Dressed in Celine's spring/summer 2020 collection, the Sydney-born creative guides us through the principles that inform his fashionable furniture.
(Above: Suit jacket, $4450, pants, $2100, shirt, $940, tie, $290, and shoes, $1450, all by Celine Homme by Hedi Slimane; mirror, $1330, by Jordon Gogos.)
Jordan Gogos doesn’t just design objects; he creates spaces. “I grew up in the suburbs and a lot of Australiana decor is quite bulky,” he says of his upbringing in southern Sydney. “So when I make pieces I always want to cut out elements of furniture, so air and light can go through.”
Case in point is his signature ‘Tria’ table, a geometric and sculptural piece crafted from aluminium, which you might have spotted inside some of designer Dion Lee’s boutiques around Australia. But Gogos says the relationship between fashion and art is more than decorative.
(Above: T-shirt, $690, jeans, $1150, and shoes, $790, all by Celine Homme by Hedi Slimane; socks (worn throughout), stylist’s own; vases, $330 each, all by Jordan Gogos).
“There’s this concept called hedonic value,” explains Gogos, who studied at UNSW before moving to New York’s famed Parsons School of Design last year. “Let’s say you have a white T-shirt and there’s this Jeff Koons artwork next to it. The curiosity of that artwork will transfer into the T-shirt, so it increases the perceived and artistic value of the piece.”
The same theory applies to his own work, with ambiguous pieces that evoke a natural sense of curiosity – Is it a table? Is it a chair? Does it matter? – to create a sense of intrigue that elevates the space around it.
(Above: Suit jacket, $4450, pants, $2100, shirt, $940, tie, $290, and shoes, $1450, all by Celine Homme by Hedi Slimane; mirror, $1330, by Jordon Gogos.)
His work is helping the environment in more direct ways, too. Available to buy online, his designs are made on demand and are what Gogos calls “singular components”, meaning they don’t rely on any additional elements.
“If you buy a table, it might have a metal screw in it and that screw might come from a completely different supply chain,” he explains, of traditional furniture. “But my pieces are just sheet metal, welded, so it’s actually a really sustainable practice.”
(Above: Coat, $4800, shirt, $1450, pants, $1350, and shoes, $790, all by Celine Homme by Hedi Slimane; tables, $1553 each, by Jordan Gogos.)
Like many creatives, Gogos finds settling on a job title difficult. He started as a performance artist, before moving into everything from set design to photography. But when pushed, he lands on “multidisciplinary designer”.
(Above: Jacket, $3850, knit, $930, pants, $1500, and shoes, $1450, all Celine Homme by Hedi Slimane; vases, $330 each, all by Jordan Gogos.)
It’s an attitude that would resonate with another figure central to today’s shoot, Celine creative director Hedi Slimane, who oversees the brand’s collections, as well as shooting its campaigns, designing its boutiques, and even creating the furniture to go in them. So perhaps it’s little surprise that Gogos finds wearing Slimane’s designs to be somewhat of a transformative experience.
(Above: Bag, $2250, by Celine Homme by Hedi Slimane; table, $1553, and vases, $330 each, all by Jordan Gogos).
“As someone who grew up in The Shire [in southern Sydney], there’s a definite style that you have to conform to,” he says. “When I wear designer clothing, it takes me out of the world that I grew up in and makes me feel like I can do what I want. Putting on a label like Celine makes me feel like I’m not bound to my roots; I can live in Paris or be from New York – even when I’m in my hometown.”
(Above: Jacket, $1650, and jeans, $1150, both by Celine Homme by Hedi Slimane; table, $1553, by Jordan Gogos.)
After all, that’s what great design is all about. At their best, furniture and fashion are about more than just aesthetics. They might make you or your space look good, but their real value is in how they make you feel, the way they allow you to dream, or transport you to another place or time. And right now, that’s probably never been more important.
(Above: Blazer, $3950, shirt, $940, jeans $940, and shoes, $1450, all by Celine Homme by Hedi Slimane; table, $1553 by Jordan Gogos.)
gogos.online
Hair by Rory Rice at Lion Artist Management using Dyson Supersonic.
This story appeared in the November/December 2020 issue of GQ Australia, on sale now. Be sure to check out our interview with cover star, F1 racer Daniel Ricciardo.
