Religion’s place in the fashion industry.

In 2008 a collection from Il Galantuomo, a men's label by Korean-born Gunhyo Kim, a graduate of Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Arts and a design assistant of Dries Van Noten, was inspired by Antwerp’s Hasidic Jews. (Hasidic Jews are called Hasidim in Hebrew. This word derived from the Hebrew word for loving kindness- chessed)

Gunhyo’s collection was made up of stylish, tailored suit jackets, v-neck T-shirts, long tunics and loose pants.

However in 1993 it was Jean-Paul Gaultier who was the first major fashion designer to use the Hasidic sect of Judaism as an inspiration for his collection.

The runway was lined with Menorahs; Maneschewitz wine was served; and models donned exaggerated curls and yarmulkes.

Jean Paul Gaultier- “Hasidic-inspired” collection 1993 

http://magyarleague.tumblr.com/post/5799027866/jean-paul-gaultier-hasidic-inspired-collection

“I saw a group of rabbis leaving the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue. I found them very beautiful, very elegant, with their hats and their huge coats flapping in the wind. It was a fantastic scene.” Jean Paul Gaultier.                                                                   (http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/82783/chai-fashion/)

So does religion really have a place within the fashion industry or is it just a source of reference or inspiration?