Reel Knitting

Xenobia Bailey: Funky Fiber Queen

I just saw the inspiring fiber art show Xenobia Bailey: The Aesthetics of Funk at the Northwest African American Museum in Seattle. It runs till May 6, 2012.

Xenobia Bailey (b. 1955) is a Seattle native who attended the University of Washington and then moved to New York to study industrial design at Pratt. While in New York, she changed her name from Sherilyn to Xenobia, after the Syrian Queen Zenobia, who led a revolt against the Roman Empire. Bailey makes crocheted mandalas, clothes, hats, and installations that are inspired by African American culture and history.

From answers.com:

Xenobia Bailey is trying to entrench an African American aesthetic in American culture. All of her artistic endeavors are geared toward this goal, from the handmade crocheted hats that established her reputation, to her installations, short stories, cookbooks, and critical writing. Bailey also believes that the highly individual and inherently resourceful stylistic impulse she calls "funk," and its role in African American culture, must be more fully acknowledged.

 Although I love her mandalas, my favorite part of the show was her headgear. Her hats show a peerless level of sophistication and skill. I admire the highly individual aesthetic that Bailey has developed from decades of hard work and thought. 

Xenobia Bailey interview in The Stranger

Here are some iPhone photos I took when I was there:

Nordic Fashion Biennale, 2011

On Sunday, November 13, I saw the last day of the Nordic Fashion Biennale (NFB) at the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle. I left feeling inspired by the innovative uses of fibers and the wintry palettes.

Despite the stunning clothes, my frustration increased as I tromped through all three levels of the museum, searching for the NFB pieces that the curator (New York–based visual and performance artist Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir, AKA "Shoplifter") had placed among the permanent collection of historical dioramas.

Luckily, half the pieces were together in three large, well-lit rooms on the second floor of the museum. But the rest were within the dioramas, often behind plexiglass. In the dimly-lit diorama rooms, I wasn't able to see the pieces very well, nor walk around them, nor compare and contrast them with the other pieces in the show, as I would have if all the fashions had been together on the second floor.

So even though I left the museum feeling inspired, I also left feeling that the curator and the Nordic Museum didn't respect or understand fashion enough to display the beautiful clothes properly.

Standouts for me were the following artists:

Sandra Backlund
http://www.sandrabacklund.com/

Barbara I Gongini
http://www.barbaraigongini.dk/

 

Gudrun & Gudrun
http://www.gudrungudrun.com/

 

Steinunn
http://www.steinunn.com/

Vera
http://www.verathordardottir.com/

Mundi
http://www.mundivondi.net/

Italian Dress Designer Roberto Capucci

Fabric Sculptor would be an accurate title for Roberto Capucci (1930-), a master of silk and form. He is less interested in fashion and women than he is in material, geometry, and color. He began as a conventional couturier prodigy in the late 1940s, and by the 1990s he had developed the height of his masterful artistry.

Link to 2011 show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Link to 2011 book Roberto Capucci: Art into Fashion

 

Russian Fashion Designer Yegor Zaitsev

The Fall/Winter 2010–2011 collection of Yegor Zaitsev, son of Russian fashion designer Slava Zaitsev.

 

Avant Garde Fashion

I just started a certificate program in fiber arts at the University of Washington, and it's got me thinking about avant-garde fashion. I mean fashion that is unwearable in normal society, fashion that would only be at home in a gallery or on a catwalk.

I crave to see fashion that I've never seen before, fashion that creates a transcendental experience. 

When i googled avant garde fashion, Gareth Pugh came up. Apparently his clothes are unsalable. They are experiments in weirdness. Here are some examples. I love them!

 

A second artist I've been thinking about is Nick Cave. Amazing work! He showed recently at the Seattle Art Museum, and now I'm sorry I missed him. One thing that's interesting is that dance plays an important part in his costumes.

A third artist whom I find fascinating is Isabelle Borchgrave. She only uses paper to recreate historical fashions. I love the historical aspect of this artist. I love how she uses unusual materials to reinterpret something.

Angelika Werth is another artist whom I admire. She has amazing credentials--she worked at Yves Saint Laurent for a while. And like Isabelle Borchgrave, she uses an unusual material to make her clothes—in her case, felt. 

 

 

Success!

On Friday, November 12, I held an art show of my first collection of latex clothes, and by all accounts it was a success. I had lots of fun creating the clothes and enjoyed how they looked on the models, the Sinner Saint Burlesque troupe. I so hope that I can continue to delight others with latex designs, and that my work will continue to flourish and improve.

In the meantime, please check out these talented women latex designers:

HMSLatex - http://www.hmslatex.com/

Ooh La Latex - http://www.oohlalatex.com/

Kaori's Latex Dreams - http://www.kaorislatexdreams.com/

Jac Langheim, Latex Designer

New York designer Jac Langheim has created an elegant Spring/Summer 2011 debut haute couture collection using latex.

 

 

Langheim's collection gets me thinking about the recent popularity of latex clothes. Last year, minor celebrities were wearing latex leggings and dresses, with Lady Gaga proving to be the most devoted latex fan. She even wore her best latex dress to meet Queen Elizabeth in December 2009.

  

But Jac Langheim's work shows that latex may be crossing over from the fetish community to the mainstream. As a maker of latex clothes, I'm hoping that it's not just a fad. But can you imagine normal people wearing latex jeans to work? Or having a latex trench coat in their wardrobe? I'm doubtful. If latex is relegated to a staple of performers' wardrobes along with leather and fur, that's good enough for me. Actually, I probably prefer it. It makes collections like Jac Langheim's even more special.

I Love Latex

These days, my obsession with knitting is waning, so it's time to think about renaming this blog. For the last few months I've been making latex clothes. I've always admired HMSLatex, so when I learned to sew over the summer, it was natural that I would try it.

Even though I've only been working with latex for a little while, I'm really starting to warm up to it. It's a completely natural material made from tree sap, and it's 100% biodegradable. You don't have to worry about the grain as you do with normal fabrics, because latex doesn't have a grain. And the best part is that you don't have to use a sewing machine. Because latex tears so easily, you can't sew through latex--all the seams are glued. It may seem trivial, but I can feel the difference when I'm making something by hand versus with a machine.

I had barely started to make latex clothes when I thought it would be fun to have an art show for my 40th birthday in November. With the help of personal coach Jill Boyd, Sinner Saint Burlesque, Tyler MacLeod, and a handful of backers who donated through kickstarter.com, the show is really going to happen:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/penchant/cageflowers

I Love Latex

These days, my obsession with knitting is waning, so it's time to think about renaming this blog. For the last few months I've been making latex clothes. I've always admired HMSLatex, so when I learned to sew over the summer, it was natural that I would try it.

Even though I've only been working with latex for a little while, I'm really starting to warm up to it. It's a completely natural material made from tree sap, and it's 100% biodegradable. You don't have to worry about the grain as you do with normal fabrics, because latex doesn't have a grain. And the best part is that you don't have to use a sewing machine. Because latex tears so easily, you can't sew through latex--all the seams are glued. It may seem trivial, I can feel the difference when I'm making something by hand versus with a machine.

I had barely started to make latex clothes when I thought it would be fun to have an art show for my 40th birthday in November. With the help of personal coach Jill Boyd, Sinner Saint Burlesque, Tyler MacLeod, and a handful of backers who donated through kickstarter.com, the show is really going to happen:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/penchant/cageflowers

Bar Knitting

Knitting in bars is a great social activity: you get to combine your interests, and you can socialize without having to just sit there like a jerk. So, with that in mind, here's a recent review that I wrote for a new blog called Every Bar in Seattle.