Lucia Cuba

The keyword search that has brought the most traffic to kOs this month is (I kid you not): 'asian boy with long hair headbanging'. This is very perplexing to me. And I now feel like I should write a post about an Asian boy with long hair headbanding. Because that sounds like a beautiful thing. As it is, I had nothing bookmarked or sitting on my desktop related to such a topic, and for the last couple of days my head has been full of thoughts on Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, who I'll be presenting on for my literary theory course in a couple of days. So, in an attempt to find something that brought these two topics together, I came across someone the enigma that is Lucia Cuba. Found via NJAL, I was expecting a normal fashion designer bio. Lucia, however, is not only a Lima-born fashion designer, but a 'social scientist'. She has a BSc in Social Psych, an MSc in Educational Psych, and a PhD in Public Health. AND, on a Fulbright Scholarship no less, she graduated from Parsons with an MFA in 2010. I.e., Lucia is my new hero. The photos you see here are of her thesis/design and activism project, Articulo 6, which was shown at NYFW in September and addresses the forced sterilizations in Peru between 1996-2000. Heavy stuff. 

Lucia is currently an Artist in Residence at the Textile Arts Center in New York, which makes me wonder if she ever came across Eve Sedgwick, who became very involved in material art (particularly weaving and solo exhibits) in her last years in NY. I'd also be interested to know if Lucia has ever come across Susi Quillinan. I think that, together, they'd be an unstoppable force.

Make sure you check out Lucia's website. I think it's going to be my newest obsession. As soon as I finish this darn Latin paper...

sublimi feriam sidera vertice

I'm in love with this Urbandon coat, made of a recycled tent (and in my size, I think!). In the next week or so, I will be getting rid of the majority of my clothes (i.e. the ones I don't wear) in an attempt to reduce the amount of things off-gassing in my apartment. Also, it's quite likely that I'll have to be highly selective with buying any new clothes from now on, and am told that used clothing is the safest for people sensitive to chemicals. However, I've never been a fan of used clothing (apart from vintage McQueen and Westwood), but recycled I can do! And, in the likely event that the safest place for me will be a secluded field beside a sea, I'll need a portable tent anyway...

(Sulpicia/)The hair dress

Today I heard 90 minutes of how many ways my arguments for my thesis topic make no sense, basically because my interpretations are abstract and theoretical, rather than literal. My question is: why should only a text be used as evidence for its own meaning? I'll spare you my arguments, but consider this: these dresses by Aleksandra Lalić are absolutely gorgeous in their McQueen-esque shapes. That is obvious just by looking at them. But, when you do some research into the dress (i.e. when you look into their context), you'll discover that they're made not of felted wool, but of felted human hair. Things - and words - aren't always what they appear. Nor should we assume that things are a certain way because we expect them to be. Sometimes, felt can be human hair, and a female poetic persona can be a male poet. 

(Photos via Aleksandra's blog)

Vietto

I have a favorite voluminous jacket I bought from a local store many Boxing Days ago that I just realized I haven't worn for a long time. And the reason is that I have a lot of voluminous clothing and, when coupled with a voluminous jacket, that's simply too much volume. Also, it's either summer or winter here, and this jacket is more like a dressed up hoodie, so I have to wear something really really warm under it (or some things) if I can wear it at all. 'Really really warm', of course, meaning voluminous. So I was quite happy to see an email in my inbox this morning from Minna Kaartinen, the designer behind Finnish eco-conscious label Vietto. Vietto's been on my radar for quite some time, as Jaana, the writer of the now-defunct Finnish blog The door in my wardrobe had worked with the label and featured it a few times. It seems Jaana is still working with Vietto as a photographer, and Vietto has just posted some new pieces! This one in particular, informed by my sad tale of the neglected spring hoodie/jacket, is what has caught my eye. Made of surplus Finnish military wool, the lower section of this lovely winter coat can zip off (see below), allowing me to both stay warm and not to have a silhouette resembling Grimace. Which is always a good thing, being vegetarian and all.

Edit: Since posting this post, I can't get enough of early Björk (including, I have to say it, Post). I think I was subconsciously affected by the model's hairstyle. And now, posthaste, I shan't say 'post' anymore today...

tenuis sub artus flamma demanat

In hindsight, getting stuck at home was probably the best thing for me. I got two full days of solid translating done (Horace, I'm going to win this round), catching me up (almost) to where I should've been pre-reacting-to-every-chemical-ever. And, after having one more day off tomorrow, I should be in a good position with the first paper I've had to write in 5 years. Phewf! I feel very much like this gorgeous photo (via here) from Amanda deLeon's S/S 13 presentation at NOLAFW. Let's just see if I can stay on my toes for one more month...

Totes Magotes*

So, as it turns out, Hurricane Sandy did not keep me from New York (and my hosts got their power back last weekend!), but instead that short Nor'easter and a freak snowstorm here (which actually hasn't stopped) made me stay put in snowy Canada. Sigh. Thankfully, the conference organizers allowed me to Skype in to still present my paper and, after the gods tried one last time to keep me silent, I finally got my ideas out into the world outside of my advisor's office. I feel like a real scholar now! 

Anyway, suffice to say, I should be in New York right now, and am imagining myself walking through the holiday shops in Bryant Park right now, wearing this jacket. The only thing that could ever make me regret buying my ArtLab Revolutionary Jacket is a hooded version of the same! Patricia, this is now in a tie with your Artisanal wool coat for my favorite piece from you ever.

And speaking of perfect jackets, check this beauty out. This is from my favorite Aussie label, Sadotna (photo via their Facebook). If I score another scholarship, I might just have to treat myself with this. But for now, it'll have to do to give it a place of honour in My Top 3 Want List (see sidebar, near bottom).

*I was supposed to see Paul Rudd in Grace tomorrow. Sigh. Patricia, enjoy the show for me!

Amygdala

This stuff is so ridiculously good. And yet I'm conflicted. I know I'm drawn to it for its architectural sensibilities and the fact that I've already posted some of Cunnington & Sander's work (i.e. check them out and buy something if you can). However, most of these pieces actually remind me of what I've been religiously checking every 5 available minutes this last week, being the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy (e.g. blackouts and twisted cranes). As far as I know, my friends in Brooklyn still don't have power, and my planned trip to visit them and present at a conference at CUNY next week will likely be called off in the next 24 hours. Stay warm, my friends (and, if time matters when the power is out, turn your battery-powered clocks back an hour). And perhaps move away from the coast sometime soon. Until we meet again...

(Photos via NJAL)