Interview with Nathalie Bondil, Director and Chief Curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Nathalie Bondil, JP Gaultier, Thierry Maxime Loriot at the MMFA

by Ingrid Mida

For the past ten years, art historian Nathalie Bondil has been Chief Curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, where she has curated many art exhibitions featuring the work of Picasso, Van Dongen and other artists. Ms. Bondil launched new programming by inviting fashion into the MMFA, with first ever retrospectives of the work of Yves Saint Laurent and Denis Gagnon. In 2007, Nathalie Bondil was appointed Director of the Museum. In 2008, she received the insignia of the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic and on June 15, 2011, she received the title of Chevaliere of the Ordre National du Quebec.

Nathalie Bondil initiated the exhibition of The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk which recently opened at the MMFA. The following is an excerpt of my interview with Ms. Bondil at the museum on June 13, 2011.

Ingrid: The MMFA seems to be the only museum in Canada to initiate and curate exhibitions of fashion designers. In 2008, you exhibited Yves Saint Laurent’s work and today, you are presenting Jean Paul Gaultier’s work. How is it that your mandate includes fashion?

Nathalie: We can do whatever we want to do and from my point of view that includes presenting the work of artists with a strong message. The fashions that Jean Paul Gaultier creates really says so much about the world, the society in which we live and I think that is very relevant for us. What Gaultier says about beauty and about taste is something that is very healthy, very relevant and very necessary.

Ingrid: I found it so refreshing this morning when Gaultier talked about beauty having no specific shape or look. Is that what attracted you to his work?

Nathalie: Completely. It is his humanist side and in fact, it is much more the sociological aspect of his work that I think is very important. It is so fresh as you say to say that everybody is welcome to wear his clothes: big, fat, old, whatever.

I think that it is our duty at the museum to open other doors.  If you don’t have this critical look, if you don’t give people the tools to understand another way to consider the aesthetic of fashion, I think that you haven’t done your job.

This exhibition is not about branding, it is not about La Maison Jean Paul Gaultier. It is about Jean Paul Gaultier’s humanist vision of the society. And it is about very high values, about universal values beyond fashion.

What is interesting with him is that he is not just a fashion couturier, but he also collaborates with cinema, for theatre, for the avant garde, for the very popular rock stars. He is very curious and his mind is open and he has kept this child eye. He is always sincerely enchanted by people. I can say this is not a posture. It is not an attitude.

He is very humble. He has no flag, but in fact, when you consider his couture from the beginning until now, it is very coherent and consistent, and beyond humour, beyond provocation, there is also a very deep message.

Ingrid: Is that what defines JPG as an artist for you – that his pieces have a message?

Nathalie: Yes, absolutely. He has a very strong imagination that can reach us beyond fashion. You are not obliged to be a fashionista to be attracted to Gaultier because he has so many diverse interests in terms of multi-media and inspirations. He is not a stylist trapped within the discourse of fashion.

One proof is that he first said no to an exhibition. He did not want to make a kind of cemetery exhibition. He wanted to have an adventure, a new creation, to invent a new collaboration. This is what excites him, to make something different. He has so much imagination. He does not want to repeat himself.  He does not have this narcissism towards the past. In fact, now he is still completely projected towards the future. And for him, this event is an installation, more a creation, something new.

Jean Paul Gaultier Couture Collection (Courtesy of the MMFA)

Ingrid: I read that he once said “I don’t make works of art” and that “Fashion is not art”. Nevertheless, you have defined him as a contemporary artist.

Nathalie: He can have his own ideas. I have no problem with that. We worked with him as a contemporary artist. I told you he is always in the process of creation, never any repetition. And in my point of view, it is art.

It is art because haute couture has a sophistication of the milieu. As someone from outside, I was really, really impressed by the fact that all these couturiers have so much pressure. They must create on a very regular basis these new collections in a fierce competition atmosphere. At the same time they must also meet a commercial viability. There are no other artists who can support such pressure. It is so demanding in terms of excellence and so fascinating in terms of realization that I don’t understand why people say it is not art.

Ingrid: Is there a favourite part of the exhibition? Is there something that really resonates with you?

Nathalie: My favourite part of the exhibition is the man himself - Jean Paul Gaultier, the artist.

Ingrid: After I saw the McQueen show, I was wondering how you were going to live up to that standard, because it was quite unusual.

Nathalie: I very much admired what McQueen did. I did not see the exhibition yet and I will go next week. McQueen is very dark and Jean Paul Gaultier is like joy, optimism. They have very different sensibilities of what is a human being. One is like dark and one is like light.

For Gaultier, fashion is for real people. McQueen is not for real people. His work is fabulous - like sculpture, but you cannot live in it. There is a corset is in wood, but you cannot move in wood.  And with that dress painted by spray guns projections, it is like the woman is attacked. Gaultier said he would have done it with real painters - like a dance, like an interaction with human people.

Ingrid: Some people say that McQueen’s work was misogynist, whereas it is the opposite for Jean Paul Gaultier. He seems to love women.

Nathalie: Completely. Yes, he loves not just women, but everyone.

Ingrid Mida is an artist, writer and researcher based in Toronto. She also lectures about the intersection of art and fashion.

Unravelling Knitwear in Fashion

Sandra Backlund, Collection ‘Body, skin and hair’ (c) Photography: Johan Renck, Stylist Ellen Af Geijerstam

by Sarah Scaturro

I first met Karen Van Godtsenhoven when I was in Brussels last fall giving a lecture as the keynote speaker at the Camouflage Takes Center Stage conference at the Royal Military Museum.  She gave a wonderful presentation on camouflage in Belgian fashion - it was quite hilarious to watch all of the stiff military personnel (mostly men) chuckle uncomfortably as she showed a video of Bernard Willhelm's Spring/Summer 2004 presentation parodying the US military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in which partially-clothed men walked out of a closet (literally) wearing camouflage and face paint and then proceeded to irreverently jump on a couch (see the video at the bottom of this post).

Van Godtsenhoven is a relatively new fashion curator with a promising future - "Unravel," the exhibition on view now at Momu, is the first time she has taken the helm as lead curator (along with the guest curator Emmanuelle Dirix, a lecturer at Central Saint Martins and Antwerp Fashion Academy.)  Following is an interview in which she talks about why she chose to dissect knitwear in fashion, what some of the challenges were in mounting an exhibition on this topic, and who she thinks some of the best knitwear designers are today. Her upcoming projects include exhibitions about Nudie Cohn and Walter Van Beirendock.

Fashion Projects: What inspired you to curate a show about knitwear in fashion?

Van Godtsenhoven: It's been a favorite subject and fascination of ours here for years. It was literally a research file ‘in the cupboard’ waiting to come out. With the current vogue for knitwear with young designers, but also the popularity of knitting within the wider public (think knitting cafés, ravelry.com, guerrilla knitting), we thought it was the right time for the subject to come out of the closet.

Unravel Installation,  MoMu, Antwerp, Photo: Frederik Vercruysse

You selected a mix of historical and contemporary pieces - besides the actual structure of the garments (non-woven, single element) did you find any surprising similarities or differences in how knitwear was used in the past as compared with today?

Yes, the changing status of knitwear in fashion is a subject of endless study possibilities. Whereas we see knitwear emerging very early on as a kind of handmade utility garment (related with warmth, hygiene and sturdiness - this element is still with us today), machine knitting is also a very old technique (16th century, long before the industrial revolution), which was very technologically advanced and resulted in very fine gauze- like materials. There are a few dresses and jackets in the show from the 17th, 18th and 19th century, of which many visitors cannot believe that they are knitted, the same goes for many of the 19th century socks: they are embellished and knitted so finely it looks like embroidery or lace. So, before the industrial revolution, machine knitting was considered high-class. Now we see an opposite appreciation: handmade goods are more costly than machine made ones.

There are many continuing ideas about knitwear (jersey is still used for sportswear, handmade goods are still associated with the domestic sphere and now also the DIY movement), but the short history of knitwear in fashion shows that there have been many (r)evolutions: from underwear and swimwear to Chanel’s jersey dresses and marine sweaters, to Schiaparelli and Patou’s abstract motifs, to the knitted A line dresses in the sixties, as a result of the sexual revolution, and the deconstructed 1990s knitwear that had its origins in the 1970s punk movement. Knitwear has always gone with the waves of society, and that makes it very interesting. I think the so called ‘revival’ (whilst knitwear has never really been away from the catwalk) of knitwear these days can be linked to heightened ecological awareness and a longing for handmade and body-hugging goods, and I'm curious in which form it will come back in the future.

Bathing suit by Elsa Schiaparelli, ca. 1928 (c) Condé Nast Archive/CORBIS

Were there any challenges to exhibiting knitwear pieces, especially due to conservation issues?

Yes, both the heavy and voluminous pieces, as well as the fine gauze-like knits weigh themselves down under their own weight: knitwear is a more ‘open’ material than a woven cloth and will hence open up even more when hanging. This is a risk for skirts and dresses stretching, or growing longer up to 40 cm in the 5 months they are on show.

We covered the busts and mannequins with a fine jersey, which ‘clings’ well to the knitted silhouettes and keeps the pieces in place - we also provided waist and hip supports for the dresses. The very frail pieces are displayed flat in cases. Knitwear is really always best kept flat...I've learned this from my own experience!

Tilda Swinton for Sandra Backlund. Published in Another Magazine, Autumn 2009 (c) Photography by Craig McDean, Styling by Panos Yiapanis

What are your favorite objects in the exhibition? Were there any objects you wanted but couldn't obtain?

I have to say that my favorites change often, but amongst the returning are: the four sweaters by Elsa Schiaparelli, the 3D silhouette by Sandra Backlund (made out of four different experimental dresses), and the knitted metal sweater by Ann Demeulemeester - it may sound like a punk outfit but it’s actually more like a very delicate jewel when you see it.

Oh, and maybe also the knitted boliersuit and miniskirt by Courrèges!

We were very sorry not to be able to get the sweater with holes (1982) by Comme des Garçons as it went missing, since it’s such a seminal piece for knitwear in high fashion - it completely changed our view on the formless in fashion, and regarding knitwear, to the ‘un-knitted’. In the title group ‘Unravel’ you see the evolution of how ‘waste’ (punk sweaters with holes, knitted in glaring colors) became fashion (Comme des Garçons, and many Belgian designers like Martin Margiela and Ann Demeulemeester, Raf Simons) and is now hugely popular (Mark fast, Rodarte).

You included new avant-guarde designers like Sandra Backlund and Mark Fast.  Who are some other emerging knitwear designers that we should keep an eye out for?

Good question, there are so many! I like Sandra Backlund and Mark Fast because of the very personal and highly different ways they treat knitwear. I also think Craig Lawrence, Kevin Kramp (menswear), Christian Wijnants (Belgian) and Iben Höj (from Denmark) all have very interesting, personal styles. Some come up with highly structured, sculptural pieces in raw wool, others treat the knitting process as something as delicate as lace making, others experiment with materials unheard of (fur, metal, rope), it is very exciting to watch these new talents.

Kevin Kramp A/W 2009-2010 (c) 2009 ACM Photography + Kevin Kramp

What do you think of the emergence of subversive knitting and yarn-bombing?

I really like it and think it is a very positive kind of urban ‘graffiti’ and shared engagement with the urban environment. We also had a small guerrilla action here around the museum as well with knitters from Brussels who ‘protest’ against ugly buildings or city furniture by covering them in knitted plastic wraps (waste instead of a more noble material like wool). We got a lot of response to the call and it was really great to see the more routined artists from Brussels working together with the Antwerp volunteers. The police came by and said they thought it was ugly, but that was ok for the knitters, as they were actually showing the ugliness of some city sights by covering them in knitwear. It was not a very subversive or artistic act but a very fun process; what struck me is that knitting is really a social activity these days, more so than sewing, pattern cutting or other fashionable hobbies, it is something that can be done whilst talking and seeing your friends.

******* Bernard Willhelm's Spring/Summer 2004 Presentation (courtesy of Karen Van Godtsenhoven)

Bernard Willhelm SS 2004 from Sarah Scaturro on Vimeo.

Brave New World

by Sarah Scaturro

Evening dress, 54.1.324, Silk, lamé and glass, Circa 1912, France?, Gift of the Estate of Minnie Drexel Fell Cassatt

The Drexel Historic Costume Collection at the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, Drexel University is known by fashion historians as a gem of a collection - small, but of very high quality. The upcoming exhibition curated by Clare Sauro called "Brave New World: Fashion and Freedom 1911-1919" should raise the profile of the collection, bringing it to the attention of many others as an invaluable resource. Fashion Projects is very pleased to present the following interview with Sauro about her upcoming exhibition and her role as Curator of the Drexel Historic Costume Collection. Besides juggling her curatorial duties, Sauro also teaches in the University and is writing an upcoming book by Berg Publishers titled Jeans (along with Drexel colleague, Joseph H. Hancock). She used to supervise the Accessories Collection and work as the Assistant Curator in the Costume Collection at the Museum at FIT, which is where as a student I first had the opportunity to experience her enthusiasm and desire to share her knowledge about fashion history.

Fashion Projects: The title of your exhibition is highly evocative, even though the time period of your exhibition predates by a decade Aldous Huxely’s novel of the same name. What inspired you to curate an exhibition called "Brave New World" about this moment in fashion history?

Clare Sauro: Congratulations on being the first to pick up on that! While the Huxley novel was published much later, it is part of the general modernist literary movement that emerged during this period. While purists may balk at my use of the title, I felt it was intriguing and captured the spirit of the exhibition. I wanted the title to convey this sense of wonder, excitement and anxiety and felt Brave New World was just right. The literary work I was most closely drawn to during my research was Pale Horse, Pale Rider but thought a reference to the apocalypse was a bit much for a fashion exhibition!

One of the themes of the exhibition (and PIFA) is the cross-disciplinary explosion of creativity that occurred during this period. The 1910s were a transitional period where the lingering traditions of the 19th century gave way to the modernism of the 20th. Many art forms struggled against tradition and sought new, often radical forms of expression to make sense of modern life. Fashion was a part of this movement and during this brief time period, women adopted short skirts, abandoned their corsets and cut their hair. The difference between a fashionable woman of 1910 and a decade later is astonishing.

Delphos dress, 2010.29.1, Mariano Fortuny, Silk & glass , Circa 1919, Italy, DHCC purchase and Negligee, no accession number, Silk & metallic lace, Circa 1912, France

What are your favorite objects in the exhibition? Were there any objects that you wish you could display (extant or not) that could have enriched your story even further?

The exhibition is relatively small (14 garments) so everything on display is a favorite in some way. The DHCC is fortunate to have many examples from this particular period and I had many to choose from when making my selection. Despite this, I searched and searched but did not turn up a Poiret from the teens. However, I was able to unearth a gorgeous Lucile evening dress (circa 1914) which conveys the right sense of luxury, sensuality, and exoticism needed for the exhibition. It really is a spectacular piece and the star of the show. Unfortunately, it needed conservation and missed the deadline for photography. I guess that means you all have to come see it in person!

All of the pieces are from the Drexel Historic Costume Collection. Can you tell us a little bit about the collection as a whole? What are you goals for your collection?

The Drexel Historic Costume Collection is a relatively small (10,000+ objects) collection of historic costume but a good one. It was founded in the early years of the 20th century to support and inspire the students of Drexel University. Since the collection began before many others of its kind, we are blessed to have strong holdings of early 20th century couture. There are some sizable gaps in content but overall the collection is of extremely fine quality. I have been curator of the DHCC for a little over two years and hope to someday establish it as one of the preeminent university costume collections in the United States. I plan to achieve this through judicious acquisitions, careful deaccessions and increased visibility through exhibitions and publications. I am fortunate to be very happy here at Drexel because I have quite a lot of work ahead of me!

Coat & dress, 67.46.31 and 67.46.40, Circa 1915, USA, Gift of Miss Elizabeth Jane Anderson

You used to supervise the Accessories Collection and work as the Assistant Curator in the Costume Collection at the Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology). Interestingly both MFIT and Drexel collections are housed at teaching universities. Have you found there to be similarities and differences in how the collections are used? How has your role changed?

I believe strongly in teaching collections. I get a great joy from sharing objects with students and seeing the lightbulbs go off over their heads. MFIT is a large and well-established collection with a conservation lab and dedicated galleries. While the collection is used for teaching and research it still adheres to established museum standards of care. The DHCC is much smaller and I am the only official staff member. As such, I have to handle all responsibilities related to the collection and must wear many hats. This is very different from MFIT where I was able to hand over a task to another staff member and know it would get done. Here at Drexel, I rely on students for day to day collections management and spend a good deal of time training them in correct handling protocol and basic registrarial work. Despite this, I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the challenges of this position and the opportunity being able to really make a difference. It is exhausting but extremely gratifying. I love teaching, something I did not get to do while I was at FIT.

Walking suit, 54.1.408, Doucet, Velvet with grosgrain ribbon, Circa 1916, France, Gift of the Estate of Minnie Drexel Fell Cassatt

It was wonderful getting an opportunity to visit your collection last fall at the Fashion in Fiction conference held at Drexel University. Your personalized tour was inspiring as you revealed the joys and difficulties in discovering and caring for your collection. Would it be possible to talk about any special “a-ha!” moments you’ve had?

My personal growth has been tremendous- I am much calmer and patient person than I was a few years ago. The DHCC has shown me that I can’t get upset over what has happened in the past, I can only do the very best I can for the collection with the resources I have. Working with the students in the collection has taught me to explain myself better and in a more direct manner. I realize that not everything is ideal but that is ok. We make it a little bit better every day. ______________________________________________

Fashion historian Rebecca Jumper Matheson will give the lecture “Beyond Romanticism: The Art, Commerce and Modernity of Lucile” on Thursday, April 14th at 7 PM as part of the exhibition.

Brave New World: Fashion and Freedom 1911-1919
April 7th through May 7th, 2011
Location: Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, Nesbitt Hall, 3215 Market St, Philadelphia, PA
Gallery Hours: Monday - Friday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. 
Cost: FREE and open to the public
More Information: 215-895-1029 or visit http://www.drexel.edu/westphal

Maximum Effect: An Interview with Fashion Critic Elyssa Dimant

by Sarah Scaturro Photo by James Moore

My interest was recently piqued when I began hearing about a new book called Minimalism and Fashion: Reduction in the Postmodern Era. Having admired the recent minimal designs of people like Raf Simons (for Jil Sander), Jil Sander (for Uniqlo) and Francisco Costa (for Calvin Klein), I was even more intrigued when I realized that the author was none other than Elyssa Dimant, a fellow alumna of FIT's MA program in Fashion and Textile Studies. After seeing some of the beautiful photographs and reading the glowing reviews in places like NY Magazine and the New York Times, I knew that I had to talk to her. While her research into minimalism and fashion is mandatory for any fashion scholar, it's her unique approach to the field of fashion studies that I find inspirational. Dimant graciously took a few moments out of her busy schedule to answer the following:

Fashion Projects: You just recently wrote a gorgeously illustrated book called Minimalism and Fashion that was published by Harper Collins. Instead of merely examining the aesthetics of minimalism in fashion, you traced the movement back to its roots in art. What was your inspiration for the book, and what were some of the most interesting findings you discovered?

Elyssa Dimant: To be totally honest, I was inspired to write the book because I felt that the subject of Minimalism as it pertained to fashion had been omitted from fashion scholarship, for the most part. The word ‘ minimalist’ is so often used in fashion criticism, but it has kind of avoided formal definition previous to this point. Though Rebecca Arnold has presented a compelling examination of 1990s sartorial minimalism, in various forums, I felt it was important to trace the genesis of the style—artistically and culturally—in order to clarify its relationship to minimalist design in other mediums and to understand its relevance and impact to movements of “(post-)modernity” in fashion. I suppose the most interesting discoveries emerged as a result of the study of product development across disciplines. For example, it was exciting to see the pared down shapes of Courreges and Cardin in the 1960s—executed as they were in luxury fabrics or new synthetics—adapted as minimalist staples by the emerging ready-to-wear market, and then to juxtapose them with Judd’ s Cadmium series – boxes that he had produced in quantity by industrial workshops, but exhibited in prestigious New York art galleries. I suppose that example also beckons the minimalist conflict between high and low, commercial and elite. As a more contemporary, and perhaps more straightforward example, there’s Nicolas Ghesquiere’s Spring 2008 collection, with its refined architectonic shapes, and it’s quite easy to see its kinship to objects produced by Ron Arad and Anish Kapoor. These all demonstrate a neo-minimalist aesthetic where surface embellishment is reduced in favor of a clean exterior, but more importantly, each of these objects is clarified through technologically-advanced materials and digital design programs. They each relate so strongly to their architecture…which I think is a very significant departure point for minimalism in general.

Photo by Mark Steinmetz

Minimalism and Fashion is not your first book - you published Fashioning Fabrics: Contemporary Textiles in Fashion in 2006, and have written for numerous publications including Vogue, Elle Canada, Selvedge and City. You also were a curatorial assistant at the Costume Institute, where you co-curated the exhibition WILD: Fashion Untamed. Did you always want to be a fashion writer and curator? How did you enter into the field?

I suppose, like many individuals who have always been interested in fashion, I wanted to design when I was a child. But as soon as I began to actually study the histories and theories of fashion, first at the University of Massachusetts under Patricia Campbell Warner and Susan Michelman, then with Patricia Mears and Lourdes Font at FIT, I think I was quite happy to make my way as a critic, whether as a curator, a writer or a journalist. I was certainly very lucky to be able to come on board at the Costume Institute full-time directly after graduate school – I learned more from just listening to Harold and Andrew discuss an object than from the countless texts and articles one tends to read as a student. In any case, I have benefited from the knowledge and generosity of several extraordinary mentors.

You actually left the Costume Institute to work for a fashion PR company. How did that compare to your experiences in the museum world? Would you ever want to back to working for a museum, or do you prefer to straddle the divide between fashion industry and fashion scholarship?

I actually think it’ s quite important to understand the mechanics of the fashion industry—the cycles of its production and promotion—in order to be a successful critic. I had the good fortune to work with Jaqui Lividini, who is an unbelievably creative and thoughtful person, so while the tempo of the work was quite different, I think that the spirit of wonderment when approaching all things fashion was still very much retained for me when I made the move into the private sector. As for where I will end up, I certainly will never be able to suspend my critical instincts when it comes to fashion, and have every intention of continuing as a part of the academic community for as long as it will have me. That said, I realize that there is a divide between the industry and the academic realm – one which is quite crucial to the academic’ s objectivity, actually – so I suppose the simplest answer to that question is that I’ m looking to land with a project or role that is more long-term…no matter how inspiring and enjoyable the Minimalism book experience may have been, it was a solo journey, and it’ s so important to be able to observe and create within a larger framework or community.

Photo by Marcus Tomlinson

The field of fashion studies is growing rapidly - NYC alone has at least six competing graduate programs that deal with fashion theory/history in some manner (FIT, Parsons, NYU, Bard Graduate Center, CUNY and the combined CH/Parsons Dec Arts program). Unfortunately, this rapid growth hasn't translated into a large number of available jobs - at least in the traditional sense of academia and museums. As someone who has successfully forged your own career path, what sort of advice can you give new scholars coming into the field? If someone wanted to publish a book like you have, how should they go about it?

I actually think it’ s a much more promising time to enter the field than when I graduated from FIT in 2003. There are more fashion exhibitions. Critical work in fashion is more widely accepted in the academic and cultural panorama and, most importantly, fashion has a more friendly interaction with other design disciplines and mediums. The best advice I can offer new scholars coming into the field is to be careful to regard fashion as its own artistic form—and learn from objects!—but second, to see fashion as it evolves in artistic culture and society overall. Don’ t let anyone tell you that fashion can’ t interact with photography, painting, sculpture, 3D modeling, or whatever in the broader academic realm because it also lends to function and utility. The more we allow fashion a place in academia among the other disciplines, the more venues will emerge to support that research, and hopefully more jobs can be created. Until then, students of this field will need to jumpstart their own careers – pitch exhibitions to small galleries, start publications such as this one, and try to contribute papers and critical work to forums that you respect and have learned from yourself. Working as a fashion academic, unless you’ re one of a very lucky few, is a self-starter career – you have to be open to translating that perspective to other mediums and skills and learning and growing wherever you can.

If someone wants to publish a book, especially if you’ re publishing as an independent author, you have to be very passionate about the subject and willing to invest a great deal of time and energy into putting that scholarship out there – with little compensation. And draw yourself very distinct boundaries within which the research and dialogue is contained.

What projects do you have in store for the future?

I am currently working on a follow-up manuscript for Harper Collins, which will be released late next year. Other than that, I have been fortunate in that I’ve been able to take on a lot of little inspiring, fun projects. I’ve been pursued by various firms and brands to consult, which I’ve really been enjoying.

Photo by Fabien Baron

A Textile Arts Community Grows in Brooklyn

Summer Camp at the Textile Arts Center

I first heard about the Textile Arts Center (TAC) from my friend Isa Rodrigues, a textile conservator and fiber enthusiast who works there as the studio manager. She kept telling me I needed to meet the "TAC girls" because not only were they young and cool, they were doing something that nobody else in the city was doing - singlehandedly crafting together a vibrant community of like-minded people interested in textiles and fiber arts. I stopped by one of their free open-house weaving sessions that they have every last Friday of the month, and I was thrilled with the beauty of the space, the incredible looms, the colorful spools of yarn and the welcoming feeling that greeted me. Once I met Visnja Popovic and Owyn Ruck, the co-founders of TAC, I was instantly swept up by their enthusiasm and commitment towards forging a place where textile experts, novices, enthusiasts, and artists can learn and practice this most ancient of arts. Owyn took a moment out of her busy schedule to talk to Fashion Projects about their work and vision for the Textile Arts Center.

Fashion Projects: Recently TAC has gotten a lot of people in the local fashion and textile
 fields buzzing, even though it seems like you popped out of nowhere.
 Can you give us a little information on the backstory of the center 
and tell us about your gorgeous new space in Brooklyn?


Textile Arts Center: Buzzing?! Are they? That’s good to hear…I feel like we have our noses to the ground, pounding work out without taking a second to stop and see how much we’ve changed in the past year.

Textile Arts Center started just over a year ago in a small weaving studio in Park Slope. Visnja and I really wanted to expand to offer other programs, especially for adults, and create the “center” we envisioned. I think the main thrill was in bringing together everyone with a love for fibers, or even slightest interest, and creating the environment that was comfortable, fun and really conducive to making great work. The feeling of art school, without going back to art school.

We went through a long process of finding the right space, kind of with haste at one point… But we found this one after a few mishaps! And that’s what’s important. It felt like home immediately. Our move to Carroll St was in April and since then we’ve just sort of grown. I think a big part of that growth was feeling secure in what we were presenting to the public. The space speaks a lot for itself and we’ve been working hard to reach the right audiences with the confidence that we are doing something people could really love.


What is the overarching goal of TAC? How do you see the center fitting 
into the existing fashion and textile community in Brooklyn and New
 York City?


The whole DIY and fashion scene here is…intense. Growing up here (Brooklyn) I didn’t really ever imagine this happening, it hardly seems like the same place. But Brooklyn, and NYC in general, is amazing that way. There is always something new and exciting. People are constantly pushing boundaries here, and it’s really exciting to be a part of.

Fiber and textile arts have a stodgy stigma and one of our goals is to change that. Textiles are not only beautiful and fun to create, but also really important in our human history. Textiles touch practically everything in our lives and every industry. It’s frustrating, for example, that even those most knowledgeable in current fashion could not know the technical difference between a knit and a woven fabric! It’s important to understand how things are made, where they are coming from. We want to acknowledge that people can do it themselves, too. It’s not for a set of elite talent. Textiles are inherently social and community oriented and that should always be the attitude about textile appreciation in any form.


What are some of the classes you offer, and who is your intended 
audience? What are some of the classes, services and events that you 
hope to offer in the future?

We now offer quite a bit. In addition to the continuous Intro Weaving and Intro Screen Printing courses, the Fall courses include paper and book arts, sewing, knitting, dyeing, embroidery, quilting… We’ve really enjoyed shifting our focus to an adult audience, while finessing and perfecting our kids programs (Summer Camp and Afterschool). We want to reach anyone with interest in learning new skills, sharing their work, and being part of a larger community.

In the future, we want to keep the momentum going by consistently offering new class topics and more advanced courses. However, once that is going, our focus can come back a bit to the Gallery and fiber artists. We really have some great shows planned, as well as a textile artists residency program in the works. In addition, we’ll hopefully be adding a product line and a free program for underserved teens in portfolio development for art and vocational schools. I could go through the ideas constantly spewed out daily, but we’d be here awhile…



Brooklyn Mini-Skills: Natural Dyeing from tom hayes on Vimeo.

You have a very small team of people working at the Center, so it
 seems to really be a labor of love. How do you find that it’s working 
out? Are you looking for interns and volunteers? (something that I’m
 sure many Fashion Projects readers would like to know)

Boy is it a labor of love… Endless hours, but also endless fun. We’ve really created our ideal working life. There is never a shortage of people who want to be involved, and we love meeting new people. Some of our greatest advice and help has been 100% free. We really love this part of the community – textile lovers will do whatever they can for it and to be involved.

It’s hard when you are starting out to want to give up some dough to have hired help. But when we embarked upon the new space, growing rapidly, we quickly saw we needed real, solid help. We were drowning a bit! Both Isa (studio manager) and Kim (marketing assistant) started as free interns, devoting so much time, and are both now on staff. You don’t necessarily need a lot of people to run something like this, but you do need devotion and love for it. We’ve been lucky to have so many people around with this attitude.

We are always looking for interns and volunteers! Particularly coming up in the fall. We are aiming to be open 7 days a week, with late hours for artists, and need studio monitors we can trust in exchange for use of the studio. 



You’re participating in Fashion’s Night Out on September 10th, with an
 emphasis on Slow Fashion. In a way, this seems to be subverting FNO’s
 original purpose of spurring consumption by restoring consumer
 confidence and boosting the economy. (“Shop. For Something Good.” is 
their tagline.) What are you trying to gain and what message are you
 intending to spread by participating in this event?


I really thought hard about this when planning the event. The event started out as a small thing, since our Opening Party is the week after. But the feedback we were receiving from people was really positive so it kind of turned into something else entirely.

This positive feedback seemed to tell us there was a real place for this type of appreciation in fashion, that there are a lot of people that want to participate in FNO but not necessarily in the sense of pure consumerism.

I think FNO is great in many ways. The industry should not die out, designers need to be supported, and the economy does need a boost. There is no doubt about that. However, we didn’t feel right promoting blind consumerism. We are doing an event about the direction we think fashion should be taking, and IS taking, as we speak. Eco-fashion is the new thing…”green is the new black”, right?

As with all of our programs, the main objective is to educate. We wanted to support local Brooklyn/NYC designers that are making things by hand, with fabrics made in sustainable ways, with versatile, classic design sense. At the same time we wanted to make sure that people were walking away from the event with the understanding that “Sustainable Fashion” is not only about buying from designers who use organic fabrics. Yes, that is important, but the responsibility is on the consumer as well as the designer. “Slow Fashion” is buying what you need, what you love, buying locally, reusing and repurposing materials, learning about and knowing how to do-it-yourself…It’s imperative to understand the industry you are buying from and having the knowledge to make the right decisions of what and who you want to support with your well-earned cash.


As part of your commitment to Slow Fashion, you are also participating 
in the 6 Things challenge that was recently profiled in the NYT. Your 
blog about the challenge is
 fascinating as it reveals a lot of the anxiety, frustration, but
 ultimately liberation that you all are going through. Do you think 
that once you have finished the challenge your approach to your
 wardrobe will be radically altered?


I think so…I hope so! It’s hard to tell as in week one it still feels fine and relatively normal. Week 3 or 4 might be a different story.

I came across the 6 Items or Less project on Ecouterre.com and thought what Heidi and Stella had started was great, I was happy to see the coverage they’ve been receiving. It’s yet another good point to fashion lovers: to pay attention to what we buy and wear, and why we do. Fashion is an important part of self-expression, and has a psychological effect on most, but we need to be more aware of it. Why do we feel bad about ourselves if you don’t have the perfect outfit? Why should getting dressed in the morning be hard? Why do we feel we have “nothing to wear” with a closet of 100+ items. It’s just a great way to challenge yourself and dig a little deeper into your own psyche.

There have been a lot of complaints so far! But I think that doing it as a staff, a group, we are able to support each other and stay on track. I must admit, I felt like I was pulling teeth a bit, but I’m glad everyone agreed to do it. I love waking up and not thinking about it. I think we’ll all learn to be a bit more creative with what we already own, and appreciate the quality of what we buy.


Where do you envision TAC to be in 5 years? 10 years?

Hopefully it will still exist! It’s a little hard to imagine, but I can only hope that our classes and programs are always full, we have the grant funding to run the free programs we would like, we have a product line of beautiful woven and printed goods, and we never have to advertise ever again!

No, but really, we have a lot of ideas. We have huge goals, and we have the energy while we are young to take ideas and (attempt to) turn them into reality.

The ultimate goal is to be an accredited institution where students come to receive credit (so many fashion and textile programs in NYC don’t even have a weaving course!), where we can offer multiple free programs so everyone can join the community, and be a staple in the art world representing textile and fiber artists. ----------------- Textile Arts Center 505 Carroll Street Brooklyn, NY 11215 Phone: 718.369.0222 info@textileartscenter.com

Hours: Mon - Sat : 10am - 6pm Sunday: Closed

Sarah Scaturro