Originally uploaded by J!mbo
Being in London matters to us. It is difficult to explain exactly how London can help with your creativity but for us it’s a city that just works in terms of being inspired and staying that way.
I tracked down the other day a marvellous discussion (the link points to an .mp3) hosted by the Design Museum and it helps explain why being here makes sense.
Hussein Chalayan talks about how London influences his work and why he bases his International fashion business in the vibrant and gritty East End. Chalayan is joined by other key design creatives who base themselves in the city, including writer and journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Foreign Office Architects partner Farshid Moussavi and acclaimed emerging writer Bola Agbaje.
(via)
The Chair starts by giving a quote to the panel, to start them off in discussing creativity and London: “Britain has been forged in the crucible of fusion of hybridity. London is that crucible that national forge the city where no one belongs is where I belong.”
I think the panel make a very good case about how London helps creative people.
My favourite part is when Hussein Chalayan explains that his own background (he is Turkish/Cypriot) enriched his London experience and how the city gave him the necessary distance to understand the richness of his cultural background.
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I would definitely recommend browsing Hussein Chalayan’s ‘Art Projects’ part of his website – my favourite remains Afterwords, even after all these years, it is a fascinating study/ mashup of fashion – architecture – design.
Written by: Sofia a.k.a. the Wordsmith Comments