It's difficult to define fashion, but the word will always bring to mind ideas about creativity, design, expression and art. It's impossible to disassociate fashion from art, because fashion IS art. This is the thought that inspired The Gallery Clothing Company, an exciting new project at the intersection of these two worlds.
The driving force behind the initiative is the concept of fashion as an art form. The brainchild of students from Queen's University Belfast, The Gallery seeks to create clothing which embodies art and allows its wearers to become walking canvasses. The founders' original idea was to feature artists' work on their clothing, which led to the creation of their first range. The Gallery has since grown and a successful pitch on RTE's Dragons' Den has earned them support from retail giant Ramona Nicholas.
The Gallery is run along different lines to the conventional fashion world. Instead of seasons, its output is organised into exhibitions, mirroring the art world's presentation format. Currently, Blank Canvas and Next Generation are the two exhibitions that The Gallery is proudly delivering to the world. They are not restricted to the traditional timeframes of the fashion industry and will run for however long there is passion and interest in them.
As a retailer, The Gallery is extremely selective about who and what they buy. They look outside the box in terms of the brands they choose to work with and encourage local designers. Quality and creativity will always remain their primary focus. Currently, collaborations with KLOTH, Bua Time and Fauxialite are underway and the new year will see the arrival of an exciting new undertaking with Belfast designers Chloe Dougan & Julia Sokele.
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As they expand, the Gallery are looking ahead to a busy Christmas and New Year, with a pop-up shop in Belfast over the holiday season and the prospect of a permanent store in 2015. The Gallery envisions the future of fashion with every storefront as an art display and every high street as an exhibition. These powerful steps, taken by one of the most exciting and experimental young companies in the Irish fashion industry today, might just be the beginning of that change.
To celebrate their collaboration with College Times, The Gallery Clothing Store are giving away over €150 of items for FREE to one lucky competition winner. Check out the College Times Facebook page for details. If you can't wait that long, why not enjoy a 25% discount on The Gallery website instead, by using discount code "CollegeTimes25". Find them on Facebook or have a look at their website... you can thank us later.
http://thegalleryclothingcompany.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thegalleryclothingcompany
Canvas from The Gallery Clothing Company on Vimeo.
