”I do not dress as I do to attract attention – I attract attention because I dress as I do.”

Louis Thomas ”Moondog” Hardin 1956

For this collection I will continue working a mnemonic perception of clothing, and how this communicates between individuals, between the wearer and one’s surroundings, between inner and outer self-perception. The characters of this particular collection will be developed around a psychological experience, the inner image of our self, the otherness and the imagination and how it translates into reality. I am also addressing the crossing of present and past as a crucial element of my design-aesthetic. Using the past to define the present and point into the future adds another layer to a contemporary collection.

Louis Thomas Hardin, also known as ‘Moondog’, an American composer, has inspired me greatly in the process of creating this personal vision. Loosing his sight at the age of 16, he visited several schools for the blind where he learned to translate his music into Braille (the writing and reading system used by the blind).  As a young man he moved to New York in the late 1940’s where he choose to live and work on the streets. Using the environmental sound effects of his surroundings, his great admiration of Native American culture and his classical musical education, he created a very tribal urban sound that combined a modern classical approach with a very haunting percussive and everyday soundscape.

‘Moondog’ also was known for his individual and avant-garde style, dressing himself according to his beliefs and personal philosophy as he appeared as a futuristic Norse-God, an urban medicinman, resembling a Viking, a warrior or a shaman. This self-image, almost entirely based on a phantasmagorical image of one self, is not only inspiring, but also influences me as a designer!

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s movie ‘Holy Mountain’ has had a great impact on my work lately, not only because of Jodorowsky’s stunning visual language, but also because of the strong symbolism.  Moreover, the running narrative of a world ruled by the urge to seek a universal religion and a harmonious coexistence of all mankind.

On a metaphoric level “Moondogs” also deals with our social political views being blinded by hatred and fear. The collection is to be seen as a critical comment on how we as a society close our eyes to other ways of living or understanding the world.

We have to find a place within our self where we have the confidence to follow our own path, and at the same time accept that all individuals around us have their own beliefs, point of view and way of living. Look within our self to open up to the world surrounding us.

Mads Dinesen