Young designer Louisa Ballou transforms the pieces she creates into works of art. Sprays of paint, colourful patterns, prints and abstract geometric shapes spring to life in the designer’s collection. She transposes paintings onto luxurious Italian fabrics.
For her Spring-Summer 2024 collection, the artist works for the first time with denim, which she declines in 4 distinct works of art.
In her creative process, she uses silkscreen ink and knives to create digital motifs inspired by botany and action painting. The result is astonishing: you could imagine yourself wearing a Pollock or Willem de Kooning canvas.
“The Sunset print”, for example, incorporates one of her photos of Charleston, her hometown in South Carolina, where the sunsets are marvellous. She works the motif with oil paint to achieve a surreal effect. Once applied to fabrics, the prints come to life, the body becomes a canvas and a veritable playground for the artist.
Louisa Ballou uses an innovative technique to digitally apply her prints to cotton threads, using a customised weaving process. She finishes her creations with details such as brass fittings, leather patches and metal buckles.
All models are inspired by art history. In particular, the skirts are a direct reference to sarongs. The topstitching on the back pockets evokes high-waisted bikini bottoms, while the sculptural jackets refer to the swimsuits she creates. Louisa Ballou’s signature pieces.
The designer draws inspiration from nature, art, design and literature to turn women into works of art.
