Ingrid Kraftchenko’s “The Body of Architecture ’24” at her newly opened Dollhouse, a post-industrial performance art space and atelier set in a historic Victorian factory in Haggerston, East London. Known for her daring, multidisciplinary approach, Kraftchenko’s show merged fashion, architecture, performance art, and socio-political commentary, positioning itself as a high point in LFW’s avant-garde offerings.
Watch the runaway show here:
The performance questioned who is safe and who is disposable in our capitalist framework, reinterpreting the “Body as Architecture” through practical, yet highly conceptual clothing. Kraftchenko’s designs fused resilient fabrics with bespoke accessories, reflecting a post-utilitarian need for protection in an uncertain world. Her delicate use of durable materials provided a visual and tactile commentary on the juxtaposition of fragility and strength.
As the performance unfolded in the industrial, minimalist setting of Kraftchenko’s atelier, the audience was invited to explore the space as part of the show itself. The immersive nature of the event disrupted traditional fashion show norms, drawing viewers into a multi-sensory experience that blended live choreography, sound, moving images, and architectural installations. This dynamic interplay between mediums allowed Kraftchenko to explore the body’s relationship with its environment, using fashion as a lens to interrogate social, cultural, and architectural constructs.
The location, Dollhouse, plays a significat role role in this conceptual journey. Housed in a disused 1890s factory, Kraftchenko has transformed the space into a post-industrial theater and fashion studio, a nod to Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 play A Doll’s House. But rather than Ibsen’s domestic drama, Kraftchenko’s Dollhouse disrupts the proscenium stage, using spatial interventions and hybrid performance art to challenge the gaze and the structure of theatrical and fashion norms. Here, the body and clothing become vessels for examining gender, power, and the artificiality of identity as constructed through fashion.
The deconstructed, almost dystopian aesthetic of the collection highlighted the themes of industrial collapse and the continuous reformation of skins—both architectural and bodily. Kraftchenko’s “doll” motif, representing a fetishized femininity and artificiality, was countered by a raw, utilitarian edge that suggested resilience in the face of societal breakdown. The mannequins themselves became actors in this subversive narrative, embodying disobedience and resistance against the normative constraints of fashion.
At the heart of it all was Kraftchenko’s mastery of merging the artistic and the functional, offering a powerful critique of the systems that dictate how we live, dress, and protect ourselves in a rapidly changing world.
