No one can replicate the feeling of turning on your TV Saturday morning, switching the channel to Nickelodeon, plopping down on your couch watching cartoons while you eat your bowl of cereal. That nostalgic feeling stands true for us millennials and it’s something that just can’t be replicated. Or can it?
High-end fashion designers, Christian Cowan and Marlou Breuls, tried to replicate that same emotion through their newest fashion collection. They achieved this by using inspiration for their clothes from childhood cartoon favorites: The PowerPuff Girls and Spongebob Squarepants.
Young and successful designer, Christian Cowan, is known for dressing A-List celebrities since he was still in college. He got his starting when Lady Gaga sported a full pink glitter suit that Cowan designed in 2014. Since then, many other artists like Beyonce, Nicki Minaj and Naomi Campbell have supported Cowan and his modern take on clothing. His most recognizable piece is seen on rapper Cardi B’s award winning album, “Invasion of Privacy.”
For his newest collection he collaborated with Cartoon Network’s The Powerpuff Girls. With the runway in the signature blue, pink and green stripes, models stunted Cowan’s collection what was reminiscent of the beloved cartoon.
With looks that not only literally represented the three main crime fighting girls – Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup – Cowan also takes inspiration from the vibe and the iconic villains in the show.
Photos Courtesy Refinery29
My personal favorites from the collection are: the furry pink coat with the accenting neon lights at the collars, the mayor’s assistant look, the snakeskin body dress and Paris Hilton in the pink and black checkered tulle gown. To see the full collection slideshow, click here.
Cowan is not the only one to take inspiration from a childhood favorite cartoon. Marlous Breuls recently has a fashion show to show off her haute couture collection inspired by the cartoon, Spongebob Squarepants.
Another young designer, Breuls established her label in 2016 after graduating from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute. She is known for her avant garde designs and her use of shapes that are interesting to the eye. Although her name is not commonly heard, Breuls designs have taken the likes of many celebrities such as Bjork and Sia.
Her runway had dark blue lighting, a white pebble-like pattern on the catwalk and at the beginning of the runway had Spongebob’s iconic pineapple house in white, where the models emerged out of. Also floating around the pineapple were the iconic flower clouds.
Breuls tapped into the playfulness of the cartoon and represented it well in her garments. The pieces she designed represented the characters of the show in variations of circles and exaggerated silhouettes but she made sure to bring vibrancy to the colors. Also, most models were holding a purse shaped like Spongebob, so cute!
Photo Courtesy Paper Magazine
Each garment evokes a childish attitude and you can’t help but reminisce. She had a ball gown in Patrick Star’s signature pink tone, to which she added large circles to replicate bubbles. Another garment in the collection was a vibrant, stark seaweed green dress that mimics the shape of kelp. It had large ruffles that surround the entire torso. In an interview with Paper Magazine, Breuls explained that this particular piece represents Plankton and the Chum Bucket. To see the full collection slideshow, click here.
Clothes are not just a pretty thing to look at, there’s so many elements to it and for these two designers to explore childhood memories and evoke emotions out of their clothing is truly amazing. These two young designers are the new generation of fashion design and I can’t wait to see what’s in store.