Sruli Recht

Infobox Fashion Designer
name = Sruli Recht

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birth_place = Jerusalem, Israel
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education = Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
label_name = Sruli Recht, Sruli Recht Shoes
awards = Premium Young Designer Award, Kvosin competition for Reykjavik City Center
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occupation = Designer
religion = Judaism
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website = http://www.srulirecht.com
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Sruli Recht is an award-winning Designer, (Born 1979 in Jerusalem Israel). He is a citizen of Australia and is currently based in Reykjavik Iceland. Recht studied Fashion Design at RMIT University in Melbourne Australia, the city where he spent the majority of his life. His career began primarily in Fashion where he rapidly developed a unique style of experimental couture clothing influenced by Futurism, Cyberpunk, Russian Constructivism, Industrial design and Science-Fiction writing - particularly the work of Phillip K Dick and Bruce Sterling. Recht's innovative approaches to materials and new technologies, particularly in recent years, have led to products including ~Elt - the first buckle-less water-cut leather belt, and a portable flat pack cardboard Cutting Table. Recht's work is also considered by many to be controversial due in no small part to products such as theatrical garments made of Seal fur, Arctic Fox, and Minke Whale Skin.

Work

Sruli Recht's projects span Fashion Design, Custom-Tailoring, Illustration and Industrial Design - a fact which often makes it hard to define his work in any simplified way. Seemingly self-aware of this fact, during a 2006 collaboration with Nimrod Weis of [http://eness.com.au/ ENESS] Design Recht published a statement to try and better define the motivations behind his work from then on called Non-Products:

" 'Non-Products' -

A specially made low run piece,

either hand tooled or machine made,

that would lose its context as a mass produced item,

and is not viable to produce in large quantities.

And/or An item that is in concept stage as a byproduct of the previous. "

Recht began producing commercial work as early as 1998, establishing a studio in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood where he worked through the turn of the century primarily in the realm of fashion. Based in Melbourne his work centered around made-to-measure custom pieces however over this period he had already begun experimenting in more industrial design oriented projects including the controversial Umbuster - an Umbrella with a handle that also doubled as a Knuckle-duster. At the end of 2001 Sruli Recht formed ST Collaborate - a custom tailored futurist clothing label, with Timothy Trop - which, over a period of 3 years showed small collections and highly experimental show pieces including a sheepskin coat that fastened together with combination locks, shirts with magnetic buttons and a leather corrective neck-brace with automotive hydraulic piston.

In 2005 Recht left Australia to London England where he worked over 3 seasons with British designer Alexander McQueen in his Amwell St studios, cutting patterns and constructing catwalk showpieces. Following this period Sruli Recht relocated to Reykjavik Iceland.

Now based in Reykjavik his work continues along lines of blurred relationships between various schools of Design - fashion/industrial etc and whose byproducts have a darker ironic and aggressive subtext relating to social dis/function and sustainability. Examples of this include the production of a full-sized Polar Bear skin fashioned out of 15 Icelandic sheepskins, a buckle-less belt eliminating the need to remove it at airport security or a limited-edition run of bulletproof Handkerchiefs made of Kevlar - all thinly veiled social commentaries and primarily focused on design and concept rather than mass production and broad commercial appeal.

In addition to this Recht has also ventured into Shoe Design, producing his first collection in 2007 for 2008 which was critically acclaimed internationally by the media but also attracted considerable controversy due mainly to one particular model "Hvalsforhúðsskór"- a limited-edition shoe fabricated from the foreskins of Minke Whale penises.

"His boots are works of art in leather and form" - Tokion Magazine

"...the designs appear to be from another time and another world." - [http://www.indesignlive.com/ Indesign Magazine]

"A fairytale for fashion shoes" - Vogue Pelle Italia

"...one of the most intriguing and imaginative footwear collections seen." - [http://www.wgsn.com/ WGSN]

"“Sruli Recht has only gone and created the reason we have feet.” - [http://www.bornemagazine.com/ Borne Magazine]

Recht's approach to new mediums and materials have resulted in several cutting edge projects such as the 2004 new media art collaboration with [http://www.holographics.com.au/unfurl.html Martina Mrongovius] created the two large-format rainbow transmission holograms of his garments, title UNFURL, for the [http://www.experimenta.org/ Experimenta] New Visions Commission interactive media art exhibition [http://www.experimenta.org/vanishingpoint/index.htm VANISHING POINT]

Influences

Recht often cites his influences as largely literary, drawing particularly from Cyberpunk novels such as Bruce Sterlings Schismatrix and Shaper/Mechanist series and William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy. He has regularly stated in interviews that the writings of authors such as Bruce Sterling and William Morris have informed his work on various levels. An example of this would be in the similarly styled short prose of his first shoe collection "...I Have Walked" whose dark and textured visuals create a backdrop for each design.

Collaborations

Sruli Recht is an avid collaborator who often works simultaneously with other Designers and Design Houses and Artists across a broad range of mediums. Past and present collaborators include:

- British Eyewear Design House [http://www.olivergoldsmith.com Oliver Goldsmith]

- [http://eness.com.au/ ENESS] Design of Melbourne Australia

- CCP Games, the creators of the largest MMO game in the world - EVE-Online, in Reykjavik Iceland

- Dutch Shoe Designer [http://www.alexanderfielden.com Alexander Fielden]

- [http://www.mundidesign.net/ Mundi Designs]

- Icelandic record label [http://bedroomcommunity.net Bedroom Community]

- [http://www.krads.info/ Krads Architecture]

Sruli Recht is also core member of the international Design collective [http://www.thekdu.com The KDU]

Trivia

Sruli Recht has been quoted as the creator of several neologisms and new terms including

"Neo-dandy" A description of the trend pattern of modern dandy's influenced by the contemporary and future stylings, as posed to the retro influenced. Sruli also uses this term frequently when discussing CCP Games

"Charicouture" A neologism to define the Caricature and Couture approach to the hand made knit work experiments in the Mundi Brand. The term was then used to define the Walter Van Beirendonk, Henrik vibskov and Bernard Wilhelm. Used to define the placing the Mundi brand and clothing influenced by comic and futurist art/design

"Robo-Coco" A work ethic and style that was developed in Recht´s studio influenced by utilising natural products in a computer-assisted world. “Robo-Coco” - Technology mediated design, not achievable by hand tooling alone, yet aims to step backward away from the modern decorative whilst utilising the modern rococo in a robo-coco application. He describes the as a reflection of the processes that are employed to make each product. It is geometric, leveled, functional and composed… like a home or small world.

"key process rules:
- robo coco refers to design achieved with computer aid
- details and forms unable to produce by hand alone
- as in style of baroque and rococo flourishings"

"Japantwerp" In referencing the contemporary fashion design trend that has a mirroring influence effect between Belgian (Antwerp) and Japanese design. This was used in a grouping term and parallel between Ann Demeulemeester, Number (N)ine, Undercover brands and the brands that follow these Key performance indicators.

"Minke Dork" refers to a peculiar form of leather created by Recht from the foreskin of a Minke Whale penis. This term was invented as a semi-technical description of the material used in the production of a limited edition shoe- the hvalsforhúðsskór (roughly translated from Icelandic as "whales foreskin shoes")

Publications

* [http://www.icelanddesign.is/english/ Magma] - Contemporary Icelandic Design
* [http://www.daab-online.com/books/fashion/Link_zu:_Shoe_Design.html Shoe Design] - overview of contemporary shoe designers

Links

* [http://www.srulirecht.com Homepage]
* [http://www.thekdu.com The KDU]
* [http://www.birkiland.com Birkiland - Icelandic Design]
* [http://dumbofeather.com/ Dumbo Feather] cite web | url = http://www.exacteditions.com/exact/browse/465/539/3450/2/13 | title = Interview with Sruli Recht | accessdate = 2007-10-05 | accessmonthday = October 5 | accessyear = 2007 | author = Kate Bezar | work = Dumbo Feather Magazine, Issue 13
* [http://allicblog.blogspot.com All I C] cite web | url = http://allicblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/after-my-oct-post-about-sruli-retch.html | title = Interview with Sruli Recht | accessdate = 2008-03-31 | accessmonthday = March 31 | accessyear = 2008 | author = O Stelios | work = All I C Male Modishish Ideas
* [http://www.thefashionspot.com The Fashion Spot] cite web | url = http://www.thefashionspot.com/front-row/1/interview-with-designer-sruli-recht-429 | title = Interview with Sruli Recht - The Cutter of the North | accessdate = 2008-07-12 | accessmonthday = July 12 | accessyear = 2008 | author = Elena Krylova | work = The Fashion Spot
* [http://www.forumaid.com/ Forum Aid] cite web | url = http://www.ttsmag.com/2008/09/22/sruli-recht/ | title = Design Is a Perversion | accessdate = 2008-09-15 | accessmonthday = September 15 | accessyear = 2008 | author = Benedicte Andersson | work = FORUM AID - Arkitektur, Inredning och Design i Norden - 3.08
* [http://www.ttsmag.com The Tastemakers Society] cite web | url = http://www.ttsmag.com/2008/09/22/sruli-recht/ | title = Sruli Recht | accessdate = 2008-09-22 | accessmonthday = September 22 | accessyear = 2008 | author = Manny Blocker | work = The Tastemakers Society