Daniel Palillo’s Fashion as Art as Fashion
Finnish designer Daniel Palillo is an odd one, and we wouldn’t want it any other way. He recently told us, “I’ve been starting to design with a method that would be similar to method acting. During designing the latest collection, I became like the ultimate slacker, wandering Helsinki in my bathrobe.”
Not only is he slightly cuckoo, he’s also extraordinarily prolific, designing several new looks every day. At current count, he says it’s five. While not all of them make it into a collection, they’re nonetheless very large collections (he does a kids’ line, too). And of course he wouldn’t be an odd one without also being gifted in multiple disciplines. In fact, before fashion design, he studied painting.
Returning to his roots, Pailillo’s spring collection will be shown in the context of new paintings at The Hole gallery, opening tonight. ‘Paintings About the Fashion World,’ as the exhibit is called, showcases works with titles like Fat Hipster, God, and Madonna — characters familiar from previous collections. They’re shown wearing Palillo’s hand-made pieces, surreal and abstract patchworks of color that in some cases consist of no fewer than 180 pieces of fabric sewn together. Madness knows no bounds.
The Hole, 312 Bowery, NYC