-
an exhibition by
Vincent Edwards,
William Franevsky,
and Jarrett Scherff
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Saturday, 28 May 2011
Thursday, 26 May 2011
The Magician
I lament the day I ever think I am too old to watch an animated film. Lately I have been revisiting the Studio Ghibli collection and allowing myself to be whisked away to weird and wonderful dreamlands. A personal favourite of those dreamlands is the beautiful, if tormented, Neo-Victorian setting for Miyazaki's interpretation of Howl's Moving Castle. I shall always have a soft spot for the Neo-Victorian, even though in most iterations it can unfortunately smack of costume rather than fashion (namely steampunk). Indeed many of the costumes seen within the film would be rather difficult to really apply to the everyday. Even so, if one were so inclined, sourcing the majority of the Victorian fashions employed would be quite the hard task.
I have always been rather taken by Howl's outfits within the film. He has a very simple albeit well-accessorized uniform, the silhouette and ease of which really interests me. Flying around in a baggy blouse, high waisted black drainpipes, Cuban heel boots and oversize magician's coat, only ever worn as a cape, it is quite a striking combination. Add to this his rather opulent jewellery, with the blue stoned ring he wears on his index finger, the emerald drop earring, and the various necklaces he wears throughout the film, and there is a deceptively simple outfit. The jewellery may sound like overkill, but then, for all of its overtly feminine charm, it works. I suppose it is androgyny at its most romantic.
Then again, you can get away with just about anything in a cartoon world, so you would probably have to tone it down for everyday...
- Viscose shirt by Ann Demeulemeester
- Stretch jersey trousers by Lanvin
- Cuban heel boots by Yves Saint Laurent
- Sapphire, gold and iron ring by Marco Baroni
For those not wishing to tread the line so closely, there is always Markl - floppy bow tie, white shirt, green waistcoat, knickerbockers, maroon stockings and brown monkstrap shoes. Heck, I wish I dressed that well as a child.
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260511
High waisted, double pleated, black wool trousers by Comme des Garçons Homme Plus
Beacon Falls wool socks by Vanishing Elephant
Occupational 8249 Shoe by Dr Martens
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Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Slipping By
Undercover
Fall/Winter 2009
In seeking to develop and understand my own tastes and style I find myself by nature looking to the past. There is for me a sense of comfort in the past, and it provides a wealth of inspiration, especially through the romanticized view of nostalgia. Old collections are by definition no longer in fashion, and I tend to find that which is no longer in fashion a far more reliable indicator of personal taste. The cultural fuzz surrounding the current and the new can often obscure the perception of it, hence the behaviour of looking back at outfits people wore a decade ago (or indeed simply a few years ago) and wondering what they were thinking. That is until pieces are picked up and reworked into the contemporary scene. For me, looking back to old fashion is not simply a matter of being able to view it with hindsight, but rather being able to view past fashion in a more personal and un-mediated manner.
The industry surrounding fashion churns out the new at what can often be a bewildering speed, however for me it is the notion of trends that disorientate most. Fashion is often espoused as being an expression of individuality, however the system of fashion, in particular the insistence of the gatekeepers (that is to say the mediators between what is shown on the catwalk and the general public) on trends is in practice about social conformity rather than individuality. There are those in fashion, and those outside of fashion. Holding the approval of being in fashion is accompanied with the anxiety of being then at risk of slipping at any moment outside of fashion. Personally I would rather have nothing to do with that. Trends are taken from the shows, yet are far removed from the actuality of the designs viewed - they are categorized and labelled by those viewing and assessing what is shown. In the case of fast fashion, it is the system around which its entire industry is built - pre-packaged, instantly disposable, affordable looks that play upon the anxiety of the consumer.
I like the idea of looking at past collections because I can choose to ignore what the current trends are and simply just look at the clothing. Of course one could argue that this provides an incomplete image. Take for example Slimane's work at Dior - without understanding the cultural influence and the zeitgeist of menswear at the time, it is somewhat difficult to really comprehend the impact his collections had on fashion. However from a purely aesthetic viewpoint, and using the visual imagery in the development and understanding of one's own tastes, that wider understanding is arguably not relevant. As such one can look at the clothing in a more un-mediated sense. Whilst the subsequent development of fashion will no doubt influence how one then looks towards past collections, it allows a more personal connection to the clothing displayed.
Sometimes I wish people would actually stop and look, and then make up their own minds as to what they like and what they do not like. Far too many people seem to be pushed into wearing things they do not actually like all that much, or are uncomfortable in, simply for fear of being out of fashion. Personally, I don't care if how I dress is not on-trend. Indeed to quote a wise man, "I'd rather dress plain and have interesting thoughts, than be a walking mannequin".
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Sunday, 22 May 2011
Friday, 20 May 2011
The Gentleman Explorer
Fall/Winter 2011
Fashion's relationship to the past can be at once both highly selective and greatly broad. In order to look back, the immediate past must necessarily be obliterated and forgotten, for the system of fashion is built upon the new. Fashion must be new in order to constitute as fashion. However for something to be new it must by reason follow something that is old, and in the frenzy of fashion, new can become old in the blink of an eye. Fashion needs to break away from its immediate past - the overplayed trends of last season or last year, for designing from that source would mean it was immediately outmoded. Yet go further back, to a past filled with nostalgia and the romanticized view of those who did not quite experience it, and there is a wealth of inspiration and ideas to be reworked. The cut off point of where un-chic outdated fashions become classics or trends to be reinvented (well, reinterpreted, however the PRs would have us think otherwise) has long been debated, and the general belief is that the line is drawing ever closer.
How the past is interpreted and used by designers can be exemplified in two opposing examples. On the one hand we have designers such as Vivienne Westwood, or John Galliano, whose magpie-like tendencies allow them to pull (well-researched) historical references into anachronistic postmodern pastiches. The past is something to be respected, and yet it can be pulled apart and meshed together, combining references and eras into something new and modern. Here the past can verge upon the realm of costume, and indeed both Westwood and Galliano have been inspired by film and theatre when looking at fashion, just as much as they have been inspired by art and historical dress. Historical accuracy is not central, although Westwood is known for her incredible research.
On the other hand we have a designer such as Martin Margiela, whose Replica line was (and still is, but I refer to him in the past only because he longer designs at his namesake company) based around remaking vintage pieces in high end materials and construction, or whose Artisanal line deconstructed vintage pieces and reworked them to create something new. For Margiela the past was to be revered, and most often pieces were replicated rather than reworked, in order to re-establish the way fashion relates to the past. Of course Margiela was more an oddity in fashion at the time, in his unique way of relating to the past, and yet it is a way that has increasingly been picked up on by many designers since.
Daisuke Obana, founder and designer of N.HOOLYWOOD, bases his work around classic vintage garments, placing a high importance on the provenance of the styles, before adding his own "twisted point of view". Obana began working in a vintage clothing store after having dropped out of school. He went on to open his own high-end vintage store, based around clothing of "good quality" and "old age", whilst also selling select reworked pieces. N.HOOLYWOOD was founded back in 2000, and in 2002 Obana presented his first runway collection.
Obana presents highly coherent vintage-inspired collections each season, and although the inspiration point may change (for example the Fall/Winter 2007 collection was inspired by a 1960s football match between Harvard and Yale), the focus of his label holds true to the idea behind his own vintage clothing store. Vintage is a curious factor in the equation of fashion, for it is based around a sense of nostalgia that is by its own nature eclectic and incoherent. Whilst value is placed upon authenticity of aesthetic and materials, the authenticity of meaning is obscured and transformed. Original meanings are changed and transformed, or indeed just simply forgotten, to fit a new narrative.
For his Fall/Winter 2011 collection Obana was inspired by the idea of what I like to call the 'gentleman explorer'. It was an alluring and romantic vision of the well-groomed, well-spoken gentleman traversing an up-till-then unknown. Thick knits, hard wearing fabrics, traditional cuts, groomed beards, and touches of silk. For me it spoke to that childhood fantasy of being an explorer, a more refined Indiana Jones I suppose. The past is presented in a coherent fashion, albeit one that perhaps prefigures to existing notions of that past, and yet it is far from costume. Remove the ice picks and the ropes, and what you see is a beautiful and versatile collection. Pieces can be pulled apart and would quite easily fit into even the most conservative wardrobe. In such a way I see it as more akin to Margiela's treatment of the past than Westwood's.
All I need now is a thicker beard for Winter...
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