Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts at the Florida Institute of Technology
Uncommon Threads Symposium
February 18-19, 2010
The Uncommon Threads Symposium will explore literary imagery and narrative in English embroidery with special guest, the sixth annual Ruth Funk Lecturer in Textiles, Melinda Watt.
Ms. Watt is Associate Curator, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts and Supervising Curator, Antonio Ratti Textile Center at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Lecture:
Thursday, February 18, 2010
“The Biblical “It” Girls: Female Heroines in English Embroidery”
7 p.m. Gleason Center for Performing Arts
Luncheon:
Friday, February 19, 2010
10:30 Lecture
“‘Twixt Art and Nature: Floral Imagery in English Embroidery”
Noon – 2 p.m. Luncheon
Hartley Room, Denius Student Center
Tickets: $60
Book Chapter-Author Needed
Apparel Retailing in Emerging Markets
Editor: Jaya Halepete
Due Date: January 1, 2011
From the editor:
Inviting researchers to contribute to individual chapters in a book titled “Apparel retailing in emerging markets”. I am specifically looking for researchers who can contribute to information regarding organization of apparel retail markets, international retailers in the market, buying for these markets, and consumers in these markets. The countries for which I am looking for contribution are: China, Vietnam, Poland, Turkey, Chile, Romania, Argentina, Thailand, Russia, Spain, Brazil, and UAE. Contributors will be included as co-authors for the chapter.
Contact for further details
Jaya Halepete, PhD
Assistant Professor
Fashion Merchandising School of Arts and Sciences
Marymount University
2807 N. Glebe Road
Arlington, VA 22207
Office Phone: 703 284 5752
My dear readers, I assume that since you are reading a fashion blog, unless you live under a rock, you know by now that yesterday the fashion world lost Alexander McQueen to suicide at the age of 40. I wonder if this event will be like others in recent history, in that years from now, fashionistas everywhere will each have their own story about where they were the moment they found out that Alexander McQueen had died. I, for one, hope I will not forget the moment I had yesterday (if I do, you have my permission to call me senile). If I ever write a memoir about my career as a teacher, and I would not be the first in my family to do so, my story of that moment would surely be included.
At my institution, we have just wrapped up our second week of the Spring term. My course policies and classroom code of conduct should be fresh in everyone’s mind (as fresh as they can be, considering the recent download of other information from various classes). Cell phone use, including text messaging, email, and use of the internet, is strictly verboten in my classroom. For safety, I do allow them to keep their phones turned on, in case of an emergency in the classroom or on the campus. Outside of that, my course policies spell out that students will be asked to leave, and then marked absent, if they use their phones during class (in reality, I usually ask to them to stop once, and they are asked to leave after the second infraction).
Yesterday, as I was in my Textiles course, lecturing on flax, and its vulnerability to mildew and silverfish (please don’t click away, I promise this post gets better), a student seated right by my podium held up her phone with a photo of a silverfish from a Wikipedia page. Useful, yes. I made a mental note to put a photo of a silverfish in my presentation for next time. Apparently, not everyone knows what a silverfish looks like, and I should keep in mind that some students may really want to know this. If you did not know, now you do (see below).
A little while later, while I was lecturing on the use of hemp as a textile fiber, the differences between marijuana and industrial hemp(always amusing in a college classroom), and the uses of hemp seed and hemp seed oil, a different student announced they had just received a text message with the news of McQueen’s suicide. I was stricken speechless…for about two seconds.
What do you do in a situation like that? First, I told the students who did not know who McQueen was just who he was. Before you get on my case for having students who do not know who Alexander McQueen was, I have to tell you that my Textiles course is required for Interior Design students, and that is all the explanation I have on that point. Second, I went to Google News and, sure enough, there were the headlines confirming the text message’s news.
It is a sad, sad loss for the fashion industry, and for my students, too, who I know draw a lot of inspiration from McQueen’s work. I took a brief break from lecturing on plant fibers while the students comforted each other. Later on, while lecturing on wool, and therefore, herringbone, Harris tweed, and houndstooth, I had the perfect opportunity to show some of McQueen’s designs and discuss the current revival of classic British fabrics.
Twice that day, I had students go against my classroom policy. Am I displeased? Not at all. Both were instances where the information they received or retrieved with their cell phones was timely and relevant to either the subject of my lecture, or the fashion industry as a whole. What is an instructor to do? Bend the rules, I suppose. Was McQueen a rule-bender? More accurately, a rule-breaker, n’est-ce pas? I try to stay one step ahead of my students, and make rules that are fair and fairly applied, but it does not always work out that way. Flexibility is the key, for me, and for them.
Next week, my fashion students and I will be hosting a celebration of the life and work of Alexander McQueen. I have invited students to share pictures and runway footage that have inspired them in their own work. I am hoping the event will help comfort those who are genuinely feeling this loss quite personally, and, for those who are less familiar with McQueen, the event will be an excellent opportunity to educate them, so they will know exactly who he was and what he created. I am there to educate, after all.
Dear readers, are you attending any McQueen memorial events? Formal or informal?
My fellow teachers, how are you addressing the death of Alexander McQueen in your fashion classrooms? Leave me some comments, and let me know.
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British designer Alexander McQueen was well-known for extreme, hard-edged and often politically motivated designs. His innovative materials, anarchistic reputation and provocative runway shows made him a memorable figure in more recent fashion history. This post is by no means meant to be the last word on the designer, nor is it intended to be a comprehensive history. It is a tribute to a designer at the top of his game who is gone too soon.
Lee Alexander McQueen was born in London on March 17th 1969. His extensive fashion background included early experience working with tailors on Saville Row, theatrical costumiers, and designers Koji Tatsuno and Romeo Gigili. After completing a Masters program at St. Martin’s, stylist and icon Isabella Blow purchased his entire graduate collection. McQueen then opened his own studio in East London.[1] In 1996, McQueen became Chief Designer at Givenchy, a position he maintained until March 2001,[2] moving to focus on his own label.
His most famous clients have been “rock ‘n’ roll” royalty including: David Bowie, The Prodigy’s Keith Flint, [3] Gwen Staffani,[4] Bjork, and Lady Gaga (among many others). Actress Liv Tyler, the daughter of Aerosmith lead-singer, Steven Tyler, is also a McQueen client. At the opening for Return of the King in 2003, she wore a black McQueen gown and commented that, “his tailoring is sensational,” and that his designs make you “feel pretty and womanly.”[5]
Bjork in McQueen’s red slide dress
When Bjork wore McQueen’s “tinkling, red, glass microscope slide dress on stage,” she turned it into a “percussion object as she danced.”[6] It’s a collaboration they would continue for sometime. In more recent days, Lady Gaga has been a fan of his designs, wearing several signature pieces from his Spring 2010 collection in her video, Bad Romance.
Lady Gaga in McQueen from her video, Bad Romance.
Often referred to as a “design maverick,”[8] McQueen had an image that was only slightly superseded by his design ability. British Vogue once commented, “McQueen’s carefully propagated image as the raspberrying bad boy of fashion. . . made him a star in his own right,” [9] His design aesthetic, runway antics and personality all appealed to customers interested in volatile fashion, both in the literal and figural sense. In one instance, McQueen turned down an invitation from the Queen to meet the Emperor of Japan, saying “I couldn’t be bothered.”[10] While still an apprentice tailor on Saville Row, “McQueen famously inscribed the words ‘I am a cunt’ in the lining of a jacket destined for the Prince of Wales.”[11] Further contributing to his image as a bad boy, when asked about his design fantasizes in a Web chat on photographer Nick Knight’s site SHOWstudio.com in 2004, “McQueen mentioned dressing Carreras in denim and cowboy boots and putting Luciano Pavarotti in a jockstrap.”[12] While this kind of anti-establishment snobbery gave him a presence as a fashion personality, it was the “statement-making clothing that give McQueen his reputation for being dangerous”[13]
McQueen’s signature designs, as he noted them in 2003 were, “the bumster, the frock coat, [and] anything tromp-l’oil.”[14] Bumsters were “trousers with a waistband so low that anyone brave enough to wear them would parade their buttocks for all to see.”[15] His favorite designs have been his “wooden fan kilts from Spring-Summer 1999, the red slide dress from Spring-Summer 2001, and the Jellyfish dress from Autumn-Winter 2002.”[16]
David Bowie's Alexander McQueen frock coat at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006.
Materials & Design
Australian designer Tina Kalivas, who worked with McQueen from 1998 to 2001, described her experience working with his materials: “I would sit up all night, physically making the showpiece using McQueen’s signature materials – glass, leather, feathers, boning etc., . . the only light relief came from his English bull terriers jumping on all [of] this exquisite fabric first thing in the morning.”[17] In the past, his choice of materials has run the gamut of conceivable combination’s but with a hard edge. He has used natural and synthetic, as well as conventional and innovative materials.
Marleen Berkova in Alexander McQueen's Fall 2001 ready-to-wear show
"The Island of Dr. Moreau" Fall 1997
The natural materials used by McQueen add an unexpected element to the designs, and reflect his interest in Nature. On Knight’s webchat McQueen remarked that his use of animal skins was “Not so p.c., but there’s nothing better than nature. Nature is a fabric itself”[18] He created garments using python lace, [19] as well as other hides and leathers in addition to gazelle horns.[20] He “almost fetishized materials [such as] feathers, brocade, shells…”[21] and wood. He once made an entire dresses “of cuttle-fish and mussel shells,” and clothed models “from neck to ankles in a sheath of razor shells.”[22]
Erin O'Connor in dress made of shells by Alexander McQueen, Spring 2001
Interestingly, in 1997, the London Times reported that McQueen was under investigation for using human bones, teeth and other body parts in his designs.[23] His most recent menswear collection referenced bone and skin extensively, though in pattern rather than actual object.
McQueen’s menswear for Fall 2010 (Milan) titled ‘An bailitheoir cnámh‘ (Gaelic phrase that means “the bone collector)
McQueen’s other designs have featured more expected materials such as cotton and Polyester organza,[24] but with an interest in innovation. His “Grey Lady ballgown, hand patchworked to form an intricate jigsaw of different Harris Tweeds [is] mixed with distressed mohair.”[25] He also showed a continual interest in fabric technology. Referring to his Spring-Summer 1999 collections, McQueen explained that he had an interest in “the hard edge of technology of textiles,”[26], which included molded leather body corsets, white lace, wooden fan skirts, and striped silk.
In his spring/summer 1996 collection McQueen used a stainless steel spattered synthetic material for a dress design. Spattering, according to Sarah E Bradock and Marie O’Mahony, is the “application of minute particles of metallic dust to the surface of a fibre or fabric using a vacuum method of coating.” [27] The technique was created by Masayuki Suzuki in Japan.[28] McQueen’s use of the material created a “space-age look” by combining “the fluidity of silk with the look of metal.” [29] McQueen seems to have had an affinity for metallic substances, and space, using them often in his collections.
Designer Sophie Roet had also worked for McQueen. She “laminates woven nylon, wool, and silk fabrics with thin aluminum sheets, achieving paper-like body in the new material.”[31] McQueens interest in technology is also evident in a more general sense. As noted by Suzy Menkes, McQueen has also been intrigued by the effect computers can create and has often used “digital mechanics for inspiration.”[32]
The 12 inch shoes McQueen showed in his Spring 2010 show
Philosophy
In the Web chat with Nick Knight’s site SHOWstudio.com, McQueen explained his overall view of fashion, “It’s like any entertainment industry. It’s fickle. I’ve always seen it in the same light: shallow.”[33] Despite his own comments, McQueen’s collections have often addressed political and cultural issues.[34] For example, the “Highland Rape” show in 1995 was a politicized visual representation of the volatile relationship between Scotland and England. McQueen has also said, “I use things that people want to hide in their heads. War, religion, sex: things we all think about but don’t bring to the forefront. But I do and I force them to watch it.” [35] His designs commented on the world around him, and provide examples of what was considered culturally taboo. “In part due to his reputation for outlandish shows . . . he chose to show garments on custom made Lucite mannequins which were lit from within.”[37] In 1999, he chose to show his menswear in “a short film he directed.”[38] McQueen’s spring 2004 show, while not completely subdued, featured a “macabre dance marathon.”[39] Titled, “New Beginnings,” it was based on the film, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?.”
Alexander McQueen stated that his design philosophy was “To make a piece that can transcend any trend and will still hold as much presence in 100 years time when you find it an antique store as when you bought it in my store yesterday.” [36] McQueen, at least for a time, did consider the importance of his designs to the fashion world, suggesting that he was interested in preserving a legacy. Unfortunately, that need has come much to soon.
Bradock, Sarah E and Marie O’Mahony. Techno Textiles: Revolutionary Fabrics for Fashion and Design. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1998.
Entwistle, Joanne and Elizabeth Wilson. Body Dressing (Dress, Body, Culture). New York: Berg, 2001.
Evans, Caroline. Fashion at the Edge: Spectacle, Modernity, and Deathliness. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. (requested via ILL)
Frankel, Susannah. Visionaries: Interviews with Fashion Designers (Victoria and Albert Museum Studies). London: V & A Publications; Distributed by H.N. Abrams, 2001.
Fukai, Akiko. ed. Fashion: The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute. Koln: Taschen, 2002.
Jones, Terry & Avril Mair (eds.). Fashion Now: i-D Selects the World’s 150 Most Important Designers (Taschen 25), Koln: Taschen, 2003.
Tucker, Andrew. The London Fashion Book. London: Thames & Hudson, 1998.
Wilcox, Claire.Radical Fashion (Victoria and Albert Museum Studies), V&A Publications; Distributed by Harry N. Abrams, Publishers, n.d.
Articles:
“McQueen, Alexander,” Current Biography Yearbook. New York: H.W. Wilson. v. 63 (2002) 2003 p. 373-376
[10] Cathy Horyn, “Sticking With London, and Himself,” New York Times 2 Mar. 2004: B10.
[11] Susannah Frankel, Visionaries: Interviews with Fashion Designers (London: V& A Publications, interviews originally published in The Independent and The Guardian, New York: Abrams, 2001) 16.
[12] “The Month in Fashion” W Magazine, March 2004, 154.
[37] Bridget Foley, “Fashion Front,” W Magazine Oct 1999: 234-235.
[38] Socha, Miles. “Male Order:With Gohn Galliano and Alexander McQueen behind the wheel, men’s wear is running at full throttle,” W Magazine April 2004: 98.
[39] Socha, Miles. “Male Order:With Gohn Galliano and Alexander McQueen behind the wheel, men’s wear is running at full throttle,” W Magazine April 2004: 98.
In his young 40 years he had become an icon of style, created thought provoking visions that challenged contemporary notions of fashion. He was an inspiration was anyone interested in the both the traditions of style and the influence of subculture and the avant garde.
Look for an upcoming post from Heather on his work. He will be missed.
I’m very excited to announce that Worn Through is now accepting interns. Our very first one is Kat Lapelosa!
We’re thrilled that she’ll work on many projects throughout the Spring 2010 semester to help Worn Through grow. She will be our go-to-gal for Twitter, help with our Monday CFPs, work on our new program of accepting advertisers, help edit posts, and a host of other projects. She’ll also do some writing.
She brings many valuable areas of expertise to our team. Kat is currently working on her Masters degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory and Museum Practice. She is interested in connections between fashion and culture in an anthropological sense. Her research interests include Communist and post-Communist fashion cultures of Central and Eastern Europe, and studies connecting feminism, gender and dress.
She has been accepted to present a research exhibit at the 2010 Costume Society of America’s National Symposium on Blue Jean Culture in the Czech Republic and is looking forward to meeting other dress culture enthusiasts.
The 21st Winter Olympic Games begin Febraury 12 (this Friday) in Vancouver, Canada. Ralph Lauren designed the US team’s official opening ceremony outfits (pictured above), and was inspired by “classic outfits worn during the 1932 competition in Lake Placid.” But what exactly did the opening ceremony outfits look like in 1932?
Lake Placid 1932-Opening Ceremony-The American delegation (USA). (Via olympic.org)
The 1930s saw a huge rise in interest in winter sports attire, especially ski-wear. According to Charlie Lee-Potter, author of Sportswear in Vogue Since 1910, “Between 1930 and 1933 the smart ski silhouette for men and women was long and narrow. Waists were accentuated by short, double-breasted, boxy jackets with the broad shoulders introduced by Schiaparelli, and wide lapels worn with Norwegian-style trousers with gathered hems (the precursor of plus-fours).” The Painted Woman blog, has more wonderful images on 1930s winter sportswear for women. Those looking for a little more should read Pat Warners, When the Girls Came Out to Play: The Birth of American Sportswear, and be sure to check out Worn Through‘s related posts from 2008.
Schiaparelli Ski Suit, Harper’s Bazaar, December 1938.
Some other examples of historic winter sports attire include:
Ski Jacket, House of Lanvin, 1924/25, MET, Costime Institute
Wool ski suits from the fall/winter 1937-38 Montgomery Wards (via Fuzzylizzie.com)
Skating dress by Hattie Carnegie, 1930, Met Costume Institute
Gretchen Fraser, 1948 Olympic Gold Medalist (USA) in St. Moritz
Tenley Albright, 1956 gold medalist (USA) in figure skating, at Cortina d’Ampezzo
Ski Ensemble by House of Balenciaga, 1967, Met Costume Institute
Rodard and the Olympics, 2010
Johnny Weir in custom Rodarte
Kate and Laura Mulleavy, who make up the hot and rapidly expanding* fashion duo, Rodarte are getting in on the Olympic action with a photo editorial in the New York Times Magazine. The ‘loopy’ video is entertaining, but indications are that these high fashion/costumes won’t appear in competition.To tie in to both the Olymics and New York Fashion Week, The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York is having a ‘Quicktake’ exhibition of Rodarte (tomorrow through March 14). The Cooper-Hewitt Design Blog has some good behind the scenes information.
*Rodarte, in case you’ve been hiding under a rock, are quickly becoming an empire. In addition to their spread in the New York Times Magazine this past weekend, and the exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt, they recently developed a collection for Target, announced a menswear line, and were even featured in a New Yorker profile.
1.) Associate Curator of Latino Art
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Washington, D.C.
Advance the museum’s Latino presence through collections, exhibitions, programs, development, and other initiatives. The Associate Curator will recommend acquisitions, organize a major exhibition of Latino artworks from the collection, and develop bilingual activities that will encourage broad appreciation for Latino cultures.
Exhibition responsibilities include proposing a thesis for an exhibition drawn from the museum’s collection, researching artworks, and writing a major essay for the exhibition catalogue that addresses significant issues in the field. The Associate Curator of Latino Art will collaborate with program staff to develop gallery activities and an on-line presence related to the museum’s Latino collection. The Associate Curator will assist the development office in identifying potential donors and partners for short- and long-term initiatives that ensure the future of Latino Art within the museum’s program.
A graduate degree (Ph.D. preferred) in art history, American studies, cultural studies, or a related field is preferred. Applicants must demonstrate broad knowledge of U.S. Latino art and culture across the full spectrum of Latino communities and an ability to research and write about the full range of art media (paintings, murals, sculptures, photography, prints, drawings,crafts, folk art, and video). The museum seeks to broadly represent art across all U.S. Latino communities, in all media, from various periods, and by artists from different Latino ethnicities and communities. Applicants will be rated on breadth of knowledge, as well as experience in the areas of scholarship, exhibition organization, collections management, and public program development on the theme of Latino art. Position will start at the GS-11 or GS-12 grade level, depending on qualifications.
This is a three-year federal appointment and includes benefits. As a federal position it must be filled by a U.S. citizen. The Smithsonian Institution is an equal opportunity employer.
Click here for full announcement and application information. (Search on announcement #295822).
Applications must be submitted on-line by the closing date of March 1, 2010.
2.) Full-time, renewable-contract faculty member
Philadelphia University
School of Engineering and Textiles
Qualifications:
The successful applicant should have a minimum of 3-5 years industrial experience; understanding of the global nature of the fashion consumer products industry (including but not limited to, apparel, textiles, as well as home and lifestyle products); sourcing, costing, quality assurance and fashion theory are areas with which the successful applicant should have familiarity. Previous management and organizational skills are a plus. Master’s degree required.
Responsibilities:
Teach graduate and undergraduate students in the field of Fashion Industry Management;Collaborate across disciplines/fields
Application:
Please send a resume, cover letter and names and addresses of three references to the address below. Applicants should present credentials for consideration by March 15, 2010.
Contact:
Professor Natalie W. Nixon
School of Engineering and Textiles
Philadelphia University
Henry Avenue & School House Lane
Philadelphia, PA 19144-5497
1960s Aloha Shirt from the University of Hawai'i Museum
Here is a funding opportunity for my fellow academics in the US, the Costume Society of America‘s College and University Collection Care Grant
Description
The $1500 College and University Collection Care Grant is intended to assist with the care, maintenance, preservation, and instructional missions of a college or university collection that is not eligible for a Small Museum Collection Care Grant.
Purpose
The College and University Collection Care Grant is intended to assist the costume and textiles collection of a college or university that receives little or no financial support from its institution. Funding may be used to support the care, conservation, and/or instructional mission of a collection of historic, period, or otherwise informative costume and textiles that are intended for preservation and are used for study by an institution that has a degree program in apparel, textiles, or theatre.
University of Hawai'i Museum
Eligibility
Institutions applying for a Grant must meet the following requirements:
be a degree granting institution
have a degree program in apparel, textiles, or theatre
The institution must legally own the collection; it cannot be a private collection housed in a college/university.
provide institutional support for the collection. duties include the care and maintenance of the collection.
provide institutional endorsement of the collection by some expression of commitment, such as, exhibition space, insurance, storage, or time invested in the care and management of the collection
to accept the Grant, the chosen institution must become an Institutional Member of CSA
The collection seeking assistance must:
consist of dress, textiles, and related objects (published materials, textile production tools/equipment, etc.)
be legally owned by the institution applying for the Grant (not a private collection housed in a college/university)
be intended for preservation
Selection Criteria
Applications will be judged by:
high impact of the project on collection’s well-being and mission
feasibility of the project in terms of budget, time line, and personnel to carry it out
significance of the collection to the academic unit
Application Deadline
Completed applications must be postmarked by February 28.
Application Procedure
Complete the application, and send five copies, together with any relevant documentation and supporting material, to:
Chair, College and University Collection Care Grant
The Costume Society of America
390 Amwell Road, Suite 403
Hillsborough, NJ, USA 08844
Further details may be found at the Costume Society’s web site.
*
. New York: Berg, 2001.
. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. (requested via ILL)
. London: V & A Publications; Distributed by H.N. Abrams, 2001.
. Koln: Taschen, 2002.
, Koln: Taschen, 2003.
, V&A Publications; Distributed by Harry N. Abrams, Publishers, n.d.
, and be sure to check out 
