clothes as ideas

July 20, 2006 9:55 PM

Conceptual dresses in leaves, feathers and more. Shoes of glass, cultural tradition and ideas.
posted by nickyskye (10 comments total)

Excellent. Thanks!
posted by dobbs at 10:25 PM on July 20, 2006

I am having a crush on nickyskye. S/He's quickly becoming one of the more excellent contributors in threads, and now FPPs.

Thanks for the cool links!
posted by five fresh fish at 11:34 PM on July 20, 2006

Those tiny shoes for the cruelly bound feet are to cry for.
posted by Cranberry at 11:41 PM on July 20, 2006

The Inflatable Dress.

Great post, btw.
posted by Slithy_Tove at 12:36 AM on July 21, 2006

This reminds me of the meat dress (not safe for vegetarians).
posted by persona non grata at 5:19 AM on July 21, 2006

Great post Nickyskye. But that's nothing surprising, from you.
posted by arcticwoman at 5:50 AM on July 21, 2006

I'll happily jump on the nickyskye love wagon.

The artist of the "meat dress" also made a human hair and silk "Chemise de Nuit" and a fantastical, motorized cage-crinoline-hoop-skirt entitled Remote Control, wherein the wearer is whipped around the room by an unseen controler.

Rebecca Horn's "Finger Gloves" and "White Body Fan" also come to mind.

Thanks, nicky.
posted by xod at 7:46 AM on July 21, 2006

Oh wow, What a delightful surprise to find this morning. Aww, a happy love wagon with fun creativity. I love you too. :)

fff, Am female. Thank you for your kind compliment. Have long appreciated and enjoyed your contributions since the days of the Me So Gourment thread.

Cranberry, Aren't those bound feet shoes insane? I saw a very elderly Chinese woman in a nursing home a few years back, in a wheelchair. Her feet had been bound into tiny triangles and she was unable to walk. I'd never seen that before and could barely turn my eyes away in horrified fascination. What an incredible prison that must have been for the billion women who survived it for a thousand years. It's the kind of thing that gives songs like "Walk a Mile in My shoes" and "These Boots Are Made for Walking" a whole new meaning.

persona non grata, Whoa, that meat dress is wonderfully gross art.

xod, Neat additions. My fav conceptual art outfit is that witty Remote Control dress. Must have been what it felt like to live in the days of yore when bustles and panniers were the thing and rules of etiquette were the buttons to press.

The White Body Fan reminds me of a mini Christo to wear.

Just remembered other odd visionary clothes: Bjork's Swan Dress and Dorothy's Ruby Slippers. In the 60's there was an amazing dress designer, named Diana Dew, who made outfits with electric panels that lit up and flashed. Way cool in the disco. Surprised there aren't more electric items to wear these days.
posted by nickyskye at 9:45 AM on July 21, 2006

Another cool post, nickyskye - thanks!

The intersection of conceptual dresses and food in this thread put me in mind of a few things ... Andy Warhol's famous soup dress, and a rather fun contemporary pop spinoff, candy wrapper dresses.

There are some other art/fashion/food experiments that come to mind ... Cosimo Cavallaro's cheese sportcoat and Jean Paul Gaultier's Pain Couture - where bread & fashion met.

Hussein Chalayan is another contemporary designer that plays with conceptual fashion.
posted by madamjujujive at 11:00 PM on July 21, 2006

Loved the candy wrapper dresses mjjj! Way cool! Thanks for the fun links.
posted by nickyskye at 1:55 PM on July 22, 2006