Calgary designer stops presses with newspaper-based clothing

CALGARY – Designer Kyle Nylund admits that stitching – while a mandatory skill for a fashion designer – isn’t exactly his cup of tea.

“Sometimes, I could throw the sewing machine across the room. . . . If I could hand off the work to someone else, I would. But it’s a necessary skill to have so you can create your own designs,” says the 25-year-old mixed-media artist.

Given his stance on the needle and thread, it may not come as a surprise that several of his prize creations were made almost entirely without the use of his trusty old Singer.

In March, Nylund won first place in the Fashion Has No Borders Wearable Art Competition. The award came for an extravagant and detailed dress he crafted of papier mache.

The fashion designer has his own self-titled clothing label (kylenylund.com). He also paints and creates other mixed-media art on a commission basis; his work has been shown at the Illingworth Kerr Gallery, the Nickle Arts Museum and several other Calgary-based venues.

We checked in with Nylund to find out how he creates his amazing sculpted looks.

Q: Where did you train?

A: I went to the Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD). I was a graduate of the Fibre Program. ACAD was my choice of schools because I was encouraged by a mentor to go there, because of how conceptual my artwork is.

Q: Why did you decide to create this sculpted dress?

A: I saw the Fashion Has No Borders Competition to make a dress out of newspaper, and I knew it would be a perfect challenge for me. I even started the dress even before (they) officially selected me to be a finalist.

When I began sketching, I started drawing something pretty epic. My goal is to constantly create, even when I don’t have a reason to. . . . It’s important to constantly be creating different works of art, even when you feel no inspiration. Just get in there and start making something. Then, one day, when someone asks you to exhibit your work, your answer doesn’t have to be “˜Oh, I don’t have anything right now.’ You will always have a collection, even it’s just for you.

Q: How many newspapers did it take to create this?

A: I think it took upwards of 50 papers. I had friends help me rip them up into little pieces. I only wanted to use black and white portions of the paper.

Q: How did you build this dress?

A: The structures are moulded out of window screen. I love using window screen because it’s very versatile and bendable. The material is something I discovered by trial and error. Turns out that window screen works very well as a manipulative base. The dress was papier mache. I think, in total, if I were to tally it up, it took me about 30 hours to make.

Q: What did you think you would be doing after graduating from art school?

A: I always thought my skills would be very applicable to costume design. That’s something I haven’t done yet. A dream job of mine would definitely be doing costume design for some great Broadway show. I may also complete a master’s degree one day. We’ll see where life takes me.