They’re easy to put on, you don’t have to worry about coordinating colours or fabrics, they’re comfortable, and luckily for me they’re trendy right now. This may sound surprising coming from a fashion designer, but I spend most of my time trying to figure out what I want to wear in the future, not right now. And on top of that I’m not a very patient person. The two combined make for very hasty dressing in the morning, and the jumpsuit is the perfect solution to this (minor) problem.
As a result I also design a lot of jumpsuits.
This week I’ve been struggling with the pattern for a pair of pants I want to add to the collection. I made the muslin, tested out the pattern for fit, tried it out. Everything works great. But when I place the pattern on this beautiful (expensive) striped deadstock wool I have, there is a tremendous amount of fabric waste. After writing about no waste patternmaking I’m determined to produce this collection using no waste philosophies, as I did with Spring 10, but without the simplicity of a single square shape.
As far as I’m concerned, tops and pants are just top and bottom halves of an unfinished jumpsuit. And here comes the ‘aha’ moment. I was going to cut a top using the same fabric as the pants anyway, so instead of thinking of them as two separate items, I’m going to cut them together, using the empty spaces created by the pants to fit in the top pieces. It’s not a perfect solution, as you can see from the post-cutting scraps in the photo above, but it’s WAY less wasteful than the original cutting (also shown in the photo below).
Next Friday I will be participating in the Apex sale at Tribeca Grand in NY. I’m really excited about this because I’ll be surrounded by very talented designers (I usually end up buying more than I sell at these things, but I always come home happy with lots of new goodies). A percentage of sales go to Apex, see information below. I’ll have heavily reduced Fall pieces as well as brand new Spring 10 pieces.
Designers Come in from the Cold to Support Youth Development
Uniting to warm up winter and shake off post-holiday blues, a group of cutting-edge designers will come together at the Tribeca Grand Hotel for 2010’s first major social shopping event.
Shoppers will have four hours to browse women’s apparel, accessories and homeware luxury items at special prices and in support of youth development initiatives on Friday, January 29, 2010. Doors will open at 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. for shoppers to enjoy a sponsored bar, sweets courtesy of local bakers hecs Kitchen and music by DJ Heart Beats.
Cutdrop will host an online presale of select designers starting Wednesday, January 27 through the day of the sale.
All participants have generously agreed to donate 20% of proceeds from the sale to benefit APEX, Inc., a Manhattan-based youth organization providing underserved Asian American youth with one-to-one mentoring and educational services. Since 1992, APEX has helped guide Asian American urban youth to their fullest potential through an innovative suite of academic and activity programs.
I can’t count how many times I’ve been told in my professional life that my designs should have a more “commercial appeal”, should attract that elusive “universal customer”, should be able to be worn by “young and old alike”. I have been told that I should avoid being “too specific”. I never agreed with the directives but I never had a valid counter argument to support my disagreement. Until now.
Jesse, who has proven to be a continual source of inspiration and wisdom for me, has started a new side project. During a casual conversation about it, he mentioned that he tries to create each project with a unique individual as his audience, rather than attempting to appeal to a large group. This brought up a Kurt Vonnegut quote (yes, he occasionally quotes Kurt Vonnegut in casual conversation):
“Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.”
I believe all great designers heed this mantra, designing for themselves, or the alter ego they wish they were. And it’s painfully obvious when they (and by they I mean me) veer from it, resulting in a creation that lacks direction, continuity, substance and, dare I say it, may even lack soul. Why is this true? I’m not entirely sure, nor can I quote psychological studies as reference. But as times become increasingly difficult for everyone, the few consumers who are left are looking for something that was made especially for them, not for a thousand other people who have been lumped into the same random category. People have always wanted to feel unique. Now that times are difficult, that need is greater. And more accessible. The success of websites like etsy, where you can have just about anything made tailor-made to your specifications, testify to this assumption.
And if, like me, you missed that day in school when this theory was taught, hopefully this will provide you with a little perspective. As it did for me.
I had a very interesting meeting with Timo and Caroline last night. Mainly it was to welcome Timo to NY and get acquainted, but as nerdy eco designers tend to do, we ended up talking about nerdy eco designer things, like no waste fashion, the H&M fiasco, and the not-so-burgeoning craft movement in America. The success of e-commerce site etsy is a testament to the success of this movement. But where did it come from? I have waxed poetic about the possible origins of the movement to anyone who will listen (ie. people who were unfortunately stuck in a room with me when I felt like discussing the subject).
“It’s because of the recession”, I may have said “people are returning to a time of comfort and certainty to counter the turmoil of the war and the economic decline.”
But in truth the slow and gradual switch to traditional crafts started many years before this Americana-fashion-meets-quit-your-corporate-day-job-and-make-felt-mice trend (no offense intended, I am in fact a huge fan of Karl Lagermouse).
The combined skills of draping, patternmaking, cutting, and sewing or each on its own, are skills that can only be mastered with time and practice. These skills, like many other trades, are not valued like they used to be. Globalization has moved garment production out of the United States, searching for cheap labor outside our borders.
And I read this in issue 29 of Monocle this morning:
For years, teenagers have been told they need an academic qualifcation to get on. But that’s not always the case. So many people are not cut out for pen pushing and book worming. But if someone had put a chisel in their hand and a master had shownn them how to use it, they might have grown up into the new Michelangelo, or at least a good carpenter. We need to go back to valuing the good old-fashioned apprenticeship. We want to see more people making things. And the only way to do that well is through years of slow, caring trial and error under the wings of the best craftsmen. And once you’ve done that you will be priceless…
Perhaps the movement will be a positive result of a negative time. Perhaps it’s time for everyone to slow down a little and figure out how to sew on a missing button instead of throwing out a perfectly good shirt. Bring your favourite shoes to the local cobbler instead of buying a new pair. Turn an old sweater into a new scarf. I’m not saying we all need to develop a craft, but we can apply the basic premise to our everyday lives.
And this is where my inner turmoil begins. I believe everything I have just written (or quoted). But… I have a fashion line. I want you to buy my clothes. New clothes made from new (albeit sustainable) textiles. Where, then, is the happy medium? I’m still searching for it. And as much as I talk about slowing down, I have less than a month to finish up my Fall 2010 collection. Ah! There’s the familiar fashionable hypocrisy that was missing.
A friend loaned me a copy of Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead several years ago, and since reading it I have not ceased thinking about it. But until now I knew very little about its author, despite being continuously inspired by her work and ethics.
This morning I found a Mike Wallace interview with Ayn Rand and thought I would share it. Part one is above, here are parts two and three of the interview.
Though I don’t necessarily agree with all her philosophies, I have nothing but respect for this talented writer who was so clear and adamant in her beliefs that it must have been difficult to debate her. And if you consider that the interview took place in 1959, that only heightens my respect. I tend to avoid reading biographies about creatives I admire. For some reason I prefer to develop their histories and personalities in my mind rather than learn about what made them who they eventually became. But now that I have found this interview, perhaps I will dig deeper into the lives of those I most admire.
That is, after I finish the Fall 2010 collection. That’s enough procrastinating for today, I should think.
