donatella versace and james clar for esquire singular suit show

esquire singular suit exhibition somerset house, london july 31st to august 31st, 2009

1.5 metre long light tubes project out of a man’s body image courtesy of traffic

esquire magazine invited 18 fashion designers and tailors to collaborate with artists of their choice to develop a one-off suit representing their skills and artistic vision for the ‘esquire singular suit exhibition’ at somerset house, london. italian designer, donatella versarce, chose james clar, a light artist who practices art and design in dubai. the inspiration for the piece was cinema’s iconic gentleman spy – film characters such as james bond, the saint and thomas crowne have continually dodging bullets and dangerous situations, all while dressed in classic tailored suits. the result is a piece that pushes film fantasy into visceral reality. an elegant man stands in a burst of giant spikes of light which each measure approximately 1.5 metres long. the more than 3 metre tall sculpture is a re-interpretation of a still frame in a film at the moment just before an explosion.

other collaborations in the show include aquascultum and antony gormley, louis vuitton designer paul helbers and christian schoefer and dolce & gabbana with ron arad.

the tubes create an explosion of light image courtesy of traffic

the inspiration behind the piece was hollywood gentlemen spies image courtesy of traffic