CdG's F/W 2018 collection was described as "over-the-top fabulosity".
There were frills, crinolines, lace, flowers and fantasy.
Rei Kawakubo said she had been reading Susan Sontag's 1964 essay, "Notes on Camp", and the collection was inspired by Sontag's vision of Camp being a creative movement and sensibility.
This is an article written by Osman Ahmed, who states, "As someone who has been described as camp since infancy, I for one couldn't be more pleased about the arch return of camp". He provides a good analysis of Sontag's essay alongside the CdG collection garments.
'Notes on Camp' was American writer Susan Sontag's first major work, in which she considered the meanings and connotations of the word 'Camp'.
Sontag wrote, "..the essence of Camp is its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration." Camp's spirit is one of extravagance. She thought the origins of Camp were to be found in the 18th century, gothic novels, artificial ruins and the like.
Here is a link to Sontag's 'Notes On Camp', if you would like to give it a go.
Sontag stated that 'Camp' hadn't previously been written about, "Apart from a lazy two-page sketch in Christopher Isherwood's 1954 novel 'The World in the Evening'. (The word did appear in a 1909 version of the Oxford English Dictionary, where it was associated with the effeminate and the homosexual, as well as all things flamboyant. Sontag's essay enabled the word 'Camp' to enter into the 60s cultural vocab.)
Isherwood's novel centers around a bisexual widower named Stephen Monk, who
flees his second marriage in Los Angeles to live with his “aunt” Sarah – a close
family friend – in a small Quaker community outside Philadelphia. Not long after
his arrival at the commune, Stephen gets hit by a car and must undergo regular
physical therapy at home; his therapist, a homosexual man named Charles Kennedy,
arrives one day for a routine check-up and the two discuss camp.
I think this quote is an aspect of the "lazy two-page sketch" Susan Sontag referred to.
CHARLES: “In any of your voyages au bout de la nuit, did you ever run
across the word camp?”
STEPHEN: “I’ve heard people use it in bars. But I thought. . .”
CHARLES: “You thought it meant a swishy little boy with peroxided hair,
dressed in a picture hat and a feather boa, pretending to be Marlene Dietrich? Yes, in queer circles, they call that camping. It’s all very well in its place,
but it’s an utterly debased form. . . What I mean by camp is something much
more fundamental. You can call the other Low Camp, if you like. . . what
I’m talking about is High Camp. High Camp is the whole emotional basis
of the ballet, for example, and of course Baroque art.”
[…]
STEPHEN: “What about Mozart?”
CHARLES: “Mozart’s definitely a camp; Beethoven, on the other hand, isn’t.”
STEPHEN: “Is Flaubert?”
CHARLES: “God, no!”
STEPHEN: “But El Greco is?”
CHARLES: “Certainly.”
(Isherwood wasn't to write candidly about his own sexuality until after the Stonewall Riots of 1969, which were a series of demonstrations by members of the gay community in response to a police raid at Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. These riots assisted in igniting the gay liberation movement.)
A few years ago, I undertook a CSM Foundation course for my own personal/professional development, and enjoyment. One particular project related to language and interaction. I chose to design an outdoor performance piece, inspired by the Christopher Isherwood quotation, "I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking." I never actually carried out my concept, but this was my plan.
Oscar Wilde epitomised the late-Victorian dandy, an "upper-class, overly educated, impeccably dressed aesthete and a person prone to same-sex attraction." (Ellis Hanson, 'Decadence and Catholicism'.) Wilde dressed flamboyantly in outrageous colours and fabrics, which upset Victorian conservative conventions.
The Alexander McQueen F/W 2017 menswear collection was inspired by Oscar Wilde, the dandy. Fabulous garments referenced significant moments in Wilde's lifetime, particularly his time spent in London and Paris.
The collection was revealed via a Lookbook as opposed to a runway event.
These two garments intrigue me. I have read that there was an old French phrase 'se camper', which translated as 'to posture' or 'peacocking'.
Compare this jacket with the one Oscar is wearing in the above photo where he is lounging on the sofa.
A video was also put out with the Lookbook.
Sontag wrote, "Wilde was a transitional figure. The man who, when he first came to London, sported a velvet beret, lace shirts, velveteen knee-breeches and black silk stockings, could never depart too far in his life from the pleasures of the old-style dandy. This conservatism is reflected in The Picture of Dorian Gray". Wilde's philosophical novel published in 1891, was a revised and extended version of his original 1890 novella. Wilde's dandy is divided among the 3 main characters: Dorian Gray, Basil Hallward and Lord Henry. The dandy is made up of aspects of these three characters:
- Henry's aesthetic philosophy
- Basil's compassion and appreciation of avant-garde art
- Dorian's desire for pleasure and adventure
In 2001, British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare presented an installation at the Stephen Friedman Gallery in London, comprising of 12 large-format photographs inspired by the 1945 film based on Wilde's novel. The film, directed by Albert Lewin, doesn't sustain the rich complexity of Wilde's novel, as the screenplay is sanitised of the slightest whiff of the homosexuality of its main character, and the beautifully handsome Dorian of the novel, takes on the pale immobile face of a mannequin, with only the lips moving.
Here is a link to view the film, if so interested.
More information about the Wildean dandy
Shonibare's installation worked with the foundations of Lewin's film. Each photograph is a reproduction of a particular scene. The characters are arranged in recognisable poses and clothing. Black and white equates to the film, except the one image where the portrait of a deformed Dorian is in colour, as it is in the film. Shonibare himself, portrays the character of Dorian.
When questioned about representing himself as the main character in his photographic installations. Shonibare said, "Instead of talking about narcissism, I would say that in my work I explore the metaphorical possibilities of my own image. First of all, as an artist I consider myself a maker of fiction. Therefore, the character in my work is, strictly speaking, not me but a fictional character to whom I lend my face. Dressing-up enables me to separate myself from my own image and, at the same time, to regain control of it."
Dressing-up is always a great activity.
As Oscar said, "One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art."
To wear a work of art, take in Viktor & Rolf's wonderful A/W 2015 'Wearable Art' collection held in a gallery at the Palais de Tokyo.
Some of the garments were unfastened from the models and hung on an expansive white wall.
Would you like to know how to go about balancing frames and canvases in clothing, like Viktor & Rolf have? Take in what the Cutting Class have to say about it. They have a very good understanding about how clothes hang together.
I have always been intrigued with this concept in one of my Pattern Drafting books.
A Piece Of Cloth
The Blank Canvas outfit
Using a blank canvas to create a "wearable work of art" piece.
The blank canvas...
The representation of the work of art....
The top and skirt sections are attached.
The wearable work of art...it's kind of toga/kimono like.
Leigh Bowery, apart from being described as 'The Ultimate Camp Hero', was also referred to as a "walking artform", or as Boy George said "modern art on legs".
Fascinating guy, born 1961, died 1994 of an AIDS-related complication.
Camp is described as a sensibility, theatrical, an exaggeration..., which is totally Leigh Bowery.
It is recorded that Boy George also said "Bowery's outrageous performances never ceased to impress or revolt."
This video has Bowery introducing various outfit designs, giving you some idea of what he was about.
Now, this next video is quite something. It's known as 'The Birthing Performance'. Nicola Bateman, Bowery's longtime companion, who he married 7 months before his death, is participating in the performance. They must have been quite a team together.
Sontag's essay served as the foundation document for their annual exhibition, which Andrew Bolton curated in his superb style.
He says, "Camp is a noun, adjective and verb. It's exaggeration and artifice. It's playful and childlike. But it has also been subversive, powerful and political. Camp is rooted in the grand gesture, yet it's terribly nuanced."
This is a great link. Click on 'Exhibition Overview' and watch the first video, 'Camp:Notes on Fashion Gallery Views'. Andrew Bolton shares excellent information about the exhibition.
...and, this link provides lot's of fun information
In this Vogue link, Bolton talks of tracing the word camp back to the French 'se camper' meaning to strike an exaggerated pose, and its origins in the flamboyant posturing of the French court under Louis XIV and his Versailles, where everything was pose and performance, relating to what I previously wrote about 'se camper'.
https://www.vogue.com/article/costume-institute-2019-exhibition-camp-notes-on-fashionBolton also comments on what he considers the first mention of 'camp', in a letter dated 1869, sent by Lord Arthur Clinton to his lover Frederick Park, a cross-dresser known as Fanny. Fanny's partner in cross-dressing was Earnest Bolton, known as Stella. Fascinating story. Want to know more, read this link..
The Met exhibition presented as exhibit dedicated to them. There is something so lovely about this, the fabric of each dress, the style of the dresses, and the bonnets. I love the bonnets!
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| Earnest Bolton on the left, Frederick Park on the right. |
I love the image in the 3/10 one, McQueen's debut Givenchy 1997 'Search for the Golden Fleece' collection. An amazing collection in gold and white, terrific tailoring (a McQueen thing) and cool corsetry.
This is a wonderful video of the show. First of all I thought why is it in black and white, but it actually seems to add a wonderful sense of drama. I started to imagine this whole scene of intrigue and human relations going on with the various models. There's also a great vibe of Maria Callas.
The male models played their part as well.
I was doing a cover in a Yr.7 class this morning. This delightful drawing was on the wall...
Any list of the best Camp films in the history of cinema will always feature a film or two by the independent filmmaker, John Waters. Some consider him the King of Camp film. Sontag wrote in her essay, "the whole point of camp is to dethrone the serious" John Waters' films do that.
Pink Flamingos is considered Waters magnum opus, with counterculture drag queen Divine (Harris Glenn Milstead) starring in the main role, as he did in many of Waters films. Divine was Leigh Bowery's hero.
John Waters is also a huge fan of Rei Kawakubo. I think he may say "an obsessed fan", which I can appreciate.
My final reference to Sontag's essay is her finding camp in the Flash Gordon comics.
A camp sensibility was definitely delivered in the 1980 Flash Gordon film, directed by Mike Hodges. It was similar to camp style of the 1960s TV series Batman.
The music was composed, performed and produced by Queen, and the production, costumes and sets were designed by Danilo Donati, who had previously delivered glorious work for both Fellini and Pasolini. Max von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, Topol and Richard O'Brien starred and they all looked they were just having a blast!
Any film buffs interested in reading more about Flash Gordon the film, take this link.
SLTSLTBsigning off from Camp.
