BARCELONA: Sumi/Shuimo turned into fashion design print (Igor Dobranić Summer 2017 Collection) 2016

This is a fashion design print by Alfred Freddy Krupa, from the Igor Dobranić Summer 2017 Collection, using Sumi/Shuimo techniques. There’s something amazing about seeing traditional ink painting, usually on paper, exploded onto fabric like this. Look how the black ink pools and bleeds into the white material. It’s like the brushstrokes have been given permission to be wild and free, celebrating the process of creation. I’m really drawn to that one dark stroke near the waist—it’s so confident and full of energy, it almost feels like the whole garment is anchored by that single mark. You know, it reminds me a little of Franz Kline’s work, how he took the gestural energy of calligraphy and blew it up to an epic scale. Krupa’s really interesting because he seems so rooted in the historical traditions of ink painting, but he’s not afraid to let it loose and explore new possibilities. It’s like he’s saying, "Why can’t ancient techniques be totally modern?" Art is an ongoing conversation, right?