Johannes Warnke is the CSM grad dressing Grammy heavyweights, Lady Gaga and Post Malone
This is A HOT MINUTE WITH, a quick-fire interview series championing all the rising talent catapulting into fashion, art and music’s fickle stratosphere. From pinch-me moments to bad dates and even worse chat-up lines, think of it as an overindulgent conversation – like the ones you have in sticky club toilets at 4.A.M. Except these guests don’t regret the overshare…
Courtesy of @johanneswarnke
NAME JOHANNES WARNKE
AGE 26
LOCATION London, England
LIFE MANTRA "Where I create there I am true" - Rainer Maria Rilke
For 26-year-old designer Johannes Warnke, art is universal. At the age of six, Warnke began training as a dancer, and his creative outlook and desire for personal expression began to bloom. Art, in all forms, began to make sense in Warnke’s mind as an exploration of the personal and an opportunity to show who you really are. Now, the CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS grad, whose designs have not only caught the eye of a number of talented names but have been worn by the likes of LADY GAGA, is continuing to treat his craft and couture as an artistic process, rather than manufacturing for a consumer. “When fashion fulfils a cultural purpose beyond consumerism and is driven by context, message and concept then it has the same purpose as a painting or a sculpture, especially when couture techniques, high craftsmanship and innovative making skills are employed,” Warnke explains.
Warnke’s understanding of how art interconnects allows him to draw on the authenticity, control and vulnerability of a dancer, and bring the emotive and very tangible sensations of the art form into his work as a designer. “When we see a dancer jump or fall we don’t just watch it, we feel the joy or pain as a viewer with our own body,” he says. “I internalised this phenomenon of perception, and I design with it in mind. When we watch someone on the catwalk in a dress made from silk we don’t just see but also feel the soft fabric on the skin. Plus, the design - especially when made with conviction - triggers associations and memories for the viewer.”
The creative process that Warnke commits to is a work ethic that is shared by every dancer, painter, writer and designer who quickly becomes the most unsurpassed creative in their field. Working intuitively and fearlessly, Warnke has been responsible for bringing about the “pinch me” moments of his career, notably designing Lady Gaga’s gown for her 911 video, as well as the choir robes for Post Malone’s recent Grammy Awards performance. “I learnt good work has to be painful,” he says. “If you feel very comfortable, it’s a hint you are doing something wrong.”
Ella Bardsley: Earliest childhood memory?
Johannes Warnke: My mum teaching a folk dance lesson wearing black heels and red lipstick!
EB: What’s one quality you look for in a friend?
JW: To be the 100 percent version of their own character.
EB: A decade you wish you lived in?
JW: The ‘70s.
EB: Are you in love?
JW: Always, with this beautiful planet and the human consciousness that gives us the ability to love in the first place. Spreading love means gaining love, so yes.
EB: What’s your biggest fear?
JW: Environmental crisis.
EB: What’s your biggest accomplishment?
JW: Having made wonderful friends in my time at CSM.
EB: If you could stay at any age for eternity, what would it be?
JW: 38 could be fab: Career and life goals developed and enough time to make a big changes!
EB: What’s the biggest lie you’ve told?
JW: That I can survive without coffee.
EB: Film that changed the way you see the world?
JW: Wings of Desire by Wim Wenders
EB: Last photo you took on your phone is?
JW: My toile.
EB: If you could go to space, would you?
JW: If it would be great for the environment, I’d go every weekend, I love an otherworldly ambient experience.
EB: What song could you dance to forever?
JW: Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap, it’s everything.
EB: Three favourite authors?
JW: Brene Brown, Rainer Maria Rilke, Thomas Mann.
EB: What makes you happy?
JW: Creating, curating and caring.
EB: What makes you sad?
JW: Plastic bottles floating in the ocean.
EB: If you could go to the pub with three people dead or alive, who would they be?
JW: Pina Bausch, Lady Gaga, Nelson Mandela.
EB: Cats or dogs?
JW: Both.
EB: Favourite season?
JW: Spring.
EB: Last meal on earth?
JW: German Eintopf and a smoothie made of fresh fruits from my mums garden.
EB: What would you want to be written on your tombstone?
JW: If you stumble, make it part of the dance.
EB: If you were Prime Minister for the day, what would you do?
JW: Employ diverse political representatives and enforce hard-core environmental laws.
Introduction written by @ry.gav