Architectural Fashion, defined

Architectural fashion relates to how designers manipulate fabrics and handle them with a more engineered and structural mindset. Architectural fashion involves the use of fabric as "building materials" to create angular shapes, undulating layers, etc. It is all about structure, shape, and form and designers are concerned with creating 3-D elements to clothes.

image source: atelier-ad

These looks seem far from practical, and none of us would be seen walking around campus in these outfits, yet alone on a special night. But these looks show that architecture in fashion design is all about the process of how an outfit is made and how it is interpreted by a third-party viewer.

Many famous designers have stated that they get inspiration from buildings. Derek Lam talked about Frank Gehry's IAC building in NYC that he saw every day while going to work as giving him inspiration for one of his fall collections. Pierre Balmain (1914-1982), the founder and former head designer of House of Balmain, and Gianfranco Ferré (1944-2007) were both known to be fathers of architectural fashion, incorporating structured elements into their clothes and stressing the actual construction of dresses. These two designers also held degrees in architecture.

source: NYtimes blog