STITCH winter 2010
No. 06
Contents 16
report
Learn the leather-making process from the industry’s last holdout. 20 22 28 34
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shoots
This issue’s set of photo shoots, crafted by our editorial team. Teller by Hallie Liang Vexed by Ilana Woods Crystallized by Nelson Fitch
contents continued
7
looks
Dispatches from Paris, illustrated by Jeremy Floyd. 9
pleasures
Items for your pleasure, collected by our staff. 11
profile
Interview with Zana Bayne, fashion blogger, stylist, and harness-maker. 13
archive
A timeless fashion spread mined from Deering Library’s Art Collection. 39
2 do Brunch, art, and music to check off before the season’s over.
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last word
Our fashion feed Editor on the state of blogging. ON THE COVER: Eli Borrowman is a graduate student in the Art Theory and Practice program at Northwestern. She works primarily with fabric, crafting outfits for performances. She is interested in using clothing to socialize sculpture. Though she often make collages like this one, they usually remain in her sketchbook.
OPPOSITE: asymmetrical shirt pleasure principle $265 virign wool skirt ivan grundahl $440
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To the readers,
"It remains more important for us that someone finds their way of dressing as opposed to a way of dressing as prescribed by anyone else or by overriding trends." —Martin Margiela
Style, at its best, is contrarian. My preferred example: a couple of years ago, politicians in the UK attempted to ban the wearing of hoodies in public in order to stymie their association with wayward London youth. The measure failed, but a simple sweatshirt with a hood attached had solidified its cultural connotations. And the kids kept wearing them. As this magazine enters its fourth year, we’re just realizing its potential to voice a refusal of the status quo, a subversion of expectation. This time, we’re coming at you with frightening intensity and tunnel-like focus—we’ve decided that we’d rather not get comfortable. A contrarian streak runs through this issue. We’ve interviewed Zana Bayne of Garbage Dress, who, not content with blogging at home, flies to Paris for Fashion Week and produces her own accessories. Likewise, our photo-heavy report tells the story of the last tannery operating in Chicago, still crafting leather with processes perfected over the course of a century. We’ve brought a new rigor to the images we craft, too. This winter, we present a refined set of photo editorials full of candid laughter, menacing leers, and trembling shadows. A glacial, gorgeous illustration – our first – rests on the cover. Inside, we introduce a subtle but much-needed redesign. Above all, we hope that this issue provokes you to get serious about your dreams, even if it means a bit of a struggle. No, wait, especially if it means a bit of a struggle. Thanks for reading. With love,
Matthew Alfonso
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STITCH Editor-in-chief Matthew Alfonso Creative Director Alan Boccadoro Style Editor Dana Farber Photo Editor Nelson Fitch Advertisement Director Alex Davis Promotions Director Jules Nestler Design Jenna Fugate Promotions Catherine Clark, Kelly Schneider Staff Writers Sasha Daniel, Alexis Gui, Hanna Howard, Brenna McLean, Ali Pechman, Sierra Tishgart
Ad Team Lauren Bergman, Zhongying Jiang, Alice Lin, Kat Podobinski, Elizabeth Schaefer, Gavin Uathavikul, Alisha Varma Creative Kate Adams, Yaa Boakye, Julia Detchon, Kirk Morrow, bea ossinger Treasurer Anna Wolonciej ONLINE editorial director Lauren Hazday assistant editor Emma Aubry Roberts design editor Nicole Herman multimedia editor Ben Millstein street team editor Justin Barbin fashion department Sophie Friedman, Chris Garcia, Nadina Gerlach, Alexis Gui, Robert Han, Deborah Kim, Monica Kim, Catherine Ning, Deanna Pai, Alexandra Shanahan, Yoonie Yang
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Staff Photographers Li Gao, Hallie Liang, Ilana Woods
A R T S
beauty department Erin Campbell, Deanna Pai, Yoonie Yang music department Torey Akers, Carlton Barzon, Monica Kim, Sameeraa Pahwa news department Sophie Friedmana, Jaya Sah tv department Erin Campbel
geometric stretch bracelet bakelite 1930s
film department Alexandra Shanahan art department Torey Akers, Catherine Ning, Sameeraa Pahwa, Jaya Sah
AMERICAN & EUROPEAN 20TH CENTURY ART & DESIGN
multimedia department Eunice Park street team Corinne Eckart, Mariah Veis
FURNITURE FINE ART METALWORK CERAMICS JEWELRY 895 1/2 GREEN BAY RD. WINNETKA, IL WWW. ARTS220.COM
847 501 - 3084
Undercover
Romain Kremer
• monochromatic menswear (scarf, turtle neck) • face mask and faux ears to shield from the elements • black loafers to break up the look
Bruno Pieters
• chiffon ribbons in nude • geometric yet puffy sleeves • lucite wedges, a different kind of nude
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Illustrations: Jeremy Floyd. Text:Alexandra Shanahan
Poised
Gianfranco Ferré
• wild-child hair, crimped and teased • bralette crop top • all white organza, sheer enough to show body shape
Dries Van Noten • boxy, lady-like blazer with puffed sleeves • cap toe pumps to ground the look • linen cargo pants with ethnic dye-job
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Adorable chinchilla, $199.00, (Not Just) Thee Fish Bowl, 600 Dempster
Pumpkin whoopie pie, $3.00, Fraiche Bakery Café 815 Noyes
Denim work shirt, $69.50, Levi’s, 808 Church
badlands poster, $15.00, movieposter.com
Marled socks, $9.50, Gap, 1706 Sherman
English oxfords, $225.00 at jcrew.com or $14.50 on eBay
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Tir a'Mhurain, $49.50, Barnes & Noble, 1630 Sherman
Lana Velvet Pouf, $89.00, Urban Outfitters, 921 Church
Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat concealer, $40, Sephora (SEPHORA.COM)
Japanese Wild Cherry Green Tea, $5, Teavana (www.teavana.com)
Langoliers gunmetal kindergarten necklace. $238, Oak (oaknyc.com)
5 year diary, $24.95, Fred Flare (fredflare.com)
Bananagrams, $14.95, Beck's, 716 clark
Balmain Ambre Gris perfume. $135, Neiman Marcus (Neimanmarcus.com)
Rosebud salve, $16, sephora (sephora.com)
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Little Black (Garbage) Dress Meet Zana Bayne, a fashion blogger restlessly dabbling in every corner of the industry. With the popularity of Garbage Dress (www.garbagedress. com), her compulsively readable personal blog, she’s broken out of the online and into the real. by matthew alfonso
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You recently went to Paris for Men’s Fashion Week. How was that? It was crazy, it was busy. I felt like I spent the whole time on the subway. In recent fashion weeks, there’s been a lot less people going, so some of the more major shows were much more accessible. You could stand outside of Rick Owens and, after they’d let in everyone with invitations, they would let in all the students. I don’t think that was the case a couple years ago.
You’ve been making a lot of harnesses recently. Are you transitioning into designing? I’ve always made things. I went to arts school and did installation, sculpture, and made clothes alongside of that. One day, I made a harness and I saw there was an interest in them, so I’ve been experimenting. One of the harnesses was a collaboration with Pleasure Principle for their Spring/ Summer line.
How about a transition into styling? That’s more an every once-in-a-while freelance hobby. I’ve mostly been working for Lurve Magazine. Lurve is based out of Berlin so, when I lived there, I was working closely with the editor. I’m actually photographing a shoot for them this Friday.
Photos: Zana Bayne
It seems like there might be a certain NYC aesthetic emerging, with elements of monochrome, pagan imagery, and some street influence. Is that the case?
Bayne's white wing harness
New Yorkers have always worn black. As for the whole gothic, pagan fashion thing, I feel like that’s more people getting their influence from editorials. When I was in high school, I always thought the super dressed-up goths were the coolest people in the world and I wanted to wear black wings and whatnot [laughs], but I never got that intense, personally.
Is there anything else on the horizon? There’s all sorts of things. I have a couple of little collaborations coming up that I can’t really talk about. Secret jewelry things.
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Vanity Fair; The Portraits: A Century of Iconic Images ART F779.2 C323v Disclaimer: STITCH woud like to inform you that we did not craft the images displayed. They are the intellectual propoerty of their authors, and can be found in the Art Collection at Deering Library.
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THE LAST TANNERY Inside Chicago's last producer of fine leather By Lauren Bonenberger Photographed by Hallie Liang
I
n 1893, a Ukrainian immigrant struck up a conversation with a leather tanner at Chicago’s World Fair. Taking the processed hides in his hands, he commented that while the leathers were good, he could make better. The leather tanner invited him to come to his factory and prove it. The following Monday, Isadore Horween joined the ranks of tanners in Chicago’s booming leather industry. Over a century later, the only tannery that remains on the banks of the Chicago River bears his name. Arnold “Skip” Horween III now sits at the helm of Horween Leather Company. He is the fourth Horween to join the family business since great-grandfather Isadore opened the tannery in 1905. Initially, the company
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produced leather for straight razor sharpening straps and oil seals for internal combustion engines. Once razors became disposable and oil seals synthetic, Horween’s grandfather began experimenting with football leather. His patented creation is still the only leather used in NFL regulation footballs and represents the single largest moneymaker for the company, which has a longtime contract with Wilson Sporting Goods. Producing specialty leather for niche markets may well be the reason why Horween Leather is the only tannery left in Chicago. At the turn of the century, a system of railway tracks and waterways converged in the city, creating a fertile environment for industry. Leather tanning evolved in the shadow of Chicago’s massive meatpacking industry, which provided a nearby source of animal hides. But uprisings in the labor movement and Upton
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Sinclair’s The Jungle mortally wounded the meatpackAccording to Horween, most tanneries today specialing industry, and its subsequent and radical decline ize in custom finishing partially-dyed hides. Not so signaled the end of large-scale leather production in at Horween Leather Company, where matching the the Windy City. perception to the touch is an art form that begins at “When I joined the company in 1978 there were six the beginning with the raw animal hides. tanneries operating in the city,” says Horween, who The transformation takes place throughout the graduated from Northwestern University’s Kellogg several floors of Horween Leather’s plant in Chicago’s School of Management in 1982. “You wonder if you’re Bucktown neighborhood. Customers pay big money going to be next.” for the end result of an ugly process, not for those The company has so far avoided this fate by weak of stomach. In fact, the oft-romanced smell of providing what Horween calls “old-fashioned qualleather, be that of a new car, coat, or purse, is actually ity.” He believes that customers will buy the best they a titillating aromatic amalgamation of dead animal can afford, if they can tell the difference. He says and chemicals. The process begins with piles of raw the availability of choices has salted animal hides, which resulted in shorter product are hacked into manageable life cycles. “If you’re not doing pieces with machetes. Plant something special, people will workers then immerse the stop buying.” hides in vats filled with The company’s ability to a dilapatory solution, or produce “something special” “industrial strength Nair,” keeps its customers calling. The to remove the fur and hair. process begins in Horween’s Next, large machines infuse office, where he meets with the hides with chromium company representatives from sulfate which turns them the likes of Wilson Sporting baby blue. After the skins Goods, Timberland, Wolverine, dry, they are sliced to the Alden, and Ralph Lauren, as appropriate thickness by well as smaller artisans and machines which date back boutique producers. Although to 1898. Finally, the skins are they were not brought onboard, dyed and finished. the company had the pleasure Although the company of whipping up leather samples is internationally renowned for Kate Spade before her totes for its superior leather, the —Skip Horween III went viral in the late '90s. The true feather in its cap is its plant processes 3,000 cow, genuine shell cordovan. mule, horse, and zebra hides Producing shell cordovan each week, all customized to involves shaving the hide clients’ specifications for color, down to a fibrous flat layer, texture, and thickness. the “shell,” located excluTo demonstrate, Horween sively in the hindquarters plops a brown leather walking of a horse. The hides must shoe on his desk. Made with also marinate in a tree bark distressed-look leather and a tanning liquor for several rugged rubber sole, the shoe is weeks before it is dried and a prototype for a brand-name buffed to its storied sheen. client and has landed back in Tanning the amount of Horween’s lap for further modicordovan shell needed to fications. The problem is that make one shoe takes six the look of the leather does not months and sells to cobmatch the feel. For Horween blers for nearly 90 dollars. and his clients, interacting with Despite the mechanization leather is a sensual experience of the tanning process, shell that incorporates the visual, the cordovan is best produced tactile, and the olfactory. by hand. Horween Leather
“In 1978 there were six tanneries operating in the city... You wonder if you're going to be next.”
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Company counts itself as one of only two producers of shell cordovan in the world and the only producer in North America. The Horween family does not plan to stop making its famous shell cordovan anytime soon. In 2009, Skip’s son Nick joined the business as director and quality manager. “I wouldn’t let Nick get involved if I didn’t think we were going to be around for awhile,” said Horween, who believes there are untapped markets for his products. “We have two-and-a-half niches – footballs, baseball gloves, and men’s dress shoes. But we’re ignoring half the population of the world.” Horween, of course, means women. Admittedly the predominantly male company is “not leading the next big thing fashion-
wise,” and Horween welcomes any opportunity to break into new markets. Whether its footballs or footwear, Horween vows to cut no corners when it comes to providing quality leather. He believes that products made with Horween leather are not subject to fads or trends, nor are they reserved for any specific customer. “People are looking for something that’s more of a classic,” says Horween. “They say, ‘I have really started to wear out my [blank], I should really get another one.” Horween understands that this limits the market, but he does not seem particularly worried. “There are people who chase fashion and want the newest and the best,” says Horween. “But that’s just not how our company works.”
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W覺nter
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Teller
by Hallie Liang
Vexed
by Ilana Woods
Crystallized by Nelson Fitch stitchfashion.com
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Teller by Hallie Liang
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Cable sweater Trovata $234 Peach tights at Urban Outfitters $10
Peach tights at Urban Outfitters $10 Opposite: SIlk bow tie Steven Alan $78. Cardigan Dries Van Noten $650. Trousers Dries Van Noten $580
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Shirt Dries Van Noten $320 Relaxed pants Silence + Noise at Urban Outfitters $58 Opposite: Bordeaux sweater Maison Martin Margiela $445 Two-button blazer Paul Smith $610 Gold watch necklace at Urban Outfitters $34 All clothing from Apartment Number 9, 1804 N. Damen Ave., unless noted. Model: Uchenna Moka. Assistants: Kirk Morrow, Kathryn Podobinski
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vexed by Ilana Woods
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Denim dress Mink Pink $78 'Daniel' parka Cheap Monday $160
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Hoodie Dunderdon $88 Tights Lisa B. $34
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Beanie Dunderdon $38 'Basic' shirt Cheap Monday $58 Snorkel parka Speiwak $148
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Denim vest Mink Pink $65 'David' jumper Cheap Monday $65 Nightshades (available at www.nightshades.us) $20 Clothing available at Penelope's, 1913 W. Division St. Hair & Make-up by Red 7 Salon, Evanston. Models: Amanda Kroiss and Nivin Porwahl. Assistants: Alisha Varma, Gavin Castro, Ali Pechman
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crys tal Lized
PHOTOGRAPHED BY NELSON FITCH
photogr aphed by Nelson Fitch
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Drape Oversize Shirt Horace $217
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Shirt Pleasure Principle $265 Opposite: 'Rene' vest C/FAN $210 'Erta' pant Ivan Grundahl $500
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'Reni' Coat Ivan Grundahl $815 Lami Dress Good Vig $300 Opposite: Fox fur vest Ideen $1720 Clothing available at Bonnie & Clyde's, 1751 W. Division St. Model: Wendi Gu. Assistants: Gavin Castro, Ben Millstein, Hallie Liang.
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To most students, Sunday brunch means a lackluster omelet or waffle that they could have had any other day of the week. For a welcome change, try Yolk, which specializes in breakfast, lunch, and that wonderful meal in the middle. The train ride downtown and fortyminute wait for a table is well worth it. Once seated, service is prompt and friendly. Drinks are delivered within a few minutes and coffee is topped off before the mug is even half empty. Yolk lives up to the hype. The bacon waffle and eggs is great for anyone who has ever wondered if bacon would taste better baked into their waffle. The chocolate strawberry cakes are “just the perfect amount of chocolate-y” according to a trusted confidant and the orange bread makes for some vivid French toast. For the less adventurous, Yolk offers likehomemade breakfast staples, delivering unusually fresh and fluffy scrambled eggs. —Hanna Howard
Red Dot EP by Galchen Whether it’s Edinburgh’s pulsating drum-and-bass, or Glasgow’s upbeat indie pop, each city in Scotland lays claim to a distinctive style. But in the last four years, Glasgow’s Galchen has fused these musical identities, crafting a sound that is singularly Scottish. With the Red Dot EP, the mysterious three-piece's sound evolves with its trademark grace.
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Heartland — smart museum of art, thru jan. 17
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Living near Chicago, it’s easy to forget that we’re in America’s Heartland. But what does that mean, exactly? For the curators of Heartland, Charles Esche, Kerstin Niemann, and Stephanie Smith, it’s a heart-shaped road map of the U.S., with a smattering of cities in the middle, including Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis, Kansas City, and Omaha. Heartland brings together new works commissioned during their travels. This re-conceived exhibit, originally shown in the Netherlands, includes photography, video, installation and performance works by a group of 14 artists. Highlights include Greely Myatt’s wall installation of cotton plant roots exploring regionalism, Artur Silva’s large-scale Oprah-inspired digital collage, and Design 99’s portable sculpture re-fashioned from an old motorboat. Heartland is ultimately interested in re-defining the American interior, with curator Stephanie Smith explaining, “[nostalgia is] one of the things we’re on guard against in this exhibition.” Their strategy works--if you’re only a temporary resident of the Midwest, then Heartland makes you think twice about the region's supposed blankness. And if you’re a born-and-bred Heartlander, check out this exhibition before you flee for the coasts after graduation. There really is nowhere like home, especially if home is churning out some killer art. —Alexis Gui
Photos: cleave by greely myatt, 2008. photo by peter cox and Courtesy of the artist and David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN.Yolk: hanna howard
Yolk — 747 n. wells st.
On track 12 (all tracks are untitled), layered percussion anchors waves of rolling synthesizer, putting Galchen somewhere between The Qemists and Wavves. Track 7 also emphasizes percussion, metamorphosising into a wall of sound by way of shimmering electric guitar. In live performances, Galchen ups the ante, using gorgeous abstract video projections to completely transport the listener. Galchen has yet to sign to a label, and with only one high-profile performance at last summer’s Hinterland to speak of, they remain obscure. Check their Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/galchen) for a comprehensive sampling of tracks. — Brenna McLean
Greely Myatt's Cleave (2008) on display at Smart Museum of Art's Heartland exhibition, through Jan. 17.
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F©hion’s NewSincerity A blogger exposes her unique style— and terrible illness. by lauren hazday I stared at the computer screen, shocked, my eyes welling up with tears. Her words were clear: astrocytoma stage 2 cancer. Lucrecia was to begin radiation treatment soon. My mind immediately went to her boyfriend, her friends, her family--I wondered how such a traumatic situation was affecting them, affecting Lucrecia herself. I have a confession: I don’t personally know Lucrecia Chan nor have I ever met her. Rather, I have been an avid follower of her blog, Fashion Is Poison (www.fashionispoison.com), since I discovered it two years ago. More than just an “outfit-a-day” blog, Fashion Is Poison chronicles Lucrecia’s journey to develop her personal style, and I check it compulsively Lucrecia has a wardrobe that most only dream about--her closet is home to Givenchy, Balenciaga, Maison Martin Margiela, and much more--but she also has a knack for mixing low-end with high-end. One of my favorite looks of hers is a vintage royal blue silk mini-dress dressed up with black patent leather YSL tribute pumps. Plus, we both seem to have a penchant for Alexander Wang. Now go ahead and judge my preoccupation with Lucrecia’s blog—my friends and family already have. I've attempted to entice my sisters into reading Fashion Is Poison, but they deemed it voyeuristic and a waste of time. Why follow this random girl’s interpretation of fashion when there are authorities like nylon and Barneys to consult? It was an especially awkward moment when my mother walked in on the day Lucrecia posted her diagnosis, and saw me crying at my computer screen. Imagine me attempting to explain that I was upset because a girl I had never spoken to was just diagnosed with brain cancer. I'm aware that to someone not interested in fashion blogging, I might come off as obsessed or peculiar. And I do admit, it’s strange. But I also believe my relationship with Lucrecia’s blog reflects a larger trend in fashion: it’s not just designers or editors eliciting sincere responses with their work. Whether it’s fashion students or enthusiasts commenting on, say, the latest collection from Comme des Garçons, blogging gives any budding fashion expert a potential audience of thousands. Though fashion blogs are sometimes misperceived as shallow and narcissistic, to me, Lucrecia’s blog has proven the exact opposite. I related to her personal journey and found her blog an exhaustive resource. Now, I blog regularly myself, and manage a team that does the same. So, thank you so much, Lucrecia, for Fashion Is Posion and the unlikely inspiration it has provided. My thoughts are with you.
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