The runway shows at FAT, Toronto’s alternative fashion week.

Artifice

The tone for Artifice’s collection was set with music that was a refreshing change from the typical music one would expect to hear at a runway fashion show, no beat just crescendoing waves and eerie whispering, glitchy babble. It was fetish fashion meets medical oddities with a touch of insane asylum horror. It was more than a collection, it was a glimpse at an artist’s vision. The audience was in awe while watching a model very slowly hobble down the runway in ballet fetish shoes with crutches, two models walk strapped together as twins, and metal blades crafted into angle wings emerge from the final model’s back as she posed at the foot of the runway. The pvc appeared masterfully crafted when viewed on the runway, one can only hope that items purchased from this collection are given the same attention, as all of Artifice’s designs are handcrafted. The exaggerated silhouettes created by structured shrugs and skirts made this another trend conscious collection.

photos : Billy Archos

- Jennifer

Business woman, fashion designer, and stylish lady, we caught up with Adriana Fulop to talk about her highly successful clothing companies, Plastik Wrap and BitchCraft.

photographer : Billy Archos
fashion stylist : Adriana Fulop
models : Adriana Fulop, Robin Domander, Kassandra Merrit, and Giovani Pereira
interview by Vanity Kills

If you ever found yourself ignoring the plot of a sci fi action adventure flick due to the fact that your attention was fixated on sleek and sophisticated future fashion, you are not alone. Many of us longed for dresses seemingly made of polished chrome and punctuated with bursts of vivid color. Something to hold us over until neural implants with social networking capabilities become commercially available. Luckily, Plastik Wrap’s Adriana Fulop and Ryan Webber possess the creative genius and technical skill to keep you looking like android royalty straight out of the pages of a gripping cyberpunk thriller. They can’t hook you up with the aforementioned brain implants, nor with a prototype hover car, but they can infuse your life with a little artificial flavor by outfitting you in precisely tailored cyber apparel which flatter and accentuate both the male and female form.

Not quite ready to enlist in the plastik army just yet? If you crave high impact alt fashion with a more relaxed fit, then a sampling of Bitchcraft’s tasty offerings might be in order. Let Plastik Wrap’s Adriana Fulop and her creative partner Gabrielle Neveu tempt you with playfully dangerous body hugging tees adorned with prints of things that might hurt you if you’re not careful. Brass knuckles, scissors, syringes, and daggers, that’s what little girls are made of. In Bitchcraft’s world anyway. Those less fond off cutsey implements of torture can always hang with Mr. “Grumpy Octopus” or overdose on girlie glam in the “Tie Me Up Pretty” tee.

Old world elegance and love of quality craftsmanship fused with durable modern fabrics and space age trimmings on one end of the spectrum. Deliciously dark tees
you’ll want to live in on the other. How does Adriana Fulop do it all?

How would you describe Plastik Wrap’s current aesthetic? How did it evolve since the initial inception of the company?

Adriana Fulop : Initially we were designing simple, starch, space age styles. Which over time evolved into a darker, more utilitarian and avant-garde aesthetic. We haven’t focused on any one style category and have allowed ourselves to explore many interests, which has extended our tool set and fashion vocabulary. All of this combined has helped Plastik Wrap remain a design house that is very difficult to label. At least that is how I feel about it.

What’s the primary difference between your newest fashion endeavor, BitchCraft, and Plastik Wrap?

AF : BitchCraft is more playful, more of a fun evening project. Plastik Wrap is more like air to my lungs.

read the rest of the interview in the April/May 2010 Issue