I stumbled upon the contest Cheap-ChicWeddings.com sponsored for the most impressive wedding gowns made of — wait for it — toilet paper! Yes, this humble stuff is the focus of an annual challenge to use as the sole fabric of a wedding dress. I’m always interested to learn how technology affects textiles and by extension, fashion, but it’s equally interesting to be confronted with garments made of material whose primary function is not the building block of a dress (some will recall my earlier post on a similar duct tape prom dress competition). Yet another difficulty was probably disguising the “fabric” so it concealed its bathroom origins.
Though I myself have never tackled such a garment, challenges working with this particular paper would, I imagine, include transparency and flimsiness. But like all materials, I suspect experimenting with various brands would be part of the process, finding the texture, weight, stiffness, etc., that best suited various parts of the garment. Frankly, the whole contest reminds me a bit of the Charmin “quilted” toilet paper ads of bears and things sewing toilet paper for a supposedly softer, quilted product. It strikes me as hilarious that non-cartoon animals tackle this task… and in the form of wedding dresses, no less! Following are 2009’s winners.
First place winner:
Ann Kagawa Lee's toilet paper wedding dress
Ann Kagawa Lee's dress from the back
Ann Kagawa Lee's matching wedding hat
Though this contest is on the alternative side of crafty fashion, paper dresses are not actually new. The 1950s paved the way for this temporary and flimsy fashion by integrating more and more rapid obsolescence in products, from seasonal cars models to kitchen appliances, aggressively marketed as lifestyle essentials. Many historians attribute the ready acceptance of these sped-up trends to a pervasive feeling of impermanence, due in no small part to the fear and doom of nuclear war. It is with some irony that the government itself looked to paper as an alternative to cloth.
In the 1960s the government began experimenting with paper textiles. Paper’s light weight, insulating qualities, and cheapness made it an attractive choice for disposable combat garments, parachutes, and pup tents. The idea went viral when a corporation adopted the idea: in 1966 the Scott Paper Company used a paper dress as a gimmicky marketing ploy where for $1 women could buy a rather shapeless paper dress and get Scott coupons. To the surprise of many (including Scott Paper), women actually loved the dresses (though the color apparently rubbed off easily) and Scott sold half a million of them in 8 months. Fashion designers jumped on the bandwagon soon afterwards, and the paper dress craze lasted for the next few years.
Scott Paper dress, 1966
Here is perhaps the most recognizable paper dress, the 1960’s Campbell’s Soup dress that was inspired by the work of Andy Warhol — expendability and easy reproduction was central to the Pop Art movement, after all. These were produced by Campbell’s Soup as an advertising campaign (see the ad here). It’s a classic example of how fashion intersects art and industry:
Warhol's Campbell's Soup dress of the '60s
The infatuation with paper clothes didn’t last long. They tore easily, were highly flammable, and a bit too fad-ish to last past 1969. Though the full-blown craze died out decades ago, there are still those who use paper as a deliberately challenging material:
phonebook paper dress by Jolis Paons, 2008
And a 1960s version of similar concept:
phonebook paper dress by Waste Basket Boutique by Mars of Asheville
Hussein Chalayn constructed a paper airmail dress that you could write on, fold up and send, and finally wear, humorously playing with ideas of original textile function, disposability, and usefulness:
Hussein Chalayn paper airmail dress, 1999
Designer James Rosenquist created a papery suit out of Tyvek®, a nonwoven fabric made from spun-bonded olefin, adding gender to the mix of concepts (why weren’t paper clothes made for men in the 60s?):
Hugo Boss, designed by James Rosenquist, spring 1998
Leona Scull-Hons had a performance art piece where she wore an elaborate paper dress throughout the day and then sat in a chair in the gallery every evening to sew all the tears. Though I didn’t see the piece myself, I love how she incorporated the female-dominated tradition of sewing and mending, utilizing the frailty of paper to accelorate the breakdown process of clothes.
Leona Scull-Hons, "Mend," 2002
I thought I’d leave off with the paper gown we are probably most familiar with today, though it was invented in the mid 20th century alongside the obsolete paper dresses. Keeping in mind how awful these feel, can you imagine purchasing one to wear in public??
As some may remember, this past December I traveled from California to Philadelphia for the American Anthropology Association conference. While there, I spent an afternoon exploring the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Museum had a lot to offer those interested in historical clothing. Not only were there a number of special exhibitions to tempt viewers, but its permanent exhibitions held a number of examples as well.
Portrait of a Lady and Her Child, c. 1625 by Jan Anthonisz. van Ravesteyn (Dutch)
When I arrived at the museum, the first special exhibition I came upon was “Wrought and Crafted: Jewelry & Metalwork 1900 to the Present” ending February 7, 2010 (Curated by Elisabeth Agro). Philadelphia’s history is strongly tied to the history of metalworking, though the majority of this exhibition offers more contemporary examples. The exhibition also has a nice online feature, whereby visitors can leave comments if they’ve seen it in person.
Torque, 1972. Gilded SIlver and Polyester. By Stanley Lichtzin.
Brooch, 2007. Silver and Topaz. By Georg Dobler
“An Enduring Motif: The Pomegranate in Textiles” ending February 21, 2010 (Curated by Dilys Blum) was the next exhibition on my trek through this marvelous museum. This small, but well executed exhibition provides a brief and beautiful history of the cultural significance of the pomegranate in textiles (not only their image, but also the use of the plant). It includes objects from as early as as the 15th Century (a silk velvet chausable dating to 1450) through the 20th Century (a Jack Lenor Larsen piece of hand-painted fabric from the 1970s). Examples are from various countries including, Uzbekistan, France, Spain, Turkey, Italy, and the United States. Techniques such as ikat (resist-dye), block-printing, needlepoint lace, lampas weave, and embroidery are also represented.
selection from Fragment, c. 1760. Block-prnted cotton plain weave, Bourger, France
Boarder, c.1650-75. Linen; needlepoint lace, Made in Italy (Venice)
Quilt Facing, 17th-19th Century (Ottoman), Linen plain weave wilk silk embroidery in surface darning stitch, Made in Turkey.
"Pomegranate" Fabric From the Afghan Colletion, 1974, Hand-printed silk plain weave Designed by Jack Lenor Larsen, Made by Jim Thompson Thai Silk Company
“Inspiring Fashion: Gifts from Designers Honoring Tom Marotta” ending Summer 2010 (Curated by Kristina Haugland) is presented in the new Perelman Building. This exhibition is also small, but very focused. It presents designs from 17 designers, in honor of the late Tom Marotta, a retail executive at Saks Fifth Avenue who was much respected in the industry. The garments on display here were obtained directly from the designers for the museums permanent collection. The exhibition includes a video of interviews with each of the designers to offer insights into the pieces, and their relationships with Marotta.
Tom Marotta
An overview of the exhibition
Carolina Herrera gown
Zac Posen, 2009 gown
Finally, “Horse and Man Armors” curated by Pierre Terjanian (ongoing) was a welcome new distraction from what I might readily consider fashion history. As I walked in to the Arms and Armor gallery the connection between fashion and armor suddenly dawned on me. The Metropolitan Museum of art has an in-depth article on the connections between armor as it relates to historical styles and trends, and an article by Stephen V. Grancsay from the 1930s traces these connections more specifically. The most recent writing on fashion and armor, comes from Ruel A. Macaraeg, “Dressed to Kill: Toward a Theory of Fashion in Arms and Armor” published in Fashion Theory, March 2007 (Berg), though the focus of this article is more on arms specifically.
Armor for the Field c.1520 (Germany)
Cuirassier Armor, 1612 (Italy or France)
But while standing agog in these galleries, amazed at the craftsmanship, it occurred to me that current designers often use armor and military concepts to inspire and design their creations. Thierry Mugler, Gareth Pugh, and a number of others seem fascinated with the idea of an armored female figure (see Tove’s post yesterday on Lady Gaga’s armored exoskeleton).
From the Armored body section of the Superheroes exhibition at the MET, CI
Most memorable in my mind, however, is the work of costume designer Eiko Ishioka (her films include Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Fall, and The Cell). Her use of armor-like designs for modern and futuristic fantasy films can’t help but influence fashion designers in their work.
In the spirit of inspiration to designers and historians alike, I have these additional images from the arms and armor galleries at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to share:
Kneeling Knight in Prayer, C. 1470 Southern Germany.
Boy's Armor, 1500-1540 (Germany)
Hauberk (shirt) of Mail c. 1600 (Persia, now Iran)
Hauberk (shirt) of Mail for Ceremonial use c. 1550-1600 (Transylvania now Romania)
Photo from Monarch Knitting and Quilts, Pacific Grove, CA
An Evening With Kaffe Fassett, in Pacific Grove, California this past Sunday the 27th of December was fabulous, as expected. The event was coordinated by two local shops, Monarch Knitting and Quilts and Back Porch Fabrics (you can also read their write-up of the event). I went to last year’s Evening, and that one was marvelous. This one was very similar, a delight like last year’s with new material added in, plus a display of many of Fassett’s well-known designs.
Fassett started off his talk by saying, “I live in a world of textile and color.” If you know his work, you know his vibrating color combinations. The textile artist in me loves that he named textile before colour. He gave his biographical backgound, telling us of how when he first went to study painting in Boston (you can read his biography on his web site), the lessons included an introduction to color wheels, and how he reacted to them as, in his words, “the work of the devil,” saying that “colour is a very instinctive thing.”
If you look at the span of Fassett’s career, and the development of his work, it is fascinating to see how in his early work as a painter, he was, in his own words, “terrified of color.” For a long period, he painted white-on-white still lifes (not as colorful as the more recent painting pictured above), often assortments of white china, sometimes broken china (interesting, when you see his recent work with broken china mosaics, pictured below).
As the legend goes, Fassett learned to knit after a visit to a Scotland wool mill with designer Bill Gibb. He purchased twenty different colored balls of yarn and some knitting needles, and asked a woman on the train back to London to teach him to knit, which he says took just twenty minutes. He immediately started on a twenty-color sweater, and when it was finished, took it to Vogue Knitting and had his design published. Kaffe Fassett’s very first sweater is pictured below, as seen in the book Glorious Knitting.
Kaffe Fassett's First Knitting
Today, Fassett is known for his textile designs for quilt fabrics and interior design, needlepoint, mosaics, painting, tapestries, and quilts, and, of course, his ten books. Currently in progress are a book about his lifetime process of becoming a designer and an update of Welcome Home: Kaffe Fassett. Additionally, a new quilt book, Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts: 23 Original Quilt Designs,is due out in March 2010.
Fassett described in his talk how travel has been a continuing source of inspiration for him: first, in his travels to places with “intense love of color, no fear of color,” such as Guatemala and India, and second, as a teacher. He described how in his work teaching workshops around the world, seeing people discover how to work with color was one of the things that keeps him teaching (I know that’s one of the things that keeps me teaching, now to figure out how to get paid to travel the world while doing so).
Fassett’s talk was filled with wit and humor and kept the audience well entertained. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the Evening:
When in doubt, overdo it.
So basically, it’s a TV cozy.
Deep down, I’m shallow.
When he described how he chose to hand off teaching knitting workshops (now done by his partner, Brandon Mably) in favor of teaching quilting workshops, he said it was because the quilters could accomplish an entire quilt in a one-day workshop, he said “much more to my taste, because I’m a speed demon.” Having taught both knitting and quilting myself, I can relate.
The night was rounded out with booksigning and time to view the quilts and garments on display. Pictured below are some of Fassett’s knitted creations from the on display on the stage:
I had brought my first edition copy of Glorious Knitting. with me and had it signed, and then had my picture taken with Fassett. I had my photo taken last year, too. I figure I may as well make it an annual tradition.
Like last year, many in the audience proudly wore their own handknit creations, Kaffe Fassett designs or otherwise. The bag pictured below was particularly eye-catching. Made and designed by Therese Stark Felder, of StarKreation, it is an entrelac knitted and felted bag, with a vintage belt for a closure.
If you would like to learn more about knitting Kaffe-Fassett-style, I recommend you pick up one of his books, and likewise if you are interested in his quilt designs. If you are interested in his appearances and workshops in California, bookmark the site Kaffe in California. His entire international tour and workshop schedule is on the main Kaffe Fassett site, here. Lastly, while Fassett is a self-professed Luddite, his partner Brandon Mably is on facebook, and you can also become a fan of the Kaffe Fassett facebook fan page.
Have any of you knittted up any Kaffe Fassett designs, or used his fabrics, quilt patterns, or needlepoint patterns? If so, let me know and share a photo.
I know I promised you a plethora of fashion history book reviews over the coming weeks – and they are on their way – but I simply could not pass up this opportunity to share with you some of the amazing educational podcasts available through iTunes (that, and I need time to read some more of these books!). From Universities to Museums to Conferences, more and more academic institutions are making use of iTunes as a way to convey information.
Here are just a few of the things I found recently (Please note that when following these links, your computer will likely want to open the iTunes program). Each has a rather large number of different types of podcast downloads, from gallery tours, to discussions of specific garments, to interviews, to fashion design and construction courses. Many include both audio only or videos.
American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting
This week I am attending the American Anthropological Association’s annual meeting in Philadelphia (Dec 2-6). A number of papers being presented should be of interest to readers of WT. These include:
I am sure there are and will be other programs of interest to professionals in fashion studies that are not on this list. If you plan on attending the conference , either as an attendee or presenter, please comment below – I’d love to get to know more of WT’s readers and the topics they are interested in. It’s not likely that I’ll be able to see many of these presentations, so if you have comments on what was presented after the fact, I’d love to hear those as well.
*The dress pictured above is from the Indianapolis Museum of Art, dates to about 1760, and is of French origin. It is silk brocade with silk supplementary warp and weft. Details here.
Once again, a slight diversion from the international fashion theme, but I wanted to take a moment to review a current NYC exhibition which is actually very international in scope. I highly recommend the “Dress Codes” exhibition at New York’s International Center of Photography…
The codified nature of dress is a contentious subject. Implying either a clearly defined structure of communication or a system which dictates behavior, the term “code” connotes a certain amount of rigidity. In either case, it might be premature, or rather a bit passé, to speak of clothing as a kind of semiotic endeavor.
Despite the evocative nature of the exhibition title, perhaps subtly referencing Roland Barthes’ seminal work on the subject, it appears that the very message of the images filling the galleries at the ICP is that of a code being broken. As the impressive collection of artists in this triennial exhibition suggests, maybe clothing, or our relationship to the objects that clothe our bodies, is far too complex and murky a matter to be broken down into a clearly demarcated system of references. In fact, it appears that the entire theme of this show is one of blurred boundaries – specifically those between flesh and fabric; individuality and conformity; art and commerce.
While the exhibition includes such art stars as Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, and Lorna Simpson, all of whom have frequently engaged questions concerning masquerade and consumerism, other notable artists shown in this triennial delve into these same concerns, but in a suitably unique manner. Pinar Yolacan’s portraits of women dressed in garments created from fabric and flesh are particularly arresting. The cow placenta and animal organs atop velvet blouses restore the jolting shock of exposure that we’ve all but forgotten in contemporary fashion. These images serve to remind us how all clothing can sometimes make even human flesh seem grotesque. The animal flesh that almost seamlessly replaces a ruffled collar around the neck reveals that the twisting push and presentation of bodily flesh is only truly possible with the aid of clothing.
"La Contrebandière" ( The Smuggler), Tanger, 2006
What study of dress would be complete without an homage to masquerade? Amidst other images in this collection of performing subjects dressed in drag or other costumes, the mask itself stands as an iconic image showcasing the duplicitous nature of our socially constructed identities. In the video “My Blood Self, Artificial Beauty (The Mask)” (2006-2007) Grace Ndiritu continually caresses the felt mask covering her face. Perhaps there is a sense in which we all begin to pet, cherish, and even fondle the façade of our social selves.
Another film, David Rosetzky’s “Portrait of Cate Blanchett” (2008), opens with shots of the actress standing in an empty stage set moving her hand with her other hand, beginning with her wrists and fingers. As she speaks concerning her craft as an actress, and her efforts to “make the mask transparent,” we see her literally manipulating her self, so to speak. In doing so, Blanchett speaks to what we all experience as she reiterates that “who I am is constantly shifting.” If in fact we are all acting, as Erving Goffman reminds us, an actress by her profession as well as her representation, Blanchett presents what is true of every person, especially when discussing dress.
Although this exhibition highlights so many of the unsettling contradictions apparent in our relationship with clothing, one image actually displays a strikingly perfect harmony between body and body covering. “Agnes, Red Dress” (2008), Richard Learoyd’s simple large-scale depiction of a woman wearing a garment of rich red, seems to represent a peace-inducing synthesis of the body/fabric dichotomy. Here is a woman whose face rises above her frock, and whose apparent personal confidence seeps out beyond the bright hue of her dress. Despite the obvious covering of her body, the cloth appears to blend into her person, seamlessly and effortlessly. And while she is clearly an individual, she is not such a performer that her individuality appears affected or contrived.
We are frequently unable to draw clear boundaries in our relationship with clothing, yet we still must accept the arbitrary and malleable systems that dictate what may be acceptable or understood by others. In this sense, the “dress codes” of the exhibition title is a double-entendre. Dress is a first layer social skin, somewhat coding our everyday interactions, but it is also a form of dividing social and economic classes, a social and cultural code of sorts.
Yet there is still a kind of mystification involved in the task of finding harmony with the objects of our world. As fashion continues to push the envelope of what clothing is, what it does, and to what cost, who will crack the code? And if fashion is anything and everything, then of what kind of codes are we speaking?
While in London last month for the Global Fashion Conference, I had the pleasure of seeing Andrea Zittel’s “Smockshop” exibition at the Spruth Magers Gallery on Grafton Street (September 19 – October 3, 2009). After touring the Dover Street Market (which was itself a sartorial exhibition of delight), I headed to Spruth Magers to see the smocks, all of which were designed by a variety of artists including fashion designers, handbag designers, and even cooks.
Andrea Zittel has been playing with the idea of environment and daily routines for many years. In fact, the Smockshop itself is a project initiated in Los Angeles in 2007. However, the most recent manifestation of her pop-up gallery/sweatshop/retail space continues to remind us of her original intention – prompting viewers to question the dividing lines between art, fashion, and commerce.
But along with these ever-present questions, it seems that her exhibition highlights the notion that rules in fact make us more creative. The freewheeling liberty that we often crave, whether in art, or in constructing our own appearances, is often contrary to actual creativity. Sometimes it is only within certain confines (think variations on a theme) that creative expression can stand apart – in harmony with, or in contrast to, a set of boundaries.
Through establishing the theme of smocks, Zittel allows for a kind of uniformity amidst diversity. The garments demonstrate how we might struggle to maintain our own individuality through dress within the constraints (and commonalities) of the human body. And each smock successfully illustrates the multitude of unique possibilities one could achieve – even when given specific design guidelines. In such diverse fabrics as blue plastic tarp to knit jersey to denim to wool gabardine to crochet, there were smocks to fit anyone’s fancy. And they were all for sale for about 200 pounds each.
The smocks themselves certainly harken to an essential craftiness. In a sense, they represent craft within a craft. So the exhibition itself is “meta-craft” – artists making smocks for other (presumably) artists.
Questions concerning function and creativity, or rather, creativity that functions, will always go hand and hand with fashion. How dress, a material object that we “need” for simple covering and protection, begins to approach the purely creative is a topic that fashion exhibitions will continue to explore as long as galleries and museums open their doors to everyday design.
Garance Dore at GAP pop-up shop
Just a quick word about another exhibition I was REALLY excited to see in London. I’ve been a long time fan of Garance Dore (who actually photographed me several years ago in Paris.) Her blog has exploded in popularity (perhaps due to her celebrity romance with none other than the Sartorialist himself), so the Gap recently approached her to create a exhibition of sorts for their London pop-up store at King’s Court.
The exhibition was in a small space on the basement level of the Gap pop-up shop, but I definitely felt like I was getting an inside view into her studio. The exhibition really felt more like an expanded inspiration board, with Garance’s sketches and scribbled notes all over the walls, but there were also blown-up images from her blog as well t-shirts that she specially designed for the Gap. I especially appreciate the magazine collages that referenced her favorite style icons. Overall, it was an unpretentious, intimate, creative, and sophisticated space that very much reminded me of Garance Dore herself.
This week I am pleased to tell you that the first part of Project Sartorialist went swimmingly when put into action with my Introduction to Fashion class.
The class’s assignment went like this:
Project Sartorialist Street fashion photography combined with trendspotting and stylehunting.
• Students were to choose to work in the team of their choosing or work solo.
• At least one student in the group had to have a digital camera or a camera phone.
• The students had exactly 45 minutes to find people to photograph, either on the street or on campus.
Teams’ photographs were to demonstrate either:
1. a definable style trend that can be seen on three or more individuals, or
2. two or more individuals who exude a particular je ne sais quoi, evocative of The Sartorialist’s style.
After the 45 minutes were up, the class had to return to the classroom to check in. Then, they emailed me their final photos to document that they were completed on time.
Several groups were able to complete both project options, giving us a wealth of photos to examine next week. During the next class meeting, the teams will present their photos to the class as a whole. I’m considering inviting some guest judges to select the best photos from each category, however I haven’t yet determined the potential point-value of winning towards the students’ grades or potential prizes for the winners. Any thoughts on this, my fellow instructors?
If, like me, you can’t get enough street fashion, and are looking for more sources for style inspiration, without the cost of a plane or train ticket, here are a few blogs to sate your appetite.
Lastly, Feedshion indexes photos from many international street style blogs and you can sort them by date, city (London, Vancouver, Bucharest, Sydney), or apparel key word (dress, hat, bag, jeans).
Erica De Greef, Helena Beks, Karen Heard, Sölen Kipöz, Kim Cunningham, and Ericka Basile
Trying to summarize three solid days of back-to-back papers from some of the finest fashion researchers out there is no small task… but I will make an attempt. Please note, the following represents a few highlights from the 1st Global Conference on Fashion, aka Fashion: Exploring Critical Issues, held in Oxford, England, September 25th to September 27th. Unfortunately, although there were many wonderful papers at the conference, there were a few opposing panels scheduled, so I simply couldn’t attend everything or report on everything. And I’m going to just pick a few of my favorites…
First, I must preface this synopsis by saying that arriving at Mansfield College in Oxford, on the heels of Fashion Week in London, just as the ivy on all of the ancient buildings was beginning to turn red was nothing short of delightful. And then realizing that the location where I was to sit and listen to papers on my favorite subject was an old school British college that would’ve made even Harry Potter proud was just the cherry on my ice cream sundae. But on to the papers…
This international conference, sponsored by www.inter-disciplinary.net, really did represent such an admirable breadth and depth of fashion research. The conference opened with three exceptionally strong papers. Kim Cunningham, a PhD student at CUNY delivered a paper entitled: “Caught/Appearing: Towards a Haptic Visual Methodology in Fashion Studies” in which she used her own conductor’s hat as an illustration of the manner in which we literally feel the clothing of others – demonstrating the embodied and affective dimension of understanding dress.
In the second session, Alisa Braithwaite from MIT spoke on Michelle Obama and how her role as the archetypical African-American women, in both positive and negative senses, has influenced her standing as a First Lady of Fashion.
Early Saturday morning, the conference continued with a panel on “Fashion, Fantasy, and Representation: Fashion as a Stylized Form of Artistic Expression” with Jacque Lynn Foltyn, one of the conference chairs, concluding the panel with a paper discussing “Corpse Chic: ‘Dead’ Models and ‘Living’ Corpses in Fashion Photography.” In her presentation she reminded us of Wallace Stevens’ quote that “death is the mother of beauty,” but she also prompted us all to ask if death is perhaps also beauty’s offspring.
communal dinner in the "Great Hall"
Session 4a was more historically-based, with Kristen Stewart and Rebecca Perry, both affiliated with The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, presenting papers related to children’s clothing. And Michael Langkjaer from the University of Copenhagen took us on a photographic journey through rock-n-roll’s love affair with the military jacket.
In Session 5b we discussed designers well-known in the world of fashion studies and criticism, Yohji Yamamoto and Hussein Chalayan, with the help of papers by Alexis Romano, Solen Kipoz, and Deniz Guner.
Then after tea on Saturday afternoon Ericka Basile of New York University presented a paper on the transforming power of spandex and the ways in which the introduction of disco pants created a modern, empowered woman.
Sunday morning was crisp and brisk, no better time to discuss philosophy! Following my paper on fashion and confession, Anneke Smelik of Radboud University of Nijmegen, Netherlands continued the discussion of authenticity in dress. The panel concluded with Connie Etengoff’s (CUNY, Graduate Center) paper on fashion in Second Life and other virtual spaces.
Nathaniel Dafydd Beard, a freelance writer from London, questioned the role of the fashion city in his paper “Defining the Fashion City: Fashion Capital or Style Centre?” What defines a city of a mecca of style – commerce or “cool”? Beard’s continuing project concerning fashion centers involves collecting images of individuals with infamous “fashion souvenirs.” Check it out here.
The final session of the conference was surely one of the most interesting. Aurelie Van de Peer of Ghent University, Belgium (another philosophy student!) spoke concerning the concept of the “new” and how this notion is connected to the development of fashion magazines. Ane Lynge-Jorlen of the London College of Fashion also delivered a paper related to fashion magazines, specifically addressing niche magazines and their audience. Claire Allen from University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom spoke on the changing face of fashion journalism, referencing all variety of internet style sources such as blogs, youtube, and facebook.
(from left to right) Aurelie Van de Peer, Ane Lynge-Jorlen, Claire Allen, and Johannes Reponen
Johannes Reponen concluded the entire conference on a slightly negative, yet challenging note, reminding us that the road to genuine fashion criticism is a tough one indeed. Designers frequently hold the key to their own critics, creating an environment with very little true accountability. But it is indeed a challenge to these scholars and others to take all these avenues of research and continually find ways to plug into concerns of the real world.
To find the full conference programme with abstracts and links to full papers please go here.
I am embarrassed to say I failed the Huffington Post test on guessing who Yulia Tymoshenko when presented with a collection of photos of her. For all you fellow dunces, she is the Prime Minister of the Ukraine– and the first female Prime Minister the Ukraine has had. (My ignorance was especially embarrassing to me because my sister in-law is from neighboring Moldova and I like to pretend that I know what’s going on in that part of the world). She has made the (some say suspect) switch from millionaire oligarch to revolution leader and has ranked as one of the most powerful women in the world by Forbes twice.
What made the online identification game so challenging is that the accomplished Yulia is an interesting — even daring — dresser. If you scroll through the photo gallery, you’ll see Ms. Tymoshenko accompanying everyone from Vladimir Putin to Viktor Zubkov to a “British heavy metal singer” Sean Carr, and in what clothes! Some choice selections below.
Doesn’t she look like a fierce 16th century warrior princess?? But with sleek 3/4 length skirt (that hugs her curves beautifully, I might add).
Yulia Tomyshenko & Vladimir Putin
"Portrait of a Married Woman" by Anthonis Mor, 1554
And how sporty is she in her NASCAR-esque turtleneck? The distinctly unsubtle word “revolution” running the length of her arms like DO NOT CROSS police tape is, I assume, reference to her leadership of the Orange Revolution during which, Wikipedia tells me, she was dubbed the “Joan of Arc of the Revolution.” Like a racecar driver, she is advertising her “sponsor” the Orange Revolution in her attire.
Yulia Tomyshenko in Kiev on 12/26/04
NASCAR driver Tony Stewart sporting his (coincidentally orange) sponsor's logo
I love this one — the close fitting beige gives the shocking illusion of nudity, her breasts barely contained by the skimpy bustier portion. And yet in cut it’s quite conservative, with every inch of her covered by the turtleneck and pleated skirt. As a side note, I favor a similar style in my own life — both the body hugging-but-covering-naughty-bits-drapery… and also bustiers.
Yulia Tomyshenko at EU headquarters, 1/28/07
First, I have to comment on how goddamn adorable Yulia looks here. She smiles with abandon, looking sincere and actually happy, a sentiment that is not always carried off by smiling politicians who may look false, strained, or smarmy. Clearly the woman loves rockin’ the uni-color ensemble, which — again — I’m fond of. The poofy bicep bells offer some frivolity in an otherwise austere white sweater-turtleneck combo. The brooch also reminds me of 16th century jewelry — pearls were a favorite gem of both Elizabeth I and Henry VIII, who had many garments with them sewn in the cloth (and even in Elizabeth’s hair).
Yulia Tomyshenko on 9/26/08
Elizabeth I
The woman knows what she likes — and she likes high collars that are simultaneously severe and decorative. Yulia returns to 16th century fashions, very much in the male “Spanish style” — that is, mostly black — like Philip II of Spain (1527 – 1598).
Yulia Tymoshenko c. 2006
Philip II of Spain
She is unquestionably feminine with her up-do and her penchant for figure hugging clothes, but the embellishments Yulia favors are almost always masculine (if dated ideals of masculinity, such as ruffled shirts), externalizing what must be a daily struggle: being a female politician in the male dominated world of politics. The ruffled shirt has most recently been a Victorian trend (big surprise with Yulia!), but has earlier roots in 18th century menswear.
Yulia Tymoshenko during Orange Revolution corruption scandal
"Portrait of a Victorian Woman in White" by William de Leftwich Dodge, 1891
portrait by Alexis N. S. Belle, 18th century
And here again, Yulia plays with conservative, traditional dress motifs. The lace — a fabric with a strong luxury tradition but a current association perhaps more of old ladies — is here turned from a subtle embellishment to grand statement motif. The rest of the outfit tempers the tattoo-like boldness of the lace with its neutral gray 3/4 length suit-like fit, paired with the familiar high, prim neckline, and feminine bubble sleeves. This outfit was aptly deemed “strict but sexy” by the Komsomolska Pravda newspaper.
Yulia Tymoshenko on 2/4/06, when she received the record number of votes as the prime minister
Ms. Tomyshenko proves that you can be taken seriously as a political figure (I write this without intricate knowledge of her policies, but I’m assuming enough took her seriously to get her elected) in creative dress. I love that she incorporates the traditional folksy milkmaid plaited braid, juxtaposed with her otherwise very modern sartorial sensibility, with nods to history. Supposedly her coiffure was an homage to Lesya Ukrainka, one of the Ukraine’s foremost poets from the late 19th, early 20th centuries.
I enjoy the way she embraces the presentation of her femininity too, with her figure hugging clothes and stylized long hair (a far cry from the chopped Hilary Clintons and Nancy Pelosis); one could argue that Yulia’s interest in fashion in and of itself is an unapologetic display of a passion typically associated with women, which she clearly revels in. I am heartened to have my belief confirmed that having fun with one’s wardrobe does not automatically make a woman frivolous, as many still think (none who read this blog, I trust!).
As Fashion Week begins in NYC, followed by similar festivals of fashion in London and Paris, I’m beginning to wonder about the whole idea of international style centers. Is there really such a thing as a distinctive style that differentiates runway fashion in London from that of New York? When fashion critics and magazine editors write about seasonal trends, aren’t they referencing global, universal trends rather than trends specific to any particular place? These questions remind me again that the fashion industry actually spawns a sort of phenomenon of uniformity — creating a global “look” and and a cross-cultural fashionable elite, members of which cannot be easily assigned to one country over another.
So what are the reasons of this kind of wholesale leveling of ethnic or culturally definable fashion? Two primary causes immediately come to mind: the development and proliferation of global department store chains and the internet.
On one recent trip to London, I realized that there really was no article or brand of clothing I could buy in London that I couldn’t get in the United States. In fact, even the uber-hip store Topshop, which used to be available exclusively in the UK, was opening a store in New York City the very same weekend I was in London. Of course the three most notable examples of this international chain explosion are the Gap, Zara, and H&M, all of which have locations around the world.
It certainly goes without saying that the internet has created a global economy. The effects such a global marketplace has had on fashion are tremendous. Along with providing accessibility to all variety of clothing items, the web has created a platform where any number of frantically-typing, photo-uploading fashionistas can create a name for themselves. This very week, weardrobe is sponsoring a conference exclusively for the crème de la crème of fashion bloggers. [Now, although WT is most certainly a blog about fashion, I don't think we would consider ourselves “fashion bloggers” in the sense that the term is most frequently used. (Sea of Shoes is a perfect example of a fashion blog.) Fashion blogging per se usually refers to girls who either track themselves in some sort of photographic online diary or who comment upon and critique the latest runway shows and/or fashion magazines.]
And although many of us are benefiting from the breakdown of walls between fashion and academics, we are now left with some confusing terrain to navigate. A conference for fashion bloggers? What does this such a thing indicate? Is it that conferences are to be taken so lightly or is it that fashion blogging is to be taken so seriously?
The phenomenon of fashion blogging really has thrown the traditional idea of “style centers” on its head. Similar to the slow disappearance of regional and ethnic style of dress, the notion that there are actual places that could be more or less fashionable is becoming a little obsolete. Because now, it seems, the MOST fashionable “place” to be is in cyber-space.
Yes, the playing field has been leveled and any girl with a camera, a local Goodwill, a computer (ok, and maybe a little innate style) can become the next “it” girl to watch. These girls really are changing the shape of fashion as many of them do in fact turn up on the front row at the most important fashion shows. And their word, or idea of what “works,” is almost more valuable than many of the magazine editors’ opinions.
Does it say something, though, that one of the most significant bloggers on this scene is “stylerookie” Tavi, a 12 yr old.? What does that say about fashion? That it appeals to the whimsy and imaginative desires of children — that we are all just playing dress up — or that style and expensive clothing aren’t necessarily to be earned with age and insight?
Or perhaps it’s just that Tavi is a witty, precocious young thing, whose seeming grasp of some of the silliness of the industry is actually enlightening. And the way she manages to both make light of it and take it very, very seriously is simply a refreshing, even if contradictory, attitude.
Maybe we could all take some cues from these blogging ladies and learn that it is possible to have both critique and appreciation in mind when approaching the world of clothing and design — because in the end, serious reflection and creative inspiration are not mutually exclusive.
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. Additionally, a new quilt book, 
is due out in March 2010. 
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