Reet Aus at Disainiöö, 26 September
Disainiöö (Design Night) kicked off with displays all over the centre of Tallinn, centring on the site of the former Eesti Kunstiakadeemia (Estonian Academy of Arts). The primcipal teaching building for the Kunstiakadeemia was demolished in 2010, with the promise of a new building on the site. That promise was not kept, restricting Kunstiakadeemia study to a cluster of temporary homes all around Tallinn. There will be more words on this in the coming days, when I have time.
Art thrives in a community, and that is why the students of the Kunstiakadeemia put on such a reliably eye-catching and fascinating performance both at the earlier ERKI Fashion Show in the summer, and also at Disainiöö. There was intriguing historical subway art, leading up to the main event of the night, the unveiling of designs by Reet Aus, based on materials from large factories in Bangladesh, sustainably-remodelled into Reet's own designs, "upcycled" and turned into hish-quality clothing by the well-regarded Estonian designer.
Designers even played models for the night - the well-known local faces included the pioneer of handmade wooden glasses, Karl Annus, and one of my blogging inspirations, the multi-talented designer and creative director Helene Vetik. Music was supplied by the genuinely outstanding 3 Pead - a long-running group whose wall of sound echoed the Cocteau Twins or '90s British shoegazing bands like My Bloody Valentine.
The images below pop out in full-size if you click on them. More words to follow.
