Collaboration with Assaad Awad

This is the video of our latest Rir&Co collaboration with Assaad Awad for an exhibition at the Museo del Traje in Madrid.

After a visit to the Museo del Traje in Madrid, Spanish-Lebanese designer Assaad Awad (Beirut, 1974) is impressed by the purity of the lines and the perfection of Cristóbal Balenciaga's creations. That same night Awad imagines what would have happened if the master had commissioned him to create a collection of accessories for his suits.

Assaad Awad decided to carry out the project, taking Balenciaga's work kept in the museum as a starting point and creating pieces inspired by the Basque couturier's shapes to pay tribute to him.

Thus was born this pilot project that proposes a dialogue between two moments in the history of fashion - the golden years of haute couture and the present time. Thus building bridges, seeking solutions to the needs of today's fashion, dominated by fast fashion, and exploring new avenues of creation.

Sometimes on a par and sometimes completely opposite, the two artists are characterized by precision and perfectionism. And they were not satisfied with just sketching their designs, but carried them out with their own hands. Balenciaga had full mastery of sewing and the handling of fabrics. Awad has mastered leather and fur work and is characterized by experimentation in both techniques and materials.

Balenciaga had a predilection for enriching fabrics with hand embroidery, sequins or rhinestones and sought out the best artisans to work with him. Awad argues that in a world dominated by copy/paste, a return to craftsmanship is necessary. For this reason, he has selected several artisans from different trades throughout Spain who, under his direction, have collaborated in the elaboration of the pieces in this exhibition.

The exhibition is complemented by a series of illustrations that explain the creative process.

"In a world dominated by copy/paste, a return to craftsmanship is necessary."

Assaad Awad