Design

Violise Lunn’s Paper Shoes and Dresses Are Fashion Dreams

March 14, 2021

You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have…Maya Angelou

Paper Dolls

I loved playing with paper dolls. My favorite was the ‘dress-up outfits. It was probably an assortment of goofy-looking prom dresses. But, what did I know, I was probably 6 or 7 years old. When I ran across this article on Vogue.com/runway, I bookmarked it, and then a friend sent me the link. Okay, I thought, time to open and really read this article.

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” Violise Lunn’s work is worth the words and the abundant creative admiration she generates around the world with her exhibits.

Denmark has a long history of fanciful paper art. Hans Christian Andersen, the most famous artist, conjured fairy tales with words and paper designs and clippings. Violise Lunn likewise makes magic with paper tissue and glue, crafting dream dresses and fantasy shoes that seem destined for fairies.

The story begins in 1999 when the late Kirsten “Kiki” Kiser, a Danish model turned architect and gallerist, asked if Lunn could make a frock out of paper. “I thought, Well, why not?” the artist says. “I made dresses, and then afterward I thought, Okay, the dresses needed shoes, and then I created some shoes with paper-mâché.”

Violise works with paper as she would a textile, with glue substituting for stitches. In 2006 her delicate paper works were translated into porcelain by Royal Copenhagen. “Whether I design porcelain, paper sculpture, paper shoes, or dresses, it is detailed, poetic, and feminine,” says Violise. “I wouldn’t call it simple and Scandinavian, but something more playful.” While many people ascribe a magical quality to Violise’s work, she does not. “Fairy tales can also be very grim, can’t they?” she muses.

a paper shoe by violise lunn…photo courtesy ms. lunn

Denmark has a history of paper art; its most famous proponent was Hans Christian Andersen, who conjured fairy tales with words and paper clippings. Violise Lunn likewise makes magic with paper tissue and glue, crafting dream dresses and fantasy shoes that seem destined for fairies.

This adventure began in 1999 when the late Kirsten “Kiki” Kiser, a Danish model turned architect and gallerist, asked if Lunn could make a frock out of paper. “I thought, Well, why not?” the artist says on a call. “I made dresses, and then afterward I thought, Okay, the dresses needed shoes, and then I created some shoes with paper-mâché.”

Lunn, the daughter of a weaver and a proponent of slow fashion, has a custom atelier in Copenhagen, where she trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts as a designer. Her studies weren’t motivated by launching a brand. “It was just learning to use your hands,” she explains. “I love the fabric. I love the creative part, the handicraft, you know, all the techniques to make something that is beautiful.”

Lunn works with paper as she would a textile, with glue substituting for stitches. In 2006 her delicate paper works were translated into porcelain by Royal Copenhagen. “Whether I design porcelain, paper sculpture, paper shoes or dresses, it is detailed, poetic, and feminine,” notes Lunn. “I wouldn’t call it simple and Scandinavian, but something more playful.” While many people ascribe a magical quality to Lunn’s work, she does not. “Fairy tales can also be very grim, can’t they?” she muses.

More delicate than Cinderella’s glass slipper, the artist’s light-as-air works might be fragile, but they have staying power because they excite and live in the world of imagination.

Lunn’s paper garments, even though unwearable, are timeless and made for fairies. You can find references to past and future fantasies in her designs. But what makes them more stunning is that each piece struts an astonishing and equally delightful indifference to everything going around in the world today.

Hi friends; I cannot imagine having the imagination to create this one-of-a-kind design. I would love to frame each one of these photos and hang them in my bedroom…Wouldn’t you? Please share if you know of other uniquely original designs…xok