FLIRTING WITH LOGIC

From barely-there lingerie to skyscraping stilettos—fashion’s most provocative pieces are feats of engineering. CAITLIN AGNEW uncovers the surprising stars behind these smart and sexy designs.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: NICKI

MINAJ IN CHROMAT; THESIS COUTURE’S PROTOTYPE DREAM

HEEL; AN ILLUSTRATION OF A CUSTOM BODYCAGE MADE FOR MINAJ BY CHROMAT; A SKETCH OF HUSSEIN CHALAYAN’S SPRING 2000 AIRPLANE DRESS AND THE

DESIGN ON THE RUNWAY.

SEXY MAY BE A STATE OF MIND, BUT THERE’S NO

denying the power of an erotically charged outfit. Strategically placed cut-outs, a glimpse of décolletage and fetishworthy footwear can make imaginations run wild. But strip away these sexy exteriors and you’ll find an array of angles and calculations similar to those found in any high school geometry class. Fashion’s whiz kids—architects, engineers and the like—are applying their expertise in number crunching to create knockout works of art. One of these stars is Becca McCharen. A formally trained architect, the Brooklyn-based designer of Chromat now applies her background in buildings to design empowering cage-like lingerie, swimwear and dresses, which recently earned her a nomination for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. She’s also got a high-profile fan base made up of music’s sexiest stars, including Rihanna, Rita Ora, Taylor Swift, FKA Twigs and Beyoncé, who commissioned the label’s black pentagram-like harnesses for backup dancers to wear at her 2013 Super Bowl performance.

For McCharen, who launched Chromat in 2010, the design process for architecture and fashion is the same—just on a different scale. “With architecture, the first thing you do when you get a new project is analyze the building site,” she says. “When I’m analyzing the body, I’m looking at all the different joints and what the intersections are between different planes on the body. I’m analyzing materials and thinking about which ones will work in different areas.” The straight lines and three-dimensional geometry of Chromat’s lineup are inspired by the principles of scaffolding. “It’s a shield between your body and the outside world. It supports you,” she says. Like Hussein Chalayan’s remote-controlled airplane dress featured in his Spring 2000 collection, these pieces are equal parts form and function.

Creating physical support in clothing is almost second nature to a designer with a background in architecture. “It helps in terms of structure and construction,” says Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of New York’s Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Having a sturdy base is imperative for anything requiring support, like, say, feet or breasts. This may explain why those with engineering expertise have flirted with the fashion world over the decades. »