On March 16, Remai Modern hosts LUGO Light, a one-night-only party full of light installations, live visuals and moving image works and a vibrant program of contemporary art, music, sound, dance and performance. A party as spectacular as this calls for an equally extravagant outfit. While there’s no official dress code, LUGO is the perfect opportunity to express yourself as creatively as you want.
Before you run to Pinterest or Instagram, consider the ideas from a few local creatives who’ve put together inspirational outfits that make use of thrift finds, clothing from small businesses, and DIY alterations. Creative directors Molly Schikosky and Aldeneil Española present a series of looks that evoke the properties of light, helping you understand how to incorporate it into your own personal style.
Española takes over from here, writing about how you might let your creativity shine at this year’s LUGO.
LUGO Light welcomes the days becoming longer, lifts us out of slumber and calls us to toast spring’s arrival. LUGO explores light as this year’s subject and material; similar to last year, we take the theme as a medium for inspiration in this year’s lookbook. Light, as in the sun, and light as in weightless, LUGO invites us to shrug off our winter blues, and welcome the change of seasons. This year, we encourage people to find their sunsets and sunrises for colour inspiration while playing with materiality, texture, and lightweight fabrics to build outfits.
The colour theme for this year looks towards the sun. Saskatchewan is known as the land of living skies for its beautiful sunrises and sunsets – the pinks, reds, oranges, and yellows. A sunset is a vision on its own; however, its beauty takes on meaning when it shines over the far-reaching horizon of the prairie landscape we call home. In colour theory, it is said that colours shine not on their own but always beside another. For example, a fall sunset – deep ambers in the sky brushing the rich golden ochre of the autumnal landscape; a springtime sunrise – soft apricots and blush pinks peeking from the shadowy landscape, waking springtime’s green tender buds; a winter sunset – bright oranges with deep pinks shining over the regal soft white of the snow. We encourage you to describe your perfect sunrise/sunset in colours.
It’s important to remember that our skin tone plays a role in the colours we wear. Our skin varies from warm, cool, and neutral. That’s why sometimes when we put on a piece of clothing and look in the mirror, something doesn’t feel right. We want to look for colours that make us appear lively and healthy. Here’s a quick tip: drape a piece of clothing on your torso, close to the face, and take a moment to look. If the overall look of the face is glowy, warm, and bright, and the whites of your eyes and teeth appear brighter – it means that colour compliments you. However, if the skin looks drab, sickly, and dull, and the whites of your eyes and teeth appear yellow – it means that colour does not suit your skin tone.
While colours are an important aspect of an outfit, this year we want to highlight a facet of the word “light”, as in weightless. To invoke the feeling of lightness, to take space and to appreciate the beauty in delicate moments. We look to showcase light in the following inspiration pillars: Sheer for illumination – materials that let the light through to show layers like organza, voile, and lace. Lightweight in movement – materials that catch the wind and are easy to move in like chiffon, silks, and georgettes. Textural volumes – materials that disperse light and take space like pleats, tulle, and feathers.
With these kinds of materials, we want to avoid too much restriction; you should be able to move freely in the moment – like air. We encourage play, like layering pieces and showing lots of volume by gathering fabrics. An important thing to note is silhouette. A silhouette is the overall shape of a full outfit along with the body. What makes for a good silhouette is subjective, depending on what we are drawn to. Here are a couple of challenges you might encounter and suggestions on how to help. If you feel like you are being swallowed by too much fabric, you can pinch the waist by adding a belt or a corset; this will balance your overall look. If you want to use sheer fabrics but don’t want to show too much skin, then layering will help – try a bodysuit or undergarment underneath, or layer sheer materials over more opaque garments. Lastly, take note of temperature. Sheer and lightweight fabrics are usually breathable, but the more layers we have, the less airflow to the body.
THE TEAM
Photographer + Creative Director: Molly Schikosky
Stylist + Model + Writing: Aldeneil Española
Models: Peace Akintade / Klay Murry / Christie Peters
Assistants: Danni Dahl / Rowen Dinsmore
Videographer: Berit Johnson
LUGO offers a unique art experience that can’t be found anywhere else, where attendees can wander through the galleries, dance to live music, see performances and encounter art activations throughout the museum. Learn more about the night’s program here.
We can’t wait to see how you show up to LUGO Light!