ILANIO REUBIN AND ELENA SLIVNYAK
SUPREME BEINGS FASHION SHOW

source: tokyofashiondiaries

Started in 2004 as “Ilanio Wear” was couture made for ravers, club kids, and became especially popular with flamboyant Burning Man attendees. Now the designer has turned to completely couture one-of-a-kind art pieces that have no regard for “saleability” or even “wearability”.

“The goal of my current work is to design, construct, present, and publish a series of visually stunning fashion concepts that explicitly disregard wearability, saleability, and practicality; that embrace advanced definitions of sexuality and gender; and that defy the commercially-mandated boundary between fashion and art world.”
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source: provocateur-media

The Supreme Beings Fashion Show will reveal the avant-garde concepts of two local fashion designers, Ilanio Reubin of Ilanio and Elena Slivnyak of IIMUAHII, at the spacious SOMArts Cultural Center on Thursday, March 1st. The two runway shows will showcase 8 imaginative looks from each designer, as well as two short improvisational performances by Butoh (contemporary Japanese) dancers which we find very fitting for the two creatives.

Though different in aesthetic, both designers hail from similar backgrounds and aim for analogous goals. Ilanio (San Francisco Art Institute) and Elena (Academy of Art) both found the retail and fashion corporate worlds too constrictive and mass-produced, and thus ventured into their own imaginative ones.
Ilanio works to create “visually stunning fashion concepts that explicitly disregard wearability, saleability, and practicality; that embrace advanced definitions of sexuality and gender; and that defy the commercially-mandated boundary between the fashion and art worlds.” For Elena of IIMUAHIII, her avant-garde aesthetic is manifested in an intricately-crafted sportswear line.

Although we’re dreaming of being in Paris (but really, when are we not?), we’re excited to watch Ilanio and IIMUAHII strut and represent San Francisco’s undeniable talent in their nontraditional fashion show and hope to see you all there as well!
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source: eventbrite

IIMUAHII was established in 2010 as an avant-garde sportswear line, and its main goal is to convey something new, unique, and innovative to the local and national fashion scenes. Designer / Creative Director Elena is very adamant about using animal-friendly, high-tech materials, and prides herself on creating the most original and eye-catching garments in the high fashion world. She uses inconceivable fabrics with distinctive textures, creates modern, never-before-seen silhouettes, and weaves complex, activewear details into all of her designs. Elena has worked with celebrity stylists and record labels as a costume designer for aspiring stars, and her work has been featured in video shoots, magazine editorials, and live performances.
Ilanio’s all-black Autumn/Winter 2012 line lands us in an uncharted zone somewhere between body art and conceptual fashion. In the absence of color, materials and textures vie for center stage: pregnant spheroids and initimidating Mesozoic spikes alternate between invitation and protection, and fur, rubber, and plastic composites meld the industrial and the biological, suggesting out-of-control GMO experiments, or first contact with an undiscovered fetish subculture. Despite all that black, the line is playful and light, with a healthy sprinkling of humor throughout, and an undeniable, off-center sexiness permeating the work.
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source: tmagazineblogsnytimes

In San Francisco earlier this month, two men covered in white powder curled and crawled through the constrained motions of Butoh, a modern dance style that originated in 1940s Japan. These performers, Ronnie Baker and Luku-san, opened the “Supreme Beings” fashion show at San Francisco’s SOMArts center by strapping on protective gear, then smearing their powdery bodies with red paint and pounding each other’s chests in a parody of masculinity and animal instinct. Butoh may seem an odd opening act for a runway show, but it makes sense for the San Francisco-based designers Elena Slivnyak of Iimuahii and Ilan Rueben of Ilanio, who explore the hazy boundaries between fashion and modern art.
The whirrs, clicks and undulating tones of the D.J. duo SpacEKrafT set the eerie scene for Iimuahii’s winter line of black and tan active wear. Sheets of curve-hugging neoprene formed towering shoulder pads, sky-high cowl necks and intricately embroidered jackets. The Ukrainian-born Slivnyak used thick synthetics and delicate sheer panels to create a feminine profile with distinctly masculine elements, inspired by the monochromatic palette and dramatic silhouette of fencing uniforms. Slivnyak plans to release her ready-to-wear collection, Iimuahii Sport, this summer.

Then came Ilanio’s newest offerings, in the designer’s first large-scale fashion exhibition. Educated at the San Francisco Art Institute, Rueben created his Ilanio label in 2004. His clothes have since become less commercial, and they often push the limits of social acceptability. “Sexuality is an important theme in clothing,” Rueben said. “But in America it’s not something people are willing to dance too close to.” One of his models sported a cascading, floor-length headdress made of surgical tubing; another wore nothing but a snoutlike fur cowl and long black gloves adorned with dangling locks of wig hair. Then came a helmet resembling a human eyeball worn by a tottering model in “invisible” acrylic heels. Talk about a focal point of the collection.
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source: tokyofashiondiaries

2004年にスタートした「Ilanio Wear」は、西海岸のクラブシーンのためのRaveクチュールを打ち出したブランド。中にはバーニングマンの参加者の多くはIlanioを着用してたようです。でも数年前から方向性を一気にかえ、現在は完全したアートプロジェクトとしてランウェイを行い、「Ilanio」という名前でアートとファッションを問わず活躍している。

「今の目標はウェアブル性と商品性を無視したビジュアル的にきわめて素晴らしい作品を打ち出したいこと。また、女と男というバリアーもなくして、ジェンダーフリーなものをファッションとアートの境界線を超えるブランドにしたいです」