The intrinsic value of fashion as a function of art is diminished when we define it in terms of this season’s lines, shapes and the next must have accessory. Being a sucker for strict categorization, I am as guilty of this as anyone. Speaking with designers in an artistic capacity has reaffirmed for me the value of abstractions that set the mind wandering. Sandra Backlund’s design process with knits is often an exercise in discovering a garment’s shape, which may be lurking just beyond awareness. Improvising from ideas rather than sketches is what makes Backlund’s designs, such as those from “Diamond Cut Diamond”, so unique and progressive. “I think I work with design as a form of therapy. When others write poems to deal with themselves, I do fashion. Because I work like that I cannot tell you so much about how a specific collection develops. The only thing I know for sure about Diamond Cut Diamond is that I suddenly got obsessed by the story of diamonds. The typical symbol of wealth, power and success, they hold the interesting double nature as both a glamorous messenger of vanity and a natural everyday working tool. It is the ultimate combination of beauty and purpose.”

from Backlund’s “Diamond Cut Diamond” collection

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