Fashion And Architecture

Fashion and architecture. The following quote should be familiar to most of you, “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening”. Coco Chanel.   Personally I love this idea, I agree with it completely although I might argue that I’d substitute the word fashion with style but that might just be a good topic for debate or an insignificant detail.

My last post was about accessories for the home and with this post I’m turning outward. I’ve been wandering around the city the past few days and it got me to thinking about the parallels between fashion and architecture. So no clothing pics today, I’m hoping everyone is okay with that…..  Today I’m looking at the amazing world of architecture, some old buildings some new and a combination of both. I’m basically split down the middle with what I like better, old versus new. I guess that’s similar to my liking some vintage elements to complete a more modern look. In any case, there is just so much inspiration around us that cannot be ignored.

To start,  one of my favourite buildings, it’s located in Warsaw Poland just down the street from my Grandmother’s place. It has a strong yellow tint to it (I was playing with filters so it isn’t that apparent) .Just take a second to note the incredible amount of details. This reminds me of all the brocade fabrics we are seeing everywhere. Every time I walked by, it would stop me dead in my tracks calling out for moment of admiration.

This was another building that I admired tremendously. It’s stark white and slightly less ornate but very carefully placed detail. A more minimalist look than the above yet still a big contrast to the modern lines that are so prevalent today.

This is one of my favourite combinations of old and new. It’s a new highrise in Toronto that uses the old building by repurposing it as the entryway. It’s a fantastic idea that incorporates new clean lines with the details of vintage. Note also, the contrast of colour. I tried to enhance the colours to really show the gray/blues against a more vibrant red. Again, this type of contrast can be found in both fashion and architecture.

This is a very similar idea to the above picture except it’s located in Vancouver. I was able to watch them renovate the older building as the new towers went up around it. Again it’s a great combination of old and new, modern and vintage, starkness and opulence.

This is another combination that I love. Again in Vancouver, it combines old architecture with new, sleek highrises that surround it. Of course I can’t forget about the difference in materials. Here we see the brick with a touch of copper versus concrete and glass.

I guess what I’m thinking in this case is that cities, like fashion are always changing and incorporating the old with the new to create something unique which is neither one of those things. It is the ultimate fusion of where we were and where we are going.  It’s not true that “everything old is new again”, but rather that “everything is old and new”.  In conclusion, fashion and architecture make the perfect pair.

How do you view the parallels between fashion and architecture?

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