C.C.P. Special Archive

FE-MALE
CAROL CHRISTIAN POELL

As part of the exhibition "S.O.S. - Saving the MAK Collection" (2002) the MAK presented Carol Christian Poell's work for the first time in Austria. Poell is regarded as the most important representative of today's subversive and socio-critical fashion design and is internationally acclaimed as such. The presentations of his collections (installations in a kennels, in a slaughterhouse, etc.) have attracted the public's attention time and again because of their performance character.

CAROL CHRISTIAN POELL, born in Linz in 1966, lives and works in Milan, Italy. After having been trained as a men's and a ladies' tailor in Vienna (Michelbeurn), he studied fashion design at the Domus Academy in Milan where he also founded the production and distribution company C.C.P. Srl together with his partner Sergio Simone. After having presented his first men's collection in 1995, he developed his ladies' collection from classical elements of traditional menswear three years later. The distribution network for his articles of clothing and accessories, which are quite extravagant in terms of production technology, includes more than 40 dealers all over the world.

The MAK show focuses on the "Trilogy of Monotypologies" of


  his first three FE-MALE collections. These show CAROL CHRISTIAN POELL highlighting the various sections of the body: the lower part (fall/winter 99/00: trousers, skirts), the upper part (spring/summer 00: shirts, jackets), and the body in its entirety (fall/winter 00/01: dresses, coats).

Trilogy of Monotypologies.
Phallus Trousers, Sleeveless Long Coat Made from Human Hair,
F/W 00/01 FE-MALE

Reflecting the different gender roles, Poell outlines the drawbacks of a woman's existence by revealing a being that suffers tragically, feels handicapped, has only limited possibilities, and is restricted in her social position. He employs a range of unusual materials such

 






Trilogy of Monotypologies. Tape Make-Up,
F/W 00/01
FE-MALE

as blood-dyed leather, bodyplast, plastered leather, and human hair.

Including works by Carol Christian Poell in the collection of the MAK pays tribute to the oeuvre of an outstanding contemporary fashion designer of Austrian origin. The selection presented in "S.O.S. - Saving the MAK Collection" constitutes the cornerstone of a C.C.P. Special Archive at the MAK. The special archives being set up by the MAK Design Info Pool (DIP) center on design pioneers, i.e. innovators pursuing design strategies of their own and thus having a certain exemplary function. Poell's entire oeuvre will be catalogued, and key works will continuously be added to the collection.
Exhibition view: S.O.S. - Saving the MAK Collection, 2002

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