taliesin...meImyself......CLOTHES (6.15.97)

My devotion once belonged to the Japanese design house Comme des Garçons. I've since broaden my outlook and changed my mind about the validity of CdG's raison d'être -- constant experimentation and innovation. A bit too frivolously patriarchical for me. But I still think some of their stuff are absolutely gorgeous and thank them for prompting me on my sewing -- their stuff were way beyond my budget, so I had to learn to sew what I couldn't afford.

. . . D I Y . F O R . P L E B S

Why I sew: Coz I'm a pleb. And I can't reason myself out of the guilt of buying cheap and thereby perpetuating sweat-shop labor. (Don't bother with the "Oh, but at least it gives the workers jobs and means of subsistence; they would have starved otherwise." Tried it. Still not convinced.) Plus I can't get my body to conform to those of the models for whom ready-to-wear clothings are made. And supposedly sewing is meditative and good for stress relieve -- unless of course you're like me a perfectionist with not so perfect sewing skills in which case you'd be cursing as you're ripping.

DIY in general interests me. It's not so much that I favor the 'amateurishness' of the scene as that I'm fascinated by the question of what separates it from professionalism and how we historicially and logically arrive at such a separation. There's also the question of the ambiguousness of rationalism -- that industry proceed on what it think is economical which could be operationally rational, but irrational from the point of view of humanism. An example would be the sizing issue, why clothings are made for 'model' figures when there's desparation and demand for non-'standard' sizing. Another example and an issue that I find disturbing is the defaulting to the lowest common denominator, the devotion of so much labor to homogeneous and ugly styles. Where are the choices? Everyone's trying to do the same thing at the same time to take advantage of unnecessarily artificial if not fictitious trends. The pondering aside, you get to make what you like, which is enough reason to try.

Some projects I hope to get around to one of these idle days...You're welcome to put into practice if any appeals to you, just don't even try to restrict access to the ideas with copyright non-sense...

• Somehow turn wine corks into the platform of shoes or sandal. I had a lovely pair from Victoria's Secret a few years ago that I'd love to replace. Supposedly the ingeniously stylish French women of the war-impoverished 40's made great use of this idea stacking up the corks sky-high to match outrageous hats in an effort to brighten the war-worn spirit of the time.
  
  
• An adaptation of a CdG dress I have and in imitation of art...a stained-glass print with a meaningful narrative of one's own devising: To realize the representation of a dress I painted in one of my painting and through which I tried to say something. If you're going to have a stained-glass print anyway why not make it say something in addition to being decorative.
  
  
• In the same line, a multi-layered chiffon skirt with some involved and fascinating text printed up-side-down so you can read it when you're sitting and have nothing else to do, like on the bus or in the train. I'm one for traveling light, but like many women, there seems no getting around carrying a whole load of crap. So, the more multi-functional the things I do carry are the better. I'd attach a fabric marker and leave some spaces for jotting down notes, so it'll be a wearable shadow of a book + notebook. Probably will freak people out, but if you don't mind doing things that are rational but different from the standard and mindless routine, then why not. Oh, and of course you better choose a text you won't get bored by quickly and also, make the skirt wearable all around, with no distinction between front and back, so you can 'turn the page' when you need to.

R E A D Y M A D E . P A T R I C I A N S . . .

Made for viewing pleasures and way beyond reasonable budgets, last season's (Fall/Winter 96-97) Comme des Garçons women's collection was just divine. I love Rei Kawakubo & friends' designs best when they manage to achieve a mythic or nostalgic feel with a modernist abstract form and construction. Last season's use of cut velvet with muslin lining gave a oddly austere yet luxurious Byzantine effect (see SoHo NYC shop display photos above). Previously they managed to achieve equivalent feats with the Spring/Summer 91 collection evocative of the luminous light inside a gothic cathedral and the Fall/Winter 88-89 collection evocative of turn-of-the-centruy German Expressionism with its quest for a germanic folk spirit.

From the austerity of the shops they operate worldwide, you'd get a sense that they must be a bit of a control freak. When I interned at their NYC showroom, I was told that leftovers are shipped back to Japan for shredding. I don't know whether it was a joke or not, but it would be a great pity if it were true. The rag trade's artificial cycles I find a bit of a strain. It's emphasis on the new, the current trend is but a manifestation of a modern ethos I don't subscribe to anymore. One changes styles to keep from getting bored; but to dictate that on the ticking of the clock is utterly inhumane. Leave it to industry to turn you into a consumption machine.