Not this weekend, but the weekend before, my lovely lovely friend Lauren Jack & I (along with my roomie Danielle) did a shoot at the Newport Mansions. Featured in all its full frontal glory were two outfits that I made in collaboration with L. for her senior thesis. I wish I could tell you more but if I give away her concept she'll have my head on a pike. So, all I will say is that the one on the left is made of lavendar & cream pvc (which is plastic, btw) and the one on the right is made of white lace vinyl & pink semi-transparent plastic:
And I have to rant for a second and say how much I GRRRRR CANNOT STAND PVC! Not only is it cheap looking & rarely fits well, it is a HUGE pain to sew. Because of the plasticized coating, it sticks to the machine and will only feed properly if sandwiched between two sheets of wax paper. Personally, I think if you're going for the sexy wet fetish look you should save your pennies and buy nice latex. And I'm not saying that just 'cause I make it :)
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Trip TWO:
Saturday.
Ah, New York. I realize everytime I go there how much I don't actually like the place. I keep thinking it'll get better, that I'll like it more someday, but it doesn't happen. Granted, there is so much stuff in one place that it's an incredibly resourceful place to be, but it feels.....empty. dead. substance-less. Le sigh.
That being said I did get some very productive things done. On the advice of my independent study prof. I checked out Alexander McQueen's store & Jeffrey's in the meatpacking district as well as saw the Gothic: Dark Glamour show at FIT.
McQueen was....disappointing. I saw some small dirt spots on clothing as well as some loose stiching! I didn't understand! And I realized something: I love the fantasy of fashion, and I LOVED the spectacle that his A/W 2008 collection had, but on the rack the clothes were so...lifeless. They lacked energy and the sumptuousness of seeing them adorn the body. Bah.
His laser cut vinyl lace dress was a neat idea though:
It was interesting to contrast his store with H&M, which I decided to go to afterwards. Although McQueen's store smelled lovely, and had more interesting/avant-garde/fashion-forward pieces, I found that H&M had better sewn, albeit simpler, garments. Not sure why....maybe H&M has more orders, thus larger sweatshops, thus more labor of quality (?) vs. a designer who has less orders and perhaps a smaller workforce? It's a half formed thought but a good idea to pursue at a later date.
IN RETALIATION, NEXT STOP FOR ME: WEARABLE INSTALLATIONS!
In contrast, the Dark Glamour show was so amazing! And I don't say this because of my weakness for gothy goth goth goth; Valerie Steele curated it and did a spectacular, well rounded show. (Side note: My first introduction to Steele was her book Fetish a few years ago and it is also extremely well written and cohesive.) The organization of it, as well as the pieces chosen, were right on the mark without being condescending or overly cliché.
Favorite designer I discovered: KEI KAGAMI
Gorgeous pieces with glass & medical inspiration. Mmmmmmm. I need to find out more about him.
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