Working in the Interzone: Fashion as Interdisciplinary Practice

‘If something’s too clear, it’s very often not so much inspiring to me anymore.’
– Raf Simons, 2014

The ‘interzone’, a term borrowed from a collection of short stories by William Burroughs, refers to a metaphorical, liminal, self-governed and stateless state. The term has emerged more recently to describe the creative practice of Raf Simons whose work tends towards collaboration and crossovers with art, design and multiple contextual influences. In this sense, it also alludes more broadly to fashion’s capacity to be a radically porous and interdisciplinary field.

Working in the Interzone: Fashion as Interdisciplinary Practice was a panel discussion with Matthew Stone, Caroline Stevenson and Nathalie Khan that explored interdisciplinary practices within the field of fashion. The notion of the ‘interzone’ as a tactic for artistic output provided the context for the panel, as well as collaborations that transcend disciplinary boundaries and what is at stake when boundaries are dissolved or crossed.