SLOW Fashion
“I never know precisely what I will do with the clothing. I look for color combinations that will work with the garment. It is a bit like painting with fabrics. I make my own trim and pull from my collection of buttons.”
PhotosbyLiesaCole
Fashion
Véronique (Véro) Vanblaere has been an art institution in Birmingham almost since she arrived in town back in the mid-1990s.
Vanblaere’s work has been featured at Miami Art Basel, Harvard University and the Cannes Film Festival. A career in creative advertising originally brought her from Belgium to the United States in 1996. She soon founded and ran Naked Art, a gallery that allowed her to focus on her own nontraditional and functional art.
Featured in The New York Times, Rand McNally and Eccentric America magazine, Naked Art was a successful space that also served as a home for many local and regional independent artists over the years. Véro’s love for art once again took her from the gallery to the world as she closed the doors on the brick and mortar business after two decades to focus full time on her art.
These days she has been “vérolutionizing” clothing, using perfectly good second hand garments to counteract the fast fashion movement through creativity. So instead she is giving us Slow Fashion created out of clothes consigned to the left-over bin and fashioned into something very new, exciting and artistic.
These jackets were inspired by all things Japanese and created from farbics Vero bought during a visit to Japan.
These items are inspired by a variety of influences Vero finds in the fabric. The white jacket with an hourglass on the back has a military feel. The blue jacket with epaulets and compass could be the clothing of a far-flung marinerLeaves and feathers embellish an old corduouy jacket ( a jacket someone dropped off on Vero’s porch).
See this clothing art in person at “Fashion Vérolution” at Kentuck’s Teer Gallery in Northport, Alabama. October - November of 2024 Opening reception is Thursday Oct 3rd, 5 - 8 pm. The exhibition will run through November 30th.
“The hat with the butterfly is made from felt. The hat itself came from Belgium. I always find great hats there that are vintage and creative.”
Vero’s creative clothing, like the jacket with rocket carrying the first dog in space, are made with a blind eye as to who might end up wearing them.“Things don’t have to have a theme, it just needs to feel right. It has to look right to me. I am a perfectionist.”
Photography: Liesa Cole. First assistant Joel Valencia. Second assistant Connor Gaffney.
In Fashion Designer: Véronique Vanblaere.
Models: Kseniia Lykoshvai, Cole Hall, Devonté Bullock Sr., Todd Childs, Finn Jasele, Chiharu Roach. Hair artist: Alicia Breyne.
