Turkish born, London-based fashion designer Hussein Chalayan opens a show entitled From fashion and back tonight at the Design Museum in London.

The exhibition is the first comprehensive presentation of Chalayan's work in the UK. Spanning 15 years of experimental projects, the exhibition explores the designer's creative approach, his inspirations, and the many themes which influence his work such as cultural identity, displacement and migration.

Exhibits will include Afterwords which explores the notion of 'wearable, portable architecture' in which furniture literally transforms itself into garments; Airborne bringing the latest LED technology to fashion design with a spectacular dress consisting of dazzling crystals and over 15,000 flickering LED lights and Readings a dress comprising of over 200 moving lasers presenting an extraordinary spectacle of light.

Presenting fashion as a site of exploration and as expressions of concepts, Hussein Chalayan challenges preconceived notions of what clothing can mean, rather than as garments with only functionality in mind. Motivated by ideas and disciplines not readily associated with fashion, Hussein Chalayan's pioneering work crosses between architecture, design, philosophy, anthropology, science and technology.

Read more here. Don't forget to check out his Wiki entry and his official site, where you'll find an extensive collection of images from past collections, information on art/video projects, and videos from past runway shows. And don't forget his blog!

From fashion and back
Hussein Chalayan
Design Museum
Shad Thames, London SE1
22 January – 17 May 2009