Dress: Spring 2012 Surface Design Journal
April 19, 2012
“Although Patricia Malarcher made her final farewells in the Winter 2012 issue, she had complete editorial control of this exciting issue dedicated to new and innovative wearable art forms. After 17 incredible years at the helm of Surface Design Journal, she leaves some very big shoes to fill. But readers can be assured that I am dedicated to continuing the quality and diversity of coverage that has made Surface Design Journal a rich and invaluable source of textile art inspiration.”
—Marci Rae McDade, incoming editor of SDJ
Find related links to this issue’s profiles and features below:
Tracking the Art-to-Wear Spirit
in the 21st Century
By JoAnn C. Stabb
Take a trip back in time to the exciting origins of contemporary art-to-wear with insights from experts in the field.
Iris Apfel Advanced Style video
Debra Rapoport Advanced Style video
Rodarte:
Outsiders Inside the Runway
By Ida Miller
“Their inimitable rise in fashion can be attributed to two things: they are insistent on maintaining their status as outsiders without formal training…and their design ethos is rooted in their joint exploration of an intimate language known only to themselves.”
Video of Rodarte’s Spring 2012 collection
Video of Rodarte’s Fall 2012 collection
The short film The Curve of Forgotten Things by Todd Cole (starring Elle Fanning) showcases Rodarte fashions.
Authentic Hybrids in African Fashion
By A.M. Weaver
“Africa has inspired designers in New York and Paris since the 1960s. The four artists featured in this article [Bayo Adegbe, Anisa Mpungwe, Bisrat Negassi and Duro Olowo] exemplify a hybrid aesthetic in which colors, textures, loose construction, generous materials, and pattern are authentic to their African origin, in all its diversity and complexity.”
Sandra Woodall:
More than Meets the Eye
By Connie Strayer
“As a costume designer in the field of dance, Sandra Woodall searches for a balance between the seen and the unseen.”
Nicole Dextras:
Decomposing Couture
By Leesa Hubbell
“Each new piece begins as a wearable sculpture constructed from local and renewable plant materials. It is then photographed with a model in a landscaped urban setting, emphasizing the impact of humans on the natural environment.”
Erica Spitzer Rasmussen:
Clothes Tell the Tale
By Mason Riddle
“Erica Spitzer Rasmussen‘s sculpture is as much about storytelling as it is about process and materials. Taking the form, primarily, of the female body or the clothes that women wear, her dresses, jackets, vests, kimonos, collars, and corsets are metaphors for ancestral heritage, family illness, pregnancy and motherhood, femininity and masculinity, travel and death.”
Shinique Smith: Fiber into Form
By Sally Hansell
“Each work has multiple influences. The figural sculpture Crone Huntress is a “warrior goddess” inspired by Celtic lore, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and costume drama. A bundle of contradictions, the commanding figure has a tai chi sword strapped to her back above a bustle and long train.”
Karen LaMonte:
Clothes Cast in Memory
By Marilyn Millstone
“It’s a haunting piece: a gorgeous yet ghostly garment clothing an absent body, a seemingly fragile work that actually weighs a hefty 360 pounds and is as durable as marble. “Glass is contradictory,” says Karen LaMonte, who created the work. “It is made of nothing but light yet is massive and strong.”
1 Comment
Joy Stocksdale says
June 12, 2012 at 10:00 am
Excellent job outlining the innovative work in the latest issue -- if this doesn't create excitement about our gorgeous magazine - I don't know what will! - Joy