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If you were rich and British, you would look amazing right now.
On October30th, Christie’s sold off some of the finest fashion fetishes in history at their Resurrection: Avant Garde Fashion auction in Kensington. The highest bid went to this extraordinary Paco Rabanne Aluminum Tunic Dress at 25 grand. Most of the avant gardists represented were old garde: Pierre Cardin, Gaultier, Alaia, Cristobal Balenciaga, Norma Kamali, et al., with nary a word from the 21st century. Okay, there was one, a World’s End mini-crini wired skirt, a black hoop mini with yellow stars, but who cares when there’s this amazingly red circular vinyl cape. Viva la vinyl, indeed. Here we have a truly electrifying objet. Not just some dress the man made before he sold his name to all those luggage companies, but a Pierre Cardin masterpiece circa 1965. Holy space age deliciousness. And for the real tried and true fetishists, there’s nothing less than a gilt leather hood made by Sex for Malcolm McLaren of the New York Dolls. You might recognize its alter ego from the famous ‘Cambridge Rapist’ print. Other delicious take-home delights included an amazing black gauze shroud in two pieces by Rei Kawakubo (which fetched a mere 10k), a Mr.
Don’t Call It Fashion: Uncommon Thread Wearable Art (Fashion?) Show
The art and fashion worlds collided in Baton Rouge’s own Uncommon Thread Wearable Art Show. 1,500 of Louisiana’s finest attended this landmark event on October 18th at the Louisiana State Museum. Although originally intended as a conceptual competition targeting artists across all genres, it was undoubtedly the fashion event of the year for Baton Rouge. With 41 original pieces from 38 designers around Baton Rouge and the nation, Uncommon Thread showcased the best in wearable art and fashion. The brainchild of Culture Candy’s Erin Rolfs, the event was a multi-faceted, multi-media event. Strains of the ethereal Louisiana State Museum Gospel Choir were heard alongside the modern electronic set performed by DJ Otto. Sinewy dancers moved across the museum’s makeshift runway under the direction of Micaela Marchand Conor, as models paraded the intrepid creations of local and national artists. The audience pressed tightly against the limits of the walkway, with just enough room for the models to pass, tickling the noses of spectators with a peacock feather or stray bit of silk. The show kicked off with the work of Sarah Wheelcock, an electric blue evening gown with a box-shaped skirt. The piece, entitled, “Dress for a Homeless Woman”, was inspired
Curtsy: A Behind-the Design Look at Grace Duval Johnston’s “Exoskeleton”
Grace Johnston began her college career as a fashion design student at Virginia Commonwealth University. But, she says, “I transferred out of the Fashion Design department because I felt that it limited my creative abilities. I guess I see myself more as an artist than a fashion designer, though I make clothing all the time and have since I was ten. Clothing, garments, and the body are my main focus here in the sculpture department. I want people to see clothing as art, not just something that you wear to cover yourself.” And, as the first-place winner of this year’s Uncommon Thread Wearable Art Show she did just that. The show featured two entries by Grace: “X-Travagant X-pansionism”, a snug, floor-length gown with a retractable peacock bustle inspired by Marie Antoinette, and the winner, “Curtsy: Exoskeleton”, a short, hourglass-shaped frock constructed of wooden hoops with a lifting mechanism. Though the “peacock dress”, as Grace refers to it, has won prizes in the past, the “curtsy dress” is actually an artistic mistake reworked for entry into Uncommon Thread. “I wasn’t pleased with the project,” says Johnston, “because it was just an inanimate object, not something that actually served a purpose.
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