Kaftan, tunic, serape... I like the simplicity of the construction of these garments - based on single squares and rectangles - and the resulting fit. Two contemporary artists/designers inspired by these restrained patterns come to mind.
Mexico City-based designer Carla Fernandez gains inspiration from the indigenous clothing of her country. Geometric patterns demonstrate an economy of materials as the dimensions are based on those of the backstrap loom on which the cloth is woven, and folding rather than cutting is used to manipulate cloth. Fernandez works directly with artisans through her fashion line and mobile laboratory, Taller Flores, to design and produce clothes that combine traditional and modern processes.
According to fashion writer, Sass Brown, by "having a pedagogy for artisans to communicate through design, Fernandez's philosophy is that tradition is not static and fashion is not ephemeral." In her book, Taller Flora (download here), she describes how a fresh approach to indigenous clothes resulted from her studies in art history that included avant garde movements like Russian Constructivism that merged with design.
The geometry of Constructivist uniforms are also what influenced pioneering artist, Andrea Zittel. Along with every other mode of living - homes, furniture, vehicles, food - her clothing experiments adhere to strict guidelines for prolonged periods of time. Her Personal Panel and A-Z uniform series not only reference the utopian ideals of these movements, but also a method of assembly that rejects the cutting of fabric, altering it from its orginal form. In her Smockshop project, she works with artists to produce income by reinterpreting her single panel garment into something original, working by her principle that 'rules make us more creative.' She references the indigenous Huipil form as a basis for one iteration of the smock.
Click here to see more of the latest uniforms produced at A-Z West, her Institute of Investigative Living, located in Joshua Tree.
Now from the County Seat Supplies collection:
silk stripe blouse, two square panels
knit serape, single square panel with added shawl collar
hand-knit bird tunic, two rectangular panels
cotton blend huilpil-form crop top, two panels each bisected at a diagonal
