Fashion In The Galleries { See | Me Pleiades}

Fashion in the galleries is hands down one of my favorite subjects to discuss and often times can lead into heated arguments (usually I'm the only one heated; passion comes with a vengeance). As a graduate with a fine art degree focusing on fashion I am obviously all for seeing clothing in the white walls but other's can feel quite differently, more so in the fine art world than the fashion world. I for one don't see a difference between fashion and art. Clothing takes skill to make, it takes design and conceptual ideas to transform a 2-D cloth into a 3-D wearable garment that can be seen as either a sculpture or as a dress depending on your perspective. 

Top photo by Ariane Garcia compared to an 1885 painting by Elihu Vedder entitled "The Pleiades"

The issue that many people have with seeing clothing in the galleries is what makes going into a gallery and seeing clothing on a mannequin different than walking into a Saks Fifth Avenue with dressed mannequins? Is it simply the fact that the same items are in a different space that changes the way that we process what is in front of us? Now that clothing is not in a store being marketed for us to buy but rather to look at as intensely and emotionally as we would a painting it turns from a utilitarian object into a work of art. Famed fashion editor Diana Vreeland is the woman who single handedly made us reassess the way that we look at clothing when she was put in charge of the curation for The Costume Institute at The Met in the 1970's. She did exhibits on Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, Vanity Fair, Russian costume and Hollywood design. There are art historians on the fence about these type of exhibits with some saying that it has been too long that we've waited to see clothing in the gallery and others saying that it is preposterous to consider such frivolous things as fine art. You can make your own opinion on the subject as I am not here to sway you one way or the other (however I'm assuming if you are reading this blog you probably already consider fashion to be art in some way shape or form). 

Photos by Ramond McHaddad

Recently I've had two encounters of fashion in the galleries and wanted to share them with you here. The first was two weekends ago when I modeled for my dear friend Kaytee Papusza of Papusza Couture at her exhibition opening and release of her Pleiades collection at the See | Me gallery in New York. The show was unbelievably successful as 7 models ran around the gallery dressed in wearable sculptures made out of aluminum, resin, taxidermy, glass beads and cloth all the while interacting with audience members and Rosanna Sclmeca's monumental sculptures. Normally Kaytee designs less hazardous pieces but this was a very special collection that was inspired by the Greek mythology story of the Pleiades and she collaborated with Katie Burley for several millinery pieces. After the opening of the show the pieces were installed to hang from the ceiling and walls of the gallery for the next month which I thought was a very clever way to avoid the issue of seeing the clothing on mannequins and immediately making the connection to department stores. I am a huge fan of Kaytee's work and feel that her designs transcend beyond the realm of just something to put on your back. They are a response to the magic she feels but can never see so she makes us see it and feel it and live our lives in it. All of her collections have such conceptual and complex stories behind them that to me constitute them as fine art. 

Kaytee's collection will be viewable for the next month at the See | Me Gallery in Long Island City, NY (Photo and installation by Kendall Fiasco)

Check back in Monday to see my review on the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum. It's a doozy that's for sure. 

Tartaned

It was the day after Valentines Day and all throughout the house not a creature was stirring because they were probably hung over from partying too hard and drinking too much wine or maybe that was just me......after I finally dragged my ass out of bed by noon I wandered down the street to visit a thrift store I've been dying to rummage through since their window displays are always so clever and well styled in my humble opinion. Amarcord is their name and awesome, reasonably priced clothing is their game. Within 5 minutes of entering this magical four-walled palace I found what has to be the coolest shorts that were ever made. Not only that but they were also an extra 20% off! After leaving the store I rushed home to completely change my attire for the day making these corduroy tartan shorts the focal point in my sartorial display that day. 

Not only are these shorts cool as fuck and comfortable but they have huge pockets! For a girl that seems to be drawn to clothing that is always pocket-less or has such small pockets that they might as well be pocket-less this was a major turn on. Since the initial purchase and wearing of these shorts on Saturday I have barely taken them off since and trust me when I say this is no exaggeration. When I buy a clothing piece it is often because I am obsessed with it (in a completely healthy way of course) but I believe it is safe to say that I am unhealthily obsessed with these tartan-ed bad boys. Maybe it's their classic red tartan pattern that draws me back to my Scottish roots or perhaps it's their soft to the touch corduroy material that's texture only emphasizes the vertical lines or possibly it's their bad ass high-waisted, knee-length design that has me feeling all kinds of quirky creative enthusiasm. Whatever it is I'm basking in it and rocking these bitches til someone finally notices that I've worn the same shorts for several weeks in a row; let's be honest though, even someone does notice I'll probably still keep wearing them. 

They remind me of London and this goes beyond the obvious tartan influence. When I think of style in London I feel like something needs to be off. It should never be perfectly tailored like Milan or Paris and it should never be as commercial as New York. London is slightly strange to the untrained eye. It can confuse you, make you giddy, jump up and down or scream that it is the ugliest thing you've ever seen but what London always is is original. Bitches have their shit together and when they don't it's usually even better. London is challenging and will never be easy on the eyes or mind which is why I love it so. I feel like these shorts are all of those things and why I am so drawn to them. 

"It's so bad it's good" as some might say but I prefer "If it doesn't challenge me than I don't like it." 

The Lines of Life

"I am for an art that takes its form from the lines of life, 

that twists and extends impossibly and accumulates and spits and drips, 

and is sweet and stupid as life itself."

-Claes Oldenburg

Some photos from my recent adventures in New York. Thinking more and more about how everything in my life can be a work of art and how incredible it is that you really can learn something new (mentally, spiritually, whatever it may be) in every moment if you just pay attention. Good art is something that makes you feel and I'm feeling a lot these days. Currently in the process of creating moodboards for photo shoots I am working on but just wanted to share this beautiful quote I came upon the other day in conjunction with the lines of my own life.