Chalayan was born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1970. Having been educated in both Cyprus and England, he graduated from Central St. Martins College of Art and Design in 1993. His graduate collection, The Tangent Flows, caused a furore in the fashion world. A collection compiled of silk dresses that had been covered in iron filings, buried for months and then exhumed tends to award sudden notoriety. Such an assured collection of resurrected beauties pointed toward a talent that would develop in an unpredictable way, and chronicling his work from this graduate collection to 2009, the exhibition From Fashion and Back did not disappoint.
The exhibition from the twice-crowned British Designer of the Year (1999 and 2000), showcases a choice selection of Chalayan’s work. Inspired by questions of cultural identity, technological progress, displacement and migration, this exhibition has the potential to bring together the often disparate worlds of fashion and current affairs.
Chalayan’s 'Airmail Dress' (December, 1999) provides a great reason to keep the Royal Mail alive. This packaged dress was the first in a series that can be folded and posted (complete with red and blue air mail design) thereby simultaneously becoming a token of absence and presence.