. Although working with an intimate circle of contributors, Dirk managed to represent and celebrate an ideal of youthful, unconventional beauty and fashion without succumbing to any sort of “Antwerp tunnel vision”.

Uniting disparate elements with black and white print, Dirk was able to convey a multitude of concepts that question our perception of fashion – through warped social and historical contexts, and particularly viewing fashion from an artist’s perspective.

It is the latter ideal that exists behind Belgian artist Cris Brodahl‘s representation of the Paris collections for Fall Winter 2002, in which she utilised found objects to create 3-D collages. Photographed by Raymond Jacquemyns, we witness her rendering of Viktor & Rolf’s work as an hourglass wooden figure on intricately lathe-turned legs and arms with a round metal ‘head’, and Maison Martin Margiela as a white thatched leather face headpiece, with a mass of fringed “hair” trailing behind. The Margiela image is then repeated in the final page, with Cris herself wearing headpiece, the lighting inverted to offer a dark face in the shadows.

The symmetrical, geometric form of the Balenciaga figure (with angel wings for legs and triangular limbs) reflects the house’s futuristic and historical aesthetic, as does the decadent Yves Saint Laurent figure – suspended in mid-air as a blackened doll wearing a froth of white lace and grey satin.

While certainly a departure from Cris’s usual work, these pieces convey the same witty commentary on contemporary society and media imagery, through pastiche and a manipulation of our expectations through various layers of meaning.

Above: Balenciaga.

Above: Viktor & Rolf.

Above: Louis Vuitton by Marc Jacobs.

Above: Junya Watanabe.

Above: Yves Saint Laurent.

Above: Self-portrait by Cris Brodahl

Belgian designer Dirk Van Saene was the first designer to approach the A concept, and did so with a delicate twist, pairing unexpected cultural elements together to fulfill a subtle conceit throughout the pages of NºA. Mingling fashion with art, interior design and social commentary, the issue pushes boundaries that offer new perspectives on what is glamorous and what is mundane.

For this story, Dirk took a turn behind the lens to photograph his longtime friend, Belgian artist Cris Brodahl, known for her surreal collage-based paintings. Taking the season’s haute couture looks from the likes of Givenchy, Chanel and Christian Lacroix, Dirk shot Cris in the privacy of her own home in this intimate series that focuses less on the luxurious garments than on her range of natural, relaxed expressions.

Cris displays a theatrical sense of movement and charisma, heightened by the familiarity of her own surroundings and a friend taking the shots. Her own collection of artworks and unusual objects become backdrops and props for the shoot for a textural play against the black and white dresses – accentuated by close, skewed camera angles.

I admire her personality…

I admire her beauty…

I admire her style…

I admire her talent…

I admire her sense of humour…

I admire Cris Brodahl… for being my friend

- Dirk Van Saene on Cris Brodahl.

Top image: Chanel Haute Couture.

Above: Givenchy Haute Couture, Christian Lacroix Haute Couture.

Above: Chanel Haute Couture.

Above: Balmain Haute Couture.

Above: Christian Lacroix Haute Couture.

Above: Necklace, models own.

Belgian painter Cris Brodahl creates beautifully soft grayscale portraits, with a collage-style that layers surrealist imagery over human forms, executed with photo-realistic precision.

Her work is presented in A#3, with a selection from the exhibition ‘Pink Floyds’ at Marc Foxx Gallery in LA in December 2004. Through the ambiguity of her technique and its exacting resemblance to photography, Brodahl causes the responder to question the composition of the pieces and the blending of contexts of the two seemingly fused identities within each work.

These particular pieces feature disparate yet romantic symbology, such as a porcelain-like statue with a superimposed oriental face, a praying female figure disappearing into a cloud of smoke and covered by an oversized blonde wig, and a glamorous profile portrait of a woman seemingly torn to reveal a blossoming tree.

It is poignant work with an underlying dark beauty: post-modern surrealism with a quirky romance.

More images below, courtesy of Marc Foxx Gallery: