INVISIBLE MENDING MA Portfolio Daniela Monasterios Tan (MON15467878)
“Repair wouldn’t be necessary if things never broke, never frayed, never splintered or fell to pieces— or if we didn’t care that they did” Elizabeth Spelman
Press release SATURDAY 24 APRIL 2017 INVISIBLE MENDING EXHIBITION AT SELFRIDGES LONDON As philosopher Elizabeth Spelman notes: “Repair wouldn’t be necessary if things never broke, never frayed, never splintered or fell to pieces— or if we didn’t care that they did” Do you recall the last time you repaired something? The culture of mending and needlework, once a fixture in domestic life, has re-gained traction as a way to individualize and care for garments. Selfridges presents the first fashion exhibition dedicated to the mended object, celebrating its beauty and idiosyncrasies. InVisible Mending is a poetic look at the mended object punctuated by a mixture of historical mended garments, combined with national and international loan pieces. The frayed edges, expressive hand-stitching and creative repurposing common to mending culture have been adopted by experimental designers since the 1980’s; Margiela famously incorporated second-hand mended garments into his collections while Yohji Yamamoto washed the glare off new fabrics, creating collections that were old before they were new. Other examples by Jun Takahashi, Comme des Garçons and Christopher Kane would be on display. French artist Karine Jollet will create a live installation over the span of the exhibition. Karine takes fragments of second-hand garments and bed-sheets and re-assembles them into body parts as an analogy of the repair that naturally occurs in our bodies. A digital archive of mending techniques will be available in the Denim Lab, allowing you to find the perfect solution to mend that garment you have always meant to! An exciting and inclusive programme of events would accompany the exhibition throughout the months of May and June.
INVISIBLE MENDING TEXT FOR PANEL
24 April - 30 June 2017
Selfridges presents the first fashion exhibition dedicated to the mended object, celebrating its beauty and idiosyncrasies. InVisible Mending is a poetic look at the mended object punctuated by a mixture of historical mended garments, combined with national and international loan pieces. The culture of mending and needlework, once a fixture in domestic life, has re-gained traction as a way to individualize and care for garments. The frayed edges, expressive hand-stitching and creative repurposing common to mending culture have been adopted by experimental designers since the 1980’s; Margiela famously incorporated second-hand mended garments into his collections while Yohji Yamamoto washed the glare off new fabrics, creating collections that were old before they were new. Other examples by Jun Takahashi, Comme des Garçons and Christopher Kane would be on display. French artist Karine Jollet will create a live installation over the span of the exhibition. Karine takes fragments of second-hand garments and bed-sheets and re-assembles them into body parts as an analogy of the repair that naturally occurs in our bodies. A digital archive of mending techniques will be available in the Denim Lab (Level 4) and an exciting programme of events would accompany the exhibition.
An exciting and inclusive programme of events would accompany the exhibition throughout the months of May and June. 7, 14, 21 May Darning workshop by Tom of Holland with material from Mass Observation Archive Inspired by the Mass Observation Archive and people’s experiences of ‘making do and mending’ in the wartime period, tutor Tom van Deijnen will teach you two darning techniques; Swiss darning and stocking. Knitting-related adverts and articles from Woman’s Own will be on display. You’ll take home a comprehensive hand-out, two darning needles, and the skills to tackle any holey sock or thinning elbow! All practice materials provided. No previous darning or knitting experience necessary, and please do bring along something that needs fixing. To book, e-mail workshops@selfridges.co.uk 4-10 June Bring a garment to fix at the “Mending Library” Michael Swaine’s “Mending Library” comes to Selfridges! For the past 12 years, Swaine has offered his services as a tailor to community of San Francisco’s Tenderloin Disctrict, mending whatever clothing the neighbourhood’s residents bring him for free. Swaine sees opportunities for change everywhere. His current ambition is the construction of a free “mending library,” a place for “fixing the holes in our lives...to borrow thread and sewing machines and talk about life.”
Programme ON-GOING Every Friday and Saturday 7pm Film Screening ‘The True Cost’ The True Cost is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing? Filmed in countries all over the world, from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, and featuring interviews with the world’s leading influencers including Stella McCartney, Livia Firth and Vandana Shiva, The True Cost is an unprecedented project that invites us on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes. Window Display
French artist Karine Jollet will create a live installation over the span of the exhibition. Karine takes fragments of second-hand garments and bed-sheets and re-assembles them into body parts as an analogy of the repair that naturally occurs in our bodies.
Denim Lab A digital archive of mending techniques will be available in the Denim Lab, allowing you to find the perfect solution to mend that garment you have always meant to! Make Do and Mend pamphlets created by the Board of Trade as a government initiative during WWII have been digitized and are available in the Denim Lab. A dedicated team of mending helpers will be there to answer any of your questions and demonstrate how to use the archive.
Floor-Plan Level 1
In Pharmacy A vitrine featuring delicately crafted medical embroideries (as seen above) pioneered by Professor Ellis OBE shaped in an assortment of decorative patterns. These embroideries, using Lockstitch, were created from polyester strands and developed with the aim of helping surgeons graft skin to bones. These embroideries literally mend a body together.
Exhibition
1. Exaggerated/ Dress and Shoes/ Christopher Kane/ Spring-Summer 2017 2. Playful/ Sweater Dress/ Xuly-Bët Autumn 1994
1.Relentless/ Work Jacket/ French/ c. 1920s 2. Durable/ Work Trousers/ c. 1840 3. Distressed/ Dress/ Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garçons, Spring-Summer 2002 1. Boro/ Peasant’s Cotton Jacket/ Japanese/ 19th Century 2. Preventive/ Sled-hauling Jacket/ Japanese/ Late 19th Century 3. ‘Little Stabs’/ Trousers and Jacket/ Yohji Yamamoto/ 2016 (Re-issue of 1995 Collection)
3. Healing/ Dress/ UNDERCOVER/ Spring-Summer 2003 1. Patched/ Sweater/ Maison Martin Margiela 1991 2. Adapted/ Paratrooper’s Denison Smock/ British/ 1940s 3. Taped/ Jacket, Trousers, Round-neck Tee, Socks, Shoes, Comme des Garçons/ Spring-Summer 2001 1. Individual/ Silk Boots/ Belonging to Frida Kahlo 2. A Collection/ Silk Slip/ Belonging to Christine E. Burdekin/ c. 1920s 3. Secretive/ Silk Stockings/ Belonging to Hester Borron/ c. 1920s
Intervention Level 4 In the corridor of the Denim Lab, a vitrine showing a selection of mending and garment grooming tools would be displayed, with a caption describing each tools function. This would expose audiences who are not familiar with these items to new ways of up-keeping items in their wardrobe.
The digital screen in the Denim Lab (Level 4) would feature a digitized version of ‘Make Do and Mend’ pamphlets that would be made available to search via key-word. Visitors would be able to find solutions to different types of wear and tear and specific to materials.
Threshold
“Selfridges was the first store in Britain to make an art of window display and upgrade window-dressing. It was the first store to have a special Display Department...” (Honeycombe, 1984, p. 165)
“Occassionally, the models were human: a craftsman displaying his art, or a hairdresser the latest perm.” (Honeycomb, 1984, p.169)
French artist Karine Jollet will create a live installation over the span of the exhibition. Karine takes fragments of second-hand garments and bed-sheets and re-assembles them into body parts as an analogy of the repair that naturally occurs in our bodies.
Above: Selfridges makes history by displaying the first aeroplane to cross the English Chanel in store.
Landscape
Harrods, 1943, Make do and Mend Exhibition organized by Board of Trade
Selfridges, 2016, COS creates a box-like room for their accessories
I recall Louise Bourgeois’ Cells (Clothing), part of a body of work that “suggest rooms which enforce solitary confinement, such as prison cells, as well as rooms which provide private thinking space, such as bedrooms or monks’ cells.” (Tate Website). The intention to reference a domestic and private space can be evoked through an adaptation of a ‘cell’. The walled structure’s surface lends itself to both my requirements: to challenge the domesticity of mending as well as to present worn and mended surfaces as aesthetically pleasing objects.
Louise Bourgeois Cell (Clothes) Fondazione Prada
Figure 1
Figure 2
In an interview with Haye (2014, p.106) discussing the seminal 1971 Cecil Beaton exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Michael Southgate recalls how boutiques in Paris initially never used mannequins, commonly used by department stores, and instead laid out their clothes. The low regard for the commercialism of mannequins still lingers—the type of mannequin used delineated differences between the brands offering and image. Lower-priced, high-street brands like Topshop tended to be fully dressed fiberglass mannequins which privilege top-to-toe styling even to the make-up (Figure 1). Figure 2 shows the Topshop fiberglass mannequins on the right, while on the left, black mannequins resembling dress-making forms are used for higher priced brands. The black mannequins take on an ‘edgier’ look when placed next to shiny black plinths and reflect the brand’s grunge style through dark colours. Dress-making dummies in natural colours with articulated arms are also seen in Figure 3, picking up on the relaxed and natural aspect of the garments, and paired with wooden fitting supports—the table and racks. Figure 4 shows abstracted fiberglass mannequins in a matt grey, to bring out the tasteful modernity that is expected of Helmut Lang. The faceless mannequins remove any unnecessary surfaces, as does the pared down décor of the section.
Figure 3
Figure 4
“Found Landscape”
The main ‘palette’ for visual merchandizing was observed as consisting of: rails, hangers, a plinth/table, mannequins and a name board. In terms of physical attributes, common materials used were: marble, white cement, mirror glass, metal, wood of different finishing and grades and white light. The mix of materials depended on the brand’s aesthetic. In the Denim Studio, aimed at a younger audience, many of the brands had a ‘rustic’ or ‘bohemian’ brand identity. To convey this, smooth bright wood or multi-coloured rugs were used. In one instance, hangers were covered in a floral cotton fabric. Elements of the workroom such as wood and peg board were used at Urban Outfitters. References to the bedroom or living room were done with hanging green plants or shelves that were compartmentalized like a bedroom cupboard at Urban Outfitters, For more expensive brands, white marble was used in the racks in a sleek design. There were no large, over-bearing advertisement images, usually seen in single-brand stores. The lighting was bright, with the exception of the lingerie section which featured boudoir-style settings for certain brands.
Objects
Relentless Work Jacket French c. 1920s The distinctive high-fastening, small collar is characteristic of the era’s general commitment to a ‘make do and mend’ philosophy. Indeed, in large part the character of this piece is found more in the repairs than the jacket itself, with close darning akin to a kind of blue-collar embroidery in its abstract detail and, more importantly, its strength. On loan from Vintage Showroom
Durable Work Trousers c. 1840 Entirely hand-stitched and heavily mended, these pair of work trousers pre-date the classic 5-pocket jeans introduced by Levis Strauss in 1870. On loan from The Museum at FIT
Distressed Dress Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garçons Spring/Summer 2002 Re-calling the structured stays worn by working class women in the 19th century as well as the fabric of the working class, this collection used the structure of inseams to create dramatic voluminous dresses. On loan from The Museum at FIT
Boro Peasant’s Cotton Jacket Japanese 19th Century The tradition of kimono is as workwear. This kimono is handspun, hand-made and hand-repaired. The simplicity of style contrasts the decades of repair. They speak of the value of the garment to its owner during its lifetime. It also points to an early use of indigo in workwear—most famously with denim jeans—as a readily available, easily applied dye that hides dirt well and over time has even entered the language: ‘Blue collar’ denotes manual labour. On loan from Vintage Showroom
Preventive Sled-hauling Jacket Japanese Late 19th Century The quilting technique used on this garment is known as ‘sashiko’—literally translated into ‘little stabs’. This method of sewing layers of cotton fabric together was used to make work clothes warmer and more durable. This sleeveless jacket was designed to be worn when hauling sledges. The diagonal band quilted with white thread is both decorative and practical, reinforcing the fabric against the rubbing of the sledge straps. On loan from Victoria and Albert Museum
‘Little Stabs’ Trousers and Jacket Yohji Yamamoto 2016 (Re-issue of 1995 Collection) Yamamoto’s recurring thematic of functionality over decorative prevails, with the traditional Japanese “Sashiko” stitching technique being prevalent throughout the collection. Originally, sashiko was used to simply reinforce worn and thinning areas of a garment as a temporary repair. On loan from Yohji Yamamoto Archives
Exaggerated Dress and Shoes Christopher Kane Spring/Summer 2017 British fashion designer Christopher Kane is inspired by Make Do and Mend campaign promoted by the British government during World War II. Debuted at London Fashion Week, the collection reminds a new generation of consumers about the ingenuity and creativity of making do with what one has. On loan from Christopher Kane
Playful Sweater Dress Xuly-Bët Autumn 1994 Designer Lamine Kouyaté, working under his label Xuly-Bët, is well-known for transforming recycled clothing into one-of-a-kind masterpieces. In this example, several sweaters have been cut and combined to form the length of the dress. A whip stitch draws attention to the joining seams of this ensemble. On loan from The Museum at FIT
Healing Dress UNDERCOVER Spring/Summer 2003 This dress features multiple mends on its surface. This collection debuted at Paris Fashion in Week in 2002, a year after the turmoil of September 11 and amidst political and social uncertainty. Entitled ‘Scab’, Takahashi’s collection sent a message of rebirth, of starting over. The elements of repair draw parallels between mending and human restoration On loan from UNDERCOVER
Patched Sweater Maison Martin Margiela 1991 Margiela transformed bundles of old, green-and-black wool, cotton, and nylon Army socks into sweaters. Democratizing the process of design, he released a set of instructions showing the process of creating this sock-sweater for anyone else to re-create. On loan from The Museum at FIT
Adapted Paratrooper’s Denison Smock British 1940s The camouflage was hand-painted and later screen-printed in a distinctive, broad brush stroke effect. The pattern was made using non-colourfast dyes, one alleged idea that it would fade away over time to leave the jacket looking like a civilian labourer’s jacket and so help its wearer evade capture if cut off behind enemy lines. The cuff has been customized with the addition of woollen, army-issue socks. This was common practice to make the sleeves warmer and more windproof. On loan from Vintage Showroom Taped Jacket, Trousers, Round-neck Tee, Socks, Shoes Comme des Garçons Spring/Summer 2001 The jacket features ruching on the back held down by camo-printed tape –a technique that can be used to alter garments and make them shorter or narrower. Ruching was often found in women’s fashionable wear from 1870-1880s. It is juxtaposed in this ensemble with the masculine cut of the suit and the camouflage print alluding to the military. On loan from Victoria and Albert Museum
Individual Silk Boots Belonging to Frida Kahlo These silk booties have been adapted to accommodate Frida’s disability. She has attached trimmings to the bootie to off-set the visual differences. On loan from Museo Frida Kahlo
A Collection Silk Slip Belonging to Christine E. Burdekin c. 1920s This silk slip features multiple areas of repair and assortment of stitches. The mending on the shattered silk is sometimes made out of different coloured thread. Unlike the neat, methodical mending prescribed in instruction books, the mending on the silk slip is improvised. The edges were stitched with a whip stitch in fine thread and the straps are held together by an assortment of threads in different thicknesses and colours. On loan from London College of Fashion Archive
Secretive Silk Stockings Belonging to Hester Borron c. 1920s These silk stockings have been heavily mended along the toe, but would not have been noticeable in covered-toe shoes. On loan from London College of Fashion Archive
Mend
While comparing photographs of mending and fixing objects, a common pose encountered was the seated woman. Much of mending, even chair-mending, was done either sitting on the floor on a chair. I decided to refer to all the women menders in different decades by having a fixture designed by Studio Makkink & Bey as seen below. The chairs used would correspond to different decades from 19-21st century and be arranged facing each other to encourage interaction. Mending workshops could be held in the exhibition space to populate the space with the ‘mending body’. By physically recreating the chairs that women would have used throughout the decades, sitters’ posture would be affected depending on the chair design of the decade—almost creating an abstracted timeline of postures.
Repair
In terms of maintenance and upkeep, ‘to mend’ has traditionally been feminized, while the ‘to fix’ was masculine and specialized –a shoe cobbler, a car mechanic, a dry cleaner. The question this poses was whether to frame mending in the same terms as general repair, to ‘masculinize’ it, or to let it remain as it is? The repair work-shop aesthetic is often used for displaying menswear in retail shops. Recent fashion exhibitions also use the work-shop and craft-room aesthetic, as will be reviewed in the next section. This ‘masculinization’ of craft is worth exploring, is the mended garment only worth our time if it is re-framed as useful repair? The window display will feature a live installation by French artist Karine Jollet. Karine takes fragments of second-hand garments and bed-sheets and re-assembles them into body parts as an analogy of the repair that naturally occurs in our bodies.
Destroy
With the intention to show the difference between naturally worn denim and artificial methods, often harmful for the workers who make them, I want to introduce the body of the ‘invisible’ worker into the exhibition. Instead of using visual cues or text, sounds from videos of workers sand-blasting and distressing denim have been extracted and would be played in the exhibition space (refer to CD in portfolio). The soundtrack registers time in artificial terms— for their actions force the effects of the passage of time upon the surface of the garments.
Mannequins
Referencing the way Palais Galliera displayed peasant dress and elevated some of the stands, I would like to do the same with the stands of my mannequins, giving the audience different views of the garments. I would use fabric covered dress-forms, but I would like to add beautifully crafted porcelain-like faces that have gold-filled cracks akin to Kintsugi bowls. All garments will be displayed on the same type of mannequin to ensure they are all treated equally. These would be cuztomized ‘Duckman & Dijckman mannequins from Hans Boodt Mannequins (Netherlands).