What better way to combat this schizophrenically grey un-Julylike weather than to introduce another video from Swatch MTV Playground, featuring the Queen of Rainbows, Fred Butler. Here she discusses her relationship with music and the conversation between it and her design work. Although Fred has had marked success in her more commercial endeavours, for example her recent accessories collection with Lazy Oaf, most of us know Fred for her structural origami inspired costume and accessories, brought to life perhaps most successfully on stage.

Here Butler describes herself as a 'frustrated musician', combatting this feeling of inadquacy by creating costumes and props for musicians. If you ask us this feeling is no bad thing; with the list
of recording artists who've been lucky enough to have been adorned by her reading like a who's who of brilliant. Engaging her love of music with the visual embodiment of the artist works so well with Butler's work. It's almost a given that her mixtures of textures and materials would compliment the layers of sound on stage with Patrick Wolf, and her metallic, graphic shapes and strong contrasts would turn yet another magnificent Gaga headpiece into an iconic piece of design. If you don't know Fred Butler, surely you know that telephone hat.

Perhaps this longing for the stage is what has made the designers of costume for musicians in recent years reach above and beyond in terms of extravagance on stage. Perhaps it's the reason why viewers of MTV of all ages are watching music videos and turning up to the artists concerts months later wearing matching makeshift couture. Whatever it is everyone has a longing and a passion for something, even if that thing is not realistic or doable (personally ours is Madonna circa Material Girl, but whatever floats your boat). Passion is what makes great art, and Butler's passion comes in every colour of the rainbow!

Posted on July 22, 2011 at 8:02:18 by Alice Nyong