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Violise Lunn is a Danish fashion designer whose creations are unwearable.
We hasten to add that she makes eminently wearable couture items which Copenhagen women vie to buy. Her ultra-feminine wedding dresses take romance to a whole new level.
But it is her unwearable clothing that we are showing you now. It is made from paper, the simplest material of all. There is a dreamy, fairytale perfection to the paper pieces which are exhibited in galleries and museums around the world and have become collector's items.
Lunn sculpts figure silhouettes, angels and shoes – her favourite objects – of such fragility they are almost untouchable. You wouldn't dream of slipping your foot into one of Lunn’s paper shoes. They are all stiletto heels, pointy toes, ribbons, bows, flowers, buckles and delicious colours: rose red, duck egg blue, pale pink, gold, black and white.
The paper figure silhouettes are similarly complex, yet beautiful. They are ethereal, fantastical creations which bring to mind an ivory-skinned ballerina dancing her heart out.
The usable and useless garments that Lunn creates inspire each other. The fantasy element of her paper pieces can be seen in the one-off handmade fabric flowers which decorate her wedding and day dresses, for example. But their origin – the quest for dreamy perfection – is the same.
Lunn, 39, was born in Copenhagen in 1969, and graduated as a fashion designer in 1995 from Denmark Design School. She has run her own studio in Copenhagen since 1997, where she works on her designs. Lining the walls is a fantastic collection of fabrics brought home from her world travels. The fabrics and the stories behind them are her main source of inspiration.
With her sophisticated, wearable fashion, which is structured and modern yet idiosyncratic, Lunn doesn't focus on trends, but on refining and emphasising the uniqueness of textile, garment and wearer. A Lunn garment, wearable or not, is timeless. References to both past and future can be found; but far more important, in the words of their creator, "is that each piece struts an ... indifference to what else is going on in the world".
A number of awards have come Lunn's way. In 1999 she won the Danish fur prize, The Golden Fur Needle. In 2000, she was awarded the Golden Button and in 2002, Carlsberg gave her the Thimble Award. Recently, she has begun designing for porcelain company Royal Copenhagen, producing a range of exquisite porcelain bowls, vases and Christmas decorations – paper-thin, of course.
Living Creatively spoke to Lunn recently, and here's what she said about her unique work.
Is the material all-important for you?
I love beautiful materials. Shapes and inspiration come out of the material. It can be fluid like water or the light that comes through a material. When I have a material in my hands, I see how it acts. This is where a shape begins to take form. Or if I have a shape I want, I pick the right material to get that look or feeling. A silk chiffon has to be loose and airy, windy, and there has to be a lot of it otherwise the material looks dull and its personality does not come out right.
Is paper your first love?
I love paper because it's free of boundaries, I do not have to think about size or if it can be washed. You can create anything out of paper, even furniture, and you can get paper everywhere. You can mix it with glue, varnish or wax and it will turn out completely different. It can get rock hard, transparent, soft or crumpled.
What are you trying to achieve with your paper artwork?
I think I use paper as an inspiration for my other designs in porcelain and fashion. It is my little fairytale world where there are no boundaries and I can relax in a way.
Why shoes? Why sculpted bodies?
Probably bodies and shoes because I work a lot with fashion. Shoes have an extra dimension. They are very human in a way. They look like insects. Some are scary, some are starved, some happy and very feminine and some a bit ugly.
What are you thinking of as you create with paper?
I think it comes with the material. If I put a certain varnish on a special quality of paper it can look very delicate and vulnerable and then it just goes on from there. Usually I have an idea but as I go along it suddenly changes and I just go with it. It might sound easy but 90 per cent of it ends up in the trash can.
Where does the inspiration come from?
I love travelling to places with flea markets, warehouses and places where they have many small shops with strange little things. Or streets with just kitchen things or paper things. I have just been in New Delhi and the bazaars were heaven – I bought a lot of things. It can be the colour or shape or surfaces that I like. It will always be useful in some way. Things don't have to be practical as long as they are beautiful or funny to look at.
Explain your creative process.
I have an idea in my head and it can stay there for a long time until I have the time to work on it. It's like one’s head is working simultaneously while doing other things. I write it down or make a little sketch to remember it and if it is still fun to work with after weeks or months, then I do it. Not that that is a guarantee it will work, however.
You collect paper – how big is your stash? And does it deteriorate with time?
I buy paper all the time. Some of it looses colour if it's lying in the sun, but if you keep it away from rain and fire it should keep.
Do you have a favourite paper to work in – tissue, gold leaf, butcher’s paper...?
I prefer paper which has a special surface, not a clean white A4 with no personality. But sometimes you have to work a little with it so it gets a new look.
How much time do you spend working with paper, as opposed to your fashion work?
It's hard to say because they overlap. When I sit with paper I can get inspired to do something in fabric and vice versa.
Porcelain is new for you – is it also pliable and without boundaries? Do you enjoy working with it?
I am very lucky to have the opportunity to work with such a distinguished company. It is a big challenge and very exciting. I love to work with completely new things, it's like being a child again. You have no preconceived ideas about how things should be done. In this way, a lot of new ideas evolve. Before I started, I spent three weeks in the factory there just making test samples. It is also hard work as I make a lot of things that cannot be made at an industrial level. That is a challenge for the people working there. But it is a great satisfaction to finally see your work finished and in a store.
Sometimes it can be very frustrating because there is so much knowledge I do not have about the material and I tend to want to do everything, but you have to concentrate on one thing at a time and try to put all the other ideas in your head on pause. Luckily I work with some very patient and clever craftsmen at the factory.
There are a lot of boundaries with porcelain. It shrinks 14% when it is burnt so a little mistake and it will either disappear or get much more visible. And there are so many techniques with glazing and so on ... many things that I have very little knowledge about but learn as the work proceeds.
Are there other materials you would like to work with?
Lots – gold, fur, wood, bamboo, glass, but it takes time to just get a tiny bit of knowledge and there is only 24 hours in the day. But I have an open mind about learning about them.
Have you always been interested in paper? Where does your interest come from?
I have always made things with my hands. My mother is an artist and both my grandmothers always sat with something in their hands so I have always had paper, fabric, trims and yarn around me. And both my parents have always travelled a lot.
When you sit in a restaurant and are given a paper napkin, are you tempted to create something?
Never! I love food too much to be distracted by a napkin.
By Carolyn Ford