FALL x Cheatwood
“Creating is a collaborative effort no matter what,” says designer Jeremy Fall. “You cannot create alone.”
Fall began working as a designer after leaving the digital magazine Cliché, which he founded in 2011. But almost as soon as he finished his inaugural 14-garment collection, he invited friend and visual artist Jonni Cheatwood to join his effort. In early 2013, Cheatwood added abstract layers to Fall’s leather skirts, cropped tops, and pants. With gold and blue metallic paint, he placed Fall’s logo—a fragmented, upside-down heart—onto black garments. Now, less than a year later, the two have paired again for another FALL x Jonni Cheatwood collaboration, which we are pleased to debut above.
“I definitely brought the color,” Cheatwood says with a laugh. “Jeremy is more of a black person, and darker. I want to see where colors go.”
For their latest collaboration Cheatwood deconstructed Fall’s lookbook. Taking muted images inspired by iconic scenes of Kate Moss and Johnny Depp’s relationship—think strung-out lovers in the kitchen and in bed—Cheatwood implemented his abstract yet minimal style. Certain images have hundreds of colors blending together as they obscure a model’s face, while others have merely a splash of gold paint or simple triangles accenting the original composition.
“You see each model as an individual person, but painting over it, they [become] anonymous,” Cheatwood explains. “I want to show an inner beauty coming out.”
There is more to the photographs than models and clothing. Comparing the lookbook to an album, Fall says, “The first song to the last song determines the story.” From the first photograph to the last, the models interact and mood changes. However, Cheatwood’s obscurities add ambiguities that allow our minds to wander and look toward the models for clues.
Aiming to bridge the gap between fashion and art, Fall and Cheatwood show that there is more to fashion than celebrity culture and more to art than the classic canon. “Art isn’t just Vermeer or Picasso,” Fall says. “If Warhol had designed a hotel, what would it have looked like?”
Fall’s fashion line is more than clothing; it’s a brand surrounding art and culture. “I want to create this cross-creativity platform and harbor a collective of creatives,” Fall explains. And for the future? “We’ll design clothes together. We’ll design art installations together. We’ll plan events together.” In 2014, expect at least one installation, plenty of events, and FALL x Jonni Cheatwood products to be available online.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE FALL WEBSITE.
