Pei G Tsai

Today was my very first day of grad school, and though it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, it definitely was a bizarre day. First of all, as I unfortunately did not take a modern language the first two times around, I am now stuck in a first-year undergrad course with people an entire decade younger than me. I can't even fathom what it's like to not have breathed 80s air, or to not remember a time before the Internets. And each and every one of these kids seem to have sprouted an extra appendage - do kids these days even know how to put their cellphone down? However, since I must choose only one, The 18-Year-Old of the Day Award goes to the guy who sat in front of me. Yes, young sir, it's a good thing you wore that tank top on a blustery day so we can all see your manly armpit hair and terrible tattoo or 'tat', as I'm sure you call it. And yes, we all recognize that you woke up an extra half an hour early to get your hair just so. Both of those things are very important to help you watch those .gifs on your laptop to the best of your ability when you're supposed to be learning Italian instead. You are, come si dice...il douchebag.

Anyway, the other notable portion of my day consisted of both me not throwing up before my Latin class with the most intimidating prof ever (in the very same room where I had a Latin class with him six whole years ago) AND him not recognizing me (as I am now blonde and bespectacled) but yet being able to give the entire class a synopsis of a paper I wrote for his class (...six years ago) after seeing my name on the attendance sheet. Oh boy. Anyway, his synopsis segways into the Pei G Tsai A/W 12/13 collection from London-based Taiwanese designer Peggy Pei-Chuan Tsai (found via NJAL). The reason being because, just as my Latin paper on Tacitus took someone else's idea and applied and revamped it to fit my topic, Peggy here has taken Julian Roberts' subtraction cutting method and experimented with it for her graduate collection (created from only four patterns in total). Three cheers for innovation!

(Photos via NJAL)

Natsumi Zama

Natsumi Zama's '2 to 3' collection (found via Fashion156) immediately brings to mind a video I watched over and over in my parents' kitchen of Julian Roberts performing his subtraction cutting to a live audience: from a two dimensional rectangle of fabric, comes a three dimensional draped creation. Natsumi's collection, however, brings with it a reverence for that two dimensional rectangle of fabric. At first glance, Natsumi seems to put the finished piece on display by mounting it directly onto the flat piece of material. However, when that flat piece is allowed to hang and drape rather comfortingly around the finished piece, it becomes obvious that it is the flat piece that is on display; the frame is the centre of attention, not the picture. Furthermore, not wanting to cut away at the edges, as with normal pattern cutting, or cut away at the centre, as with Julian's method, the two dimensional rectangle of fabric is left relatively untouched, and yet is given the chance to experience a new dimension. Sounds rather romantic, no?

The Iteration

It appears that I'm most intrigued by clothing patterns that look simple on paper, but have great complicated theories behind them. (Remember Julian Robert's subtraction cutting method?) Hence why Russian designer Lisa Shahno's 'The Iteration' collection (found via NJAL) has me going repeatedly though the photos. The collection, created by squares divided by diagonals (the number of which depends on the piece), isn't based on origami or architectural ideas in the brick-and-mortar structure sense, as you might expect from looking at looking at the finished piece, but rather is based on the Fractal Cosmology theory, i.e. the possible architectural idea behind the structure of the universe. Whoa, right? I'm hoping that that winter jacket's connection to the universe means that it would thus magically/scientifically protect its wearer from any weather. Because I hear that my hometown is in for our coldest winter yet (for the 5th year in a row...). Why couldn't I live in a different fractal?

Antonella Petraccaro

When I saw the video for Antonella Petraccaro's BA graduate presentation, I was instantly impressed that a) a BA student would have a collection so completely different from those of her peers at the Institute for Fashion Design Basel (a.k.a. the Swiss school whose name knows no end), and b) the concept of said collection would be so well developed and executed, while having a lot of potential to be developed further in future collections/graduate studies. According to Antonella, the point of her collection, entitled '1-2-8' (i.e. one-to-eight), was "the concept of the collection, which was finding a link between performance and fashion design." This concept is seen right off the bat when you see the material Antonella works with, for all of the pieces are constructed from one very long rectangular piece of very stiff and paper-like double-sided fabric that is white on one side and black/grey on the other. This fabric is first wrapped in succession around the eight models standing in a line to create a chain of semi-covered models.

The fabric is then cut between the bodies so that each model has one coil of the fabric around them. Antonella then goes to each model in turn and molds the fabric into shapes resembling garments (some more loosely than others) with snaps and markings on that model's cut of fabric.

Antonella recognizes that her pieces are more prototypes than actual garments, but she wanted to stress the process of creating fashion. I do think that a couple of the shapes created could be worn as-is, at least if the wearer would be able to recreate them themselves from the flat piece of fabric (perhaps aided by Ikea-like instructions). However, I would be interested to see if Antonella could further develop these pieces into more ready-to-wear garments that still retain a bit of the intended concept, as we don't all get dressed like Daphne Guinness. Just imagine the closet space you'd save if you could just buy one long piece of fabric and still get eight different garments out of it...

To digress, I think runway presentations would be a whole lot more interesting if they were more performance-like, demonstrating both how the clothes are made and how they are/can be put on and worn. Especially as runway shows will need to continue to develop, given that the sudden popularity of fashion video presentations will likely grow old quick, and Internet audiences will want more of a show than ten minutes of models precariously walking, particularly in the event that the Internet becomes more of a pay-per-view source in the very near future. And we have already seen a little bit of this with Julian Roberts and his subtraction cutting lectures, and Gareth Pugh's live creation of a dress online. So, designers, how about some more conceptual goodness? While my brain is whirring away, I for one think Heather Martin could put on a good show with pieces such as the mono Scarf Dress. But, then again, maybe I'm just bored with the Internets (and fashion) right now, and don't want to wait until Antonella's next step in her fashion career to be entertained again.

(Runway photos by Shoji Fujii via doingfashion.ch, others are my screen caps of Antonella's videos)

Turning Japanese

Has anyone else noticed that email seems to be going the way of the dodo (as has that saying)? That may very well be why I so very much appreciate bona fide electronic messages, such as the one I received yesterday from the Julian Roberts, with a link to a new video that will accompany his masterclass later this month at the Barbican Gallery's 'Future Beauty' exhibition in London.

This video in turn influenced my impromptu eBay searching session (keyword: comme des garcons), and excitement at finding some gorgeous clothing to look at by a Tokyo-based label/design team called divka on NJAL. Thanks, Julian!

Subtraction Games

This post is brought to you by a lovely reader named Katharine, who dropped a two-fold bombshell into my inbox yesterday. Indeed, this email completely distracted me the entire morning and early afternoon until I left for work, leaving me with no time to blog or even shower. And, truthfully, the email continued to distract me while I was at work, as I was continuing to mull over in my head what I had just seen.

Bombshell, Part A:

i) bARBARA Í gONGINI has an online shop.

ii) Said shop currently has 10 selected items from the new collection at 20% off, and all pieces of the previous collection at 40% off.
iii) The shop has a number of cardigans, one of which in particular is exactly what I wanted (and is 20% off; second row, right).

Bombshell, Part B:

i) And I quote:

"I also thought of you recently when I ordered a new book. I'm a sewer, and I just got Julian Roberts' Subtraction Cutting. I don't know if you're that interested in the design process, and you may have already heard of this guy (now that I've looked through it, I suspect that I see his influence in a LOT of the designers you feature) but just felt like sharing it. In case."

'In case' indeed. I, in fact, had never heard of either Julian Roberts or his garment pattern 'Subtraction Cutting' method. Now, after hours of looking at photos, reading reviews/blog posts/interviews, watching one of his lectures (as he is now a Professor, teaching his method at universities and workshops all over the world), and ordering his book, I can't get him or his method out of my head. In short, rather than cutting out the exact shape of a paper pattern from the fabric it is pinned onto, he cuts out the negative space created between the paper pattern pieces. Accuracy and mathematics are not required, and the design isn't dictated by the pattern before the fabric is even cut - 'Subtraction Cutting is designing with patterns.' With this method, given loads of fabric and a good pair of scissors, you could create an entire collection in one day.

To further explain: In the video I watched, Julian demonstrates the use of his Subtraction Cutting method to create a dress basically from a 5-metre long pillowcase (doubled, and sewn on one short side and the unfolded long side). First he places a front and a back pattern piece for a simple sheath dress onto the fabric with the shoulder lines of each piece facing each other (i.e. spaced apart, but roughly parallel to each other), and then traces the patterns except for the bottom hem lines (so it seems open from under the arms on). Then, he draws free form lines between the front and back pattern pieces of the top of a dress to connect the side seams. This then creates a Rorschach-type negative space in between the two pattern pieces (see above Subtraction Cutting poster). This shape is what gets cut out (only out of the top layer of fabric), rather than the individual front and back. Once this shape has been subtracted out, all that needs to be done is to grab the shoulders and pull the fabric off of the ground, creating a 3-dimensional dress out of a 2-dimensional piece of fabric (then, of course, sew the shoulder seams together and the side seams). 

You absolutely have to watch the video, particular Part 2, about 2/3 of the way through, when he transforms the tube of fabric with a hole cut into it into a gorgeously draped (almost) runway-ready piece (the photos above from the same lecture don't quite give the same feel). I basically gave him a standing ovation at this part of the video. Julian continues to develop this dress with his 'Tunnel' method, which involves cutting circular holes into the rest of the dress, which is where the wearer will pass her body through, creating even more draping (which is needed with an otherwise 5-metre long dress). I am so incredibly excited about making my own dress using Julian's methods (see below for a finished product), as the finished look is so in tune with my fashion sensibilities that something just clicked the moment I saw his work. My only wish is that I had received this email a few months ago, as Julian had one of his Masterclasses in Vancouver this summer. That would've been amazing.

Katharine, thank you.

P.S. Julian's website is only open on Wednesdays, so if I'm M.I.A. that day, you know where I am...