Annie in Indigo

Posted in Sewing by

Annie in Indigo đź’™

Inspired by celebrated and award-winning costume designer, Ruth Carter‘s color palette for actress, Wunmi Mosaku‘s character, Annie, in Ryan and Zinzi Cogler’s film, Sinners, which also starred Michael B. Jordan. She was made for SCRAPTACULAR, Blue: The Tatter Textile Library’s silent auction.

She will be my first doll up for sale, the only one to fly away. That she will live with someone who loves and supports Tatter, and therefore loves textiles and all that they intersect with, that seems fitting.

Annie is adorned entirely in scrap textiles, all but one is indigo dyed. Her body and garments are all handsewn, absolutely no machine stitching (made by me) on this one.

Her hair is wool roving, both braided and needle felted and her face features needle felted brows and embroidered eyes, nose and mouth. Hints of blush soften her cheeks while bead dangle earrings add a special touch. Her body is button jointed with hinged knees for articulated posing.

The indigo fabrics were dyed years and years apart. Some at @textileartscenter with newly made friends who have become family. And others more recently resist dyed @prattdyegarden and batch dyed garments @agatheringofstitches with, you guessed it, newly made friends. The yarn braided together with strips of fabric was dyed by @betterthanjam here in Brooklyn. The only non-indigo piece is a scrap from fabric given to me from @diaryofasewingfanatic’s fabric cave which continues the theme of love and community being an integral part of making Annie.

I hope you love her and that she’s loved in her new home.

What is a doll?

Posted in Sewing by

What is a doll? That was the question at the center of my Legacy of Black Dolls lecture at Tatter.

What’s in a doll? : African dolls for ritual and play, from the collection of the Society of African Missions, January 31-August 31, 1999 – scanned from the Collection of the Brooklyn Museum Library

How is defining something so simple complicated by history, geography, by gender, by economic class, by race and further considerations of who is allowed leisure, who is allowed to be a child? We, those of us enraptured by dolls, seek to illuminate these questions, and more, through historical explorations of doll history, memorabilia, contemporary doll collectors, new perspectives and representation in museums collections and more. But, those explorations don’t necessarily get us closer to the essential question – what is a doll?

I am on a journey of sorts to find an answer.

For my purposes, and what I think I set out to explore when I was invited to give the lecture, is closer to what Black writer and academic, Margo Jefferson, captured in her entry for the book Black Dolls from the Collection of Deborah Neff.

Jefferson states:

“Dolls are the only toys made in our image, the only human-like creatures’ children are given dominion over. You, the child, are the creator of an ordered existence: a miniature kingdom that can imitate or disrupt the logic of your everyday life, the life conceived of and run by adults. They do what they want with you. You do what you want with the doll. You’re loving, you’re fickle; you’re imperious and stern. You coo and comfort the doll, you hurl it down and spank it. You dress and undress the doll, as you are dressed and undressed. You speak to it, you speak as it, you speak for it. So much of your time goes to courting and evading adult attention. You reenact all this with your dolls. You try to improve on it giving them what you don’t get (not enough of anyway) from those humans who rule your life.”

How would you respond to the this question? What is a doll to you? Please comment, below.

Doll Renaissance

Posted in Doll, Sewing by
Williams, Milton. Monique fixes her doll’s hair on her babysitter’s doorstep. September 21, 1979. 2011.15.105. National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection. Washington, D.C.

“They induce a rapture in this viewer. They say: I am black and comely in all conceivable ways. I am varying shades of black, brown and beige. I am decorous, impish, fearsome and wise. They say: I have my vanity. (Gaze on my dark, lustrous eyelashes and smartly-coiffed hair.) They say: I have my griefs. (Count the tears on my cheeks.)”
– Margo Jefferson, Black Dolls

I am beyond delighted to return to blogging to share that I have been enraptured by all things doll.

Through a series of fortunate events, I was asked to teach a series of doll-making workshops at BLUE: The Tatter Textile Library, in Brooklyn, New York. This offer to teach has turned into a renewed passion for dollmaking and Black doll history.

Born out of the lecture I gave on the Legacy of Black Dolls at BLUE: The Tatter Textile Library I have reaffirmed my deep attachment to dolls – making and researching their history. I am already deeper and more confident in my making practice and am exploring research facilities, libraries, museums and archives and delving into monographs and collection catalogs to see what doll-related goodies I can find.

This academic year has been busy and promising. But I am mindful to continue thinking of this specific avenue of inquiry not only in box checking career terms, but remaining clear in my purpose to learn and make for my own joy and edification. As well as the joy of sharing with others. Nothing quite does that like the handling of teeny limbs and garments and uncovering the beauty of a well-worn doll, exclaimed over with like-minded folks.

It is my hope to return to sharing here on this blog. To spend time drafting posts and sharing knowledge. To provide a place for us to connect and share. To share updates and news. To post about dolls in all their expansive glory.

I will return to share more about my work at Tatter and what’s coming up for me and the dolls.

Jean Pual Gaultier Takes Brooklyn

Posted in art, beauty, Brooklyn, Fashion, Sew Sexy 2014 by

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier:
From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk
The Brooklyn Museum

There are no words to describe how truly incredible these pieces are in person!! Viewing this exhibit while in the midst of my Sew Sexy-Sewalong mindset made me view many things in a completetly different way. And my recent fabric shopping trip (OMG, so much fun chatting and shopping with these three ladies!!) was certainly influenced by it (leather, metallic, print).

Even as I viewed the pieces and snapped these photos, I sensed a theme. I am, clearly, most drawn to the waistline and garments that highlight it. That nipped-in-ness is sexy to me. Whether it is on a metallic leather corset (my FAVORITE PIECE) or a striped, backless tshirt with a floor length train.

Watch the waist.

Jean Paul Gaultier @ The Brooklyn Museum

Untitled

Jean Paul Gaultier @ The Brooklyn Museum

Jean Paul Gaultier @ The Brooklyn Museum

Jean Paul Gaultier @ The Brooklyn Museum

Untitled

Jean Paul Gaultier @ The Brooklyn Museum

Jean Paul Gaultier @ The Brooklyn Museum

Jean Paul Gaultier @ The Brooklyn Museum

Jean Paul Gaultier @ The Brooklyn Museum

Jean Paul Gaultier @ The Brooklyn Museum

Jean Paul Gaultier @ The Brooklyn Museum

More photos here:

 Jean Paul Gaultier:
@
The Brooklyn Museum

And I found a few of the pieces from the exhibit being worn:

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Stephen Burrows: When Fashion Danced – A Handmaker’s Factory Review

Posted in contributor, Handmaker's Factory, writing by

A curator’s job must be so difficult. Deciding which bits of a vast history, body of work or era to include sounds immensely challenging. Perhaps, that is what makes it all the more impressive, and rewarding, when the job is done well. When I planned my visit to the Stephen Burrows exhibit on display at the Museum of the City of New York, I expected to see beautiful clothes arranged in an artful setting. But, both Mr. Burrows work and the museum met, and far exceeded, that expectation!

The very first thing you see when you enter the space that houses this collection is a massive photo of Grace Jones, outfitted in Burrows’ clothes. This image immediately sets the tone for the liveliness, beauty and attitude of the entire exhibit. Burrows’ work is an explosion of color, pattern, texture and, most of all, movement. Stephen Burrows: When Fashion Danced, is appropriately named.

The designer’s evolution is clear and the way the exhibit has been arranged encourages you to view the pieces in the order of that evolution. Positioned just after Ms. Jones are several sketches. An introduction of sorts.

Leather, fringe, fur, glamour give way to jersey, silk chiffon, sequins, glamour. Even a coat made of wool felt drapes in such a way as to appear weightless. I was also struck by how body conscious and sleek many of the pieces were while still remaining fun and elegant. Quite the accomplishment.

Taking it all in as one evokes a feeling that Iman succinctly sums up.

Even the room is cloaked in billowy fabric, carrying the movement from the clothing up the walls to the ceiling.

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The sparse color of the ceiling, background and platforms create the perfect backdrop for this color explosion. The deep ebony mannequins setting them off in a way that any other color just couldn’t do. Their posture communicating self assurance, elegance, class, playfulness, sex appeal.

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Stephen Burrows continues to enjoy a thriving career and made a splash at the opening ceremony for the exhibit. It’s so wonderful to see someone receive their honors and accolades during their lifetime. To have the chance to see the impact that their influence has had on their industry. What an amazing privilege.

Stephen+Burrows+Stephen+Burrows+Fashion+Danced+ZzFg-lruMEMxPhoto credit-http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Stephen+Burrows/Stephen+Burrows+Fashion+Danced+Exhibit/ZzFg-lruMEM

It’s thrilling to see him smile and mingle with those whose careers mirror his own rise. Iman, Bethann Hardison, and more of the African American glitterati gathered to reminisce with him and show that they still look fabulous in his clothes. This exhibition is just one in a long line of retrospectives, documentary films, awards and fashion milestones. After more than 45 years in the fashion business, he can also add to his list of distinctions the honor of styling for a range that includes collector edition Barbie dolls and the First Lady of the United States.

His continued success and growth into a fashion mogul that has prospered with the times, he’s on Twitter AND Instagram creating his own buzz about his work, makes me think of his contemporaries (like Jaxson and Kelly) who did not live to do the same.  With a few of his vintage pieces for sale on Etsy and Ebay, including sewing patterns(!!) and invitations from the Chambre Syndicale de la Mode to present his collections in Paris, make me hopeful for more of his work for years to come.

IMG_7993This review originally appeared on Handmaker’s Factory.
Thanks, again, to Nichola for making the arrangements for me!

Designers of Color in Fashion History :: Patrick Kelly

Posted in Black & Vintage, contributor, Fashion, Handmaker's Factory, writing by

Designers of Color in Fashion History :: Patrick Kelly

I was astonished to learn that Jay Jaxon was the first American (and by default, African American) haute couturier. He is not widely known, so it stands to reason that this extraordinary fact about him must be little known, too. So, I found myself surprised, again, when reading up on Patrick Kelly. In the late 80’s Kelly was the first American and person of color to become a member of the exclusive Chambre Syndicale du PrĂŞt-Ă -Porter. Though Kelly enjoyed a degree of success and recognition during his lifetime, that has endured after his passing, I imagine that this honor felt like a huge validation of his talent and vision as a designer.
After all, the world he would eventually inhabit was light years away from his humble, but proud, beginnings. In his working class Mississippi home, Kelly was surrounded by female family members with a flair for making-do and mending. He was introduced to embellishing, reworking and otherwise refashioning from a very early age. It was here that his social consciousness was raised, too. According to reports, Kelly noticed the lack of African American women featured in magazines. His grandmother explained that designers did not think of them when making clothes. This, perhaps, provides some reasoning for the imagery he used in his work. Golliwogs previously had no place in haute couture.

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Kelly began what would become his life’s work, to clothe ALL women, by starting with his junior high classmates whom he designed and sewed dresses for. Later, Kelly attended Jackson State University where he studied art history and African American history. Eventually driven out by the prejudice and racism he experienced, he left his hometown to pursue a career in fashion.
On his own and living in Atlanta, he began to make clothes again. This time, to sell. His work sorting donations at AMVETS (an American veterans’ organization, there) gave him access to a wealth of designer clothing. He refashioned the garments and sold them alongside his original designs. This allowed him to work as a window dresser at the Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Boutique for free. The position gave him a crucial in with the fashion industry elite. His volunteerism paid off. Kelly began to draw a salary at the St Laurent boutique and eventually opened his own selling vintage. In addition to this, he taught classes at a modeling school where Pat Cleveland, a notable person of color in fashion’s history in her own right, encouraged him to go to New York.
Taking the advice to heart, Kelly studied design at Parsons in New York City before landing in Paris where he really began to make his mark. Calling on his combined influences: skills he learned at the feet of his family, showmanship developed while in school, technical skills honed at Parsons and the hustle he displayed when volunteering at the St Laurent boutique, Patrick sold his designs on the streets of Paris. To much acclaim. This is not an easy thing to do. According to Christian Lacroix, “The French function according to love at first sight. If they fall in love with you, they accept you. And Patrick is very lovable. Everybody loves him.” It’s as simple as that. Or is it? Patrick was driven. He took risks. He worked hard. His success did not come from nowhere.

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Kelly went on to produce unique collections, presented in electrifying (for their time) shows. He remained true to his mission by designing with all women in mind and kept an ear to the street so that his work was reflective of what was in Parisian style. He believed in making affordable clothing, the kind of luxury that women like his mother, aunt and grandmother could have worn in their time. He achieved a level of success that those women, his “full-figured girls”, did not think possible. He had clothes in the finest boutiques, magazine spreads in Elle and so many orders and freelance jobs that he hadn’t vacationed in years. His creations were worn by princesses (like Diana) actresses (like Jane Seymour) and the singers (like Madonna and Grace Jones). It was the all singing, all dancing Patrick Kelly show.

Patrick-Kelly_-Iman_-Grace-jones-Naomi-Campbell

But that show would not go on. Kelly’s full and fabulous life was cut short at age 35(ish- he was secretive about his actual year of birth). Though the original cause of death was attributed to bone marrow disease and a brain tumor, it was later confirmed that Kelly was HIV positive and his death was AIDS related. Unlike the houses of other famous designers, Kelly’s folded after his death. One can’t help but wonder what led to this. Kelly had a seemingly vast (and influential) circle of friends. Did legal issues play into the demise of his house? Was there a clash of interests that led its standstill? Are there other, notable designers of color whose work died with them?
This article originally appeared at Handmaker’s Factory.
There’s a lot more information available about Patrick Kelly than there was about Jay Jaxon. Spend a little time getting to know more about him and he’ll start feeling like a long lost friend!

PUNK: Chaos to Couture – A Handmaker’s Factory Review

Posted in art, contributor, Handmaker's Factory, Sewing, writing by

“Tears, safety pins, rips all over the gaff, third rate tramp thing, that was purely really, lack of money. The arse of your pants falls out, you just use safety pins”
-Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols

This quote sums up the origins of the punk era, taken from one at its center, Johnny Rotten. I copied it from one of the walls in the Punk: Chaos to Couture exhibit currently on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, here in New York City. It was located towards the end of the rather large collection. Copying it was difficult because the area it was located in was dark, crowded and full of flashing light thrown off of the massive video display on a nearby wall. I felt compelled to copy it because it allowed me to identify the feeling of “something’s just off…” that I was afflicted with while taking everything in.

Let me explain myself. Directly beneath this Johnny Rotten quote reads:

“More than any other aspect of the punk ethos of do-it-yourself, the practice of destroy or deconstruction has had the greatest and most enduring impact on fashion.”

It continues on for a bit. Espousing all of the ways that punk style, method, material and attitude has influenced many of the designer featured in the exhibit. What the composer of this spiel apparently misses, which I saw clearly with reading these things one after the other, is the huge irony of the entire exhibit. Mr. Rotten’s quote tells you directly, punks wore their clothes that way because they had no choice! This style/lifestyle grew organically. It grew out of necessity. And it became cool (and political) because those who rocked the style were so awesome, so talented, so in your face their lack of money and torn, pinned clothing only made them better, more interesting, more desirable. So, a ritzy museum like the MET, which calls one of the toniest neighborhoods in NYC home, offering an exhibit on the fashion of the poor, downtrodden and disenfranchised is really quite amazing.

Title Wall Gallery/Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

When you walk into the chamber that punk claimed you are met with a massive, jarring video display that is Right. In. Your. Face. It’s followed with a reproduction of the filthy bathroom at CBGB and continues with the actual clothes made/worn/sold by punks and punk Godmother Vivienne Westwood and her god-children the Sex Pistols. The moody dark atmosphere of it all the sets bar at a height that the remainder of the exhibit fails to meet.

Facsimile of CBGB bathroom, New York, 1975/Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

430 King’s Road Period Room/Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

D.I.Y.: Hardware/Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The above chamber does feature some vintage punk couture. However, from here on, many of the items featured are “punk inspired” designer clothes. Designer clothes that cost into the thousands of dollars. That is not punk. A neatly trimmed grocery store shopping bag paired with silk shantung pants does not make quite the same statement as safety pinning the ripped crotch of your pants together because you can’t afford to buy new ones. In my humble opinion. Strategically slashed designer jeans are not DIY. The do-it-yourself label cannot be applied to mass produced goods. Can it? Attaching two lengths of elastic to some black netting, and charging a fortune for it, is not a continuation of the punk era.

Don’t get me wrong. There are some absolutely stunning things in this collection. Particularly some additions by Alexander McQueen and this set of dresses made with hand painted fabric.

D.I.Y.: Graffiti & Agitprop/Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

But, unless Dolce and Gabanna painted and then wore these gowns themselves, can they really be DIY?

After you take in all of the color and slash and ironically contrary text spread around the place, you’re dumped out into a gift shop. A gift shop. Could they have ended on a less punk note? There is not one piece of free memorabilia for this collection. Well, if there was I surely did not see it. What you are given is the opportunity to spend $46 on a book about it. Or to buy a postcard with Sid Vicious scowling on it. Or a studded platform shoe key chain….

This photo, where I’m reflected in a sign pointing me toward the exhibit, is all I have to remember the experience by.

To visit Punk: Chaos to Couture online, click here.

This review originally appeared on Handmaker’s Factory.
Thanks to Nichola for making the arrangement for me!

Designers of Color in Fashion History :: A Handmaker’s Factory Series

Posted in Black & Vintage, contributor, Fashion, Handmaker's Factory, writing by

Hi, again! I’ve popped back in to direct you to a bit of fashion history reading over at The Handmaker’s Factory blog. I’ve contributed my first article (of many, hopefully) and I’d love to know what you think!
Handmaker's Factory

Designers of Color in Fashion History

The words Haute Couture conjure up images of exclusivity, workmanship, wealth. It’s Paris. It’s Worth. It is a world inhabited by the few and coveted by the many. Both couturier and staff are masters with cloth, magicians of fit, maximizers of the feminine form. This elite group must work hard to earn and maintain their status, whilst satisfying the toniest of clientele.

To truly be a “haute couturier” one must contend with a strict set of rules, guidelines and restrictions. Claire B. Schaffer, the home sewists couture guru, states in the revised and updated edition of her work Couture Sewing Techniques, that the Chambre syndicale de la haute couture (or Parisian High Fashion Syndicate) tightly controls the use of the phrase “haute couture” and has ruthlessly enforced, federally regulated rules. Rules. Federal rules. For the makers of fabric works of art. Clearly, this is very serious business.

Despite all of this, despite the rules, despite the exclusivity there were some who were talented enough, savvy enough and tenacious enough to break through those barriers. One of them was named Jay Jaxon.

Mr. Jaxon was the very first Black haute couturier. He designed his first collection under the house of Jean-Louis Scherrer in the 1970s. Though this accomplishment was significant enough to earn him a congratulatory telephone call from the First Lady of the United States, “Lady Bird” Johnson, it is not celebrated, or even mentioned, during contemporary discussions of the evolution of haute couture. There is no mention of him in the prestigious Berg Fashion Library database. He is not mentioned alongside others who shattered barriers and blazed trails.

I only discovered him while browsing Michael McCollom’s The Way We Wore, a coffee table book about Black style. There he was, smiling in a grainy black and white shot taken in his Paris workroom. I was able to learn more about him from an article published in The Pittsburgh Press, and other publications, in January 1970. It would seem that Mr. Jaxon was not only the first African American haute courtier, he was the first American designer of any color to have the honor of working in a couture house.

An accidental fashion designer, Jaxon was well on his way to a career in law when a seamstress girlfriend, who was struggling with her dress, unwittingly led him to his calling. From cutting that first dress for her, then a pair of pants (pants!!) for himself he decided law wasn’t for him. He dropped out of school and worked as bank teller to earn the money for design school. His early work was sold in luxury New York City clothing stores like Bendel’s and Bonwit Teller. Once in Paris, he trained under Yves St. Laurent and Christian Dior in addition to Jean-Louis Scherrer.

In fact, according to Yvette de la Fontaine’s article, Jaxon, at only 24 years of age, was brought on to save the failing Scherrer house. Though much has been recorded about the Parisians eventual loss of his company, there is no mention of Jaxon and his attempt to prevent it from happening. He is not mentioned in connection with Dior or St. Laurent, either.

Although the French celebrated his arrival in Paris as the first black couturier, the emphasis on his race troubling to Jaxon, he has been virtually erased from their history. His New York Times obituary in 2006 details his work on films as recent as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but his IMDB.com listing only features him as costume designer for one film.

Has this absence of information been caused by deliberate omissions? Accidental oversights? Where is Jay Jaxon in fashion’s history? And how many more like him have been left out?

 

Works Referenced:

Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire B. Schaffer

The Way We Wore by Michael McCollom

The Chambre syndicale de la haute couture

Jean-Louis Scherrer

Color photo of Jaxon’s designs from: http://sighswhispers.blogspot.com/2011/09/luxe-look.html

Yvette de la Fontaine’s archived Pittsburgh Press article: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iREcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UlAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7410%2C2283658

Jay Jaxon’s New York Times obituary: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07E6D8163AF934A2575BC0A9609C8B63

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