For all these years the designer has supported himself mainly through consultancies in music and fashion, which allowed commerce to take a second seat to his theoretical practice. This designer proposes fashion as service, saying: “I instinctively felt I had something important and I felt a sense of service, like my work had a purpose…. I know this sounds big, but [I thought] my work would be in service to humanity in some way.”
Aitor Throup for Umbro
Photo: Coutesy Aitor Throup Studio
If one were to assign a natural element to Throup it would be air, this despite the deep weightiness of his philosophies. His installations, like his drawings, capture moments of suspended animation. That temporary state of existence, floating, is an in-between state in which Throup seems to thrive. “The etymology of the word inspiration is pivotal in the point I’m trying to make,” he explained on a call. “Inspire” means in spirit; your breath being your spirit comes into your body. So when we are inspired, we are in our spirit. When we’ve expired, we’re out of our spirit. So to create something that’s inspiring and to be inspired is foundational.”’
