Axel Pasanen

Blatant/Covertis a collection which discusses – and is influenced by – the concept of supermodernism. The acceleration of events and history, the foreshortening of space and the excess of information and surveillance all play an active role in the thought process of creating each garment. Axel Pasanen aims to accelerate past what is contemporary, culminating in a post-contemporary vision of the world. Pasanen draws inspiration from his surroundings, non-places, and spaces which one must travel through in the contemporary urban metropolis. Garments are designed to simultaneously protect, store, conceal, be covert, be anonymous and be incognito, yet stand out. Pasanen obsessively and meticulously crafts digital simulacra of each item, brought into reality through means of unconventional garment-making. Each garment and accessory exists initially as a digital representation, from which the physical copy is later brought to life. 3D pattern drafting, CAD, and sculpting software form the basis of the designer’s method. The items are brought out of the digital into the physical by utilising a CNC fabric cutter, 3D printing, and traditional sewing techniques. Through virtual pattern drafting and design, new forms emerge from the acts of experimentation as well as trial and error. Working within the confines of the digital and learning to interpret how simulated garments eventually act in the physical world leaves room for the unexpected. Axel August Zakarias Pasanen axel.pasanen@aalto.fi +358451234003