Where else are you going to see this:
design: Adam Arnold. photo: Pete Springer
walking past this:
Striped Vase, Peter Voulkos. collection Museum of Contemporary Craft.
As many of the curious as the fire marshall would allow braved another cold, wet night (were there ever any other kinds of nights?) to head out to the Museum of Contemporary Craft for last week’s Action/Re-Action Runway Show for which eleven Portland-based designers created one-of-a-kind garments inspired by pieces in the Museum’s current exhibition of non-precious art jewelry, Touching Warms the Art.
design: Julia Barbee. photo: Pete Springer
The designers more than rose to the challenge of addressing an object, it’s form, texture, materiality through the creation of a garment. How to choose favorites? We saw curly flourishes, bold statements, pretty things, and finely crafted dresses that directly referenced pieces in the jewelry show.
See all of the runway photos by Pete Springer or read on…
Adam Arnold, true to form, made an architectural, faceted paper jacket laquered white over a pair of smashing white jodphurs , finished off with a pair of driving gloves. The zip-front jacket with banded bottom is a wonder of geometry and construction showing further influence of Arnold’s interest in Buckminster Fuller. In the program, Arnold, who modeled his own work and had painted himself white, carrying a red-tipped cane, cited additional sources of inspiration including Arnold an architectural white necklace by Seth Papac, “and the idea of the facets of cut stones and the nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice.”
Kate Towers made a toile print minidress with fab big short sleeves…a Balenciaga-like curved shoulder shown with a showstopping cap made of silk flowers that brought to mind an old Vreeland-era magazine cover in a fresh way. Inspired by Maru Almedia’s String of Pearls (oversized beads of ivory-colored felted wool) Towers had said, “I wanted to do something fun and bold, a little punchy. Pearls make me think of …society girls, grandmothers, weddings, little black dresses, Jackie O, Chanel, Nancy Reagan, debutantes, playing dress up….”
design: Elizabeth Dye. photo: Pete Springer
Julia Barbee’s “texture study #13″ with its from-the-earth collaged long train that incorporated vintage fabric, ribbon, tulle, feathers and lotus leaves was stunning. A minidress with a mile-long train, the composition was pure Barbee (Frocky Jack Morgan) with its sculptural layers, sense of fragility, and patinaed air, having taken off from the textures of iiiterate shift: Neutral a bracelet made of hundreds of layers of dyed Tyvek cut into organic shapes by Carol-lynn Swol.
Leanne Marshall “feather,” was a breathtaking waterfall of deep vertical white pleats that fell from a halter top in two joining streams, making a grand gesture of the Cynthia Toops Untitled Cuff Bracelet that was layers of stiff white fabric that curved and fell architecturally around the wrist.
Gretchen Jones had the most wearable and unwearable ensemble inspired by the white folds of Berenice Ramirez’ Untitled Brooch (which was worn in the model’s hair). A well cut pair of white jeans with a black snakeskin sash sewn on were paired with a vest trimmed smartly in a single row of tiny feathers and tank so sheer that nothing about the model’s lovely breasts was left to the imagination.
Inspired by Mayumi Matsuyama’s Petal Bracelet, Emily Ryan created “interlace” a further exploration of the weaving she’s been engaging. In a utilitarian-looking pale grey, the bodice a section of woven slices of fabric, banded with a wide ivory sash. Most interestingly, the dress featured a wide vertical band that wove in and out of the skirt then caught it up almost making pants of it.
Emily Katz took direct inspiration from Allyson Bone’s Wood Bunny Ring (for which polymer clay had been partially pushed through the most finely cut motifs incl. bunnies) for her “bunny love” gown with it’s machine embroidered yoke of bunnies on a long gown made from a blanket with its hand-dyed silk lining mixing high and low in an interesting way.
Liza Rietz made a richly thick mohair cape with extravagant lapels that could wrap around the neck and a high collar worn over a wool jersey dress. Inspired by Diego Bisso’s malleable lead and chamois ring, with its curved folds, she substituted wool for leather and played with the ideas of shape and mutability.
Holly Stalder’s sensational hot-pink dress took the form of a Berenice Ramirez brooch and repeated its folded circles like so many lush crepe paper flowers over its short skirt.
Elizabeth Dye “cirrus dress” played with the form of a wire-frame neckpiece by Berenice Ramirez, meeting its hard edges with the softness of pale blue chiffon in ruffled waves in perhaps the best in-the-moment point and counterpoint of object and garment of the evening.
Genevieve Dellinger, inspired by Susan Kingsley’s Handpiece, a chainmail glove, created a new garment category…she called it, with major understatement, an “apron.” A marvelously liquid piece: pleated silver folds fell from a black yoke with a wide swath in front and narrow one cascading down the back of a black dress.
Here are all of the runway photos by Pete Springer.
Special thanks to the Museum for welcoming this work into their space, to Patricia No for producing the show, to Holly Stalder for stalwart support and good ideas, and to all of the designers, to Heather Baldwin and Anna Webber for doing makeup and to Emily Katz for doing hair!
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