It is going to flow from the wonderful CdG S/S 2004 collection 'Abstract Excellence.' As Sarah Mower stated regard this collection, "Technically speaking there was only one garment in Rei Kawakubo's collection: a skirt."
So, this blog is me, skirting around!
RK's 'Abstract Excellence' skirts were designed from shapeless, abstract forms. A non-woven polyester black trim used on some of the skirts contributed to a stiff sculptural effect, which I found inspirational.
The link below takes you to an interesting site, Transparent Drawing. TD encourages people to record deeper observations when drawing. To draw transparently is to show all sides of the object being drawn, not just the ones seen by the human eye.
This particular link relates to a visit to RK's Met exhibition and TD's observation of one of the Abstract Excellence skirts. It is such a cool sketch. I can see it being created in white and black organza.
http://www.transparentdrawing.com/tag/rei-kawakubo/
My own interpretation of a skirt from the collection. Flower printed pinwale corduroy.
They have been worn since the time humans gathered animal skins about their bodies.
Seek out a definition of skirt and you get something like this..."a woman's outer garment, fastened around the waist and hanging down around the legs." But, truth be known, skirts have been a garment for both sexes, and in many parts of the world still are. It tends to be the modern west, who seem to have a problem with men in skirts
Ancient Egyptian men wore skirts made of linen created from the flax that grew along the Nile River.
Alexander the Great conquered his known world in a skirt
Roman soldiers helped create an empire wearing skirts
Fiery Maori Warriors wear piu piu skirts with pride.
Men In Skirts, an exhibition curated by Andrew Bolton, was held at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 2002. It addressed the issue of how men wearing skirts are perceived in western society.
This site shows the skirts presented in the exhibition, and you can read the blurb concerning each one, which adds to the interest.
The V&A offered Fashion in Motion sessions on Friday nights. Watch a video of the session associated with the Men In Skirts exhibition via this site.
I attended a study day that The Costume Society held in connection with the exhibition. It was great and covered topics like Cutting a Tudor Jerkin, Liturgical Skirts, History of the Kilt and Cutting a gentleman's coat skirts. Right up my street!
A couple of guys attending the study were wearing skirts. I think one of them was involved with the business Utilikilts. He looked pretty cool in his modern take on a kilt, as I remember. 21st Century Kilts also offers a modern take on the garment.
My nephew Jamie and his groomsmen wore formal tartan kilts for his wedding attire. They looked wonderfully smart.
Rei Kawakubo loves tartan. The CdG SS2017 collection featured this amazing take on a tartan kilt.
My own take on it as a skirt.
I've also come across this other site concerning men and skirts. The author covers a bit of history and provides a long list of interesting skirt names. It is his section 'The Religious Thing' that sparked my notice, due to the image of the Tunic or Alb. It relates to one of the projects I referred to at the beginning of this blog.
https://sites.google.com/site/wwwsewroundcom/projects-people-participants/the-history-of-christianity-expressed-in-garment-form-2017
Interesting history is tied up with skirts.
Like this drawing of a girl's skirt made of wool yarn that was found in a Bronze age tomb in Denmark (Bronze Age spanned from approx. 2500-800 BC)
and a piece of fabric thought to have been part of a skirt belonging to Queen Elizabeth 1.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/07/queen-elizabeth-long-lost-skirt-found-church-altar-herefordshire/
How about 'Mad Men Explains the History of the Pencil Skirt.'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B2qFmWbaKg
Inspire you to make your own pencil skirt?
Try out the techniques offered in this video. It is American, so measurements are imperial. You need to convert yards to metres and inches to centimetres. Also need a bit of prior knowledge (eg princess seam) and pattern drafting/draping equipment, like a dress form. I would love to have a dress form like the one used in this video.
https://redesignyourclothes.com/2017/08/08/how-to-drape-a-high-waist-pencil-skirt/
Even skirt hemlines have a history! (Apparently the term "hemline" is relatively recent, as prior to 1930s a hemline was known as a skirt length.)
When I went looking for where hemlines are at for 2017, I came across this article from The Times. Hemlines for summer 2017 are "wonky". What does that say for where the present world economy is at? Anything to do with Trump? (Mind you, I like asymmetry)
I carry out various skirt projects at school.
My Yr.12 girls learn to draft a straight skirt block, then they design a skirt for a particular need. Their designed skirt must have at least 2 adaptations to the straight skirt block. Here is Evelyn's evidence of testing the fit and success of her straight skirt pattern.
Once the girls are satisfied with their straight block, they begin the design process work for their own designed skirt.
Evelyn looked at skirts she liked and analysed the appealing design features
When she finalised her concept, Evelyn produced a small scale mock-up.
Chantelle undertook her skirt project in a similar way.
The final one has been developed
and constructed. Good job Chantelle, very effectively stitched decoration.
My Yr. 9s can make a skirt for their project. One of the specifications is that it must be decorated in some way. Here are 2 students making a grand effort with their applied decoration. Love that painted night sky scene.
This one was a beauty. The student just loved drawing. It was fabulous when it was fully completed.
I tried to get a skirt project going with the staff. A couple of them expressed keen interest, but school life seemed to get so busy and it didn't eventuate...maybe next year.
I'm always making a new skirt!
Love the juxtaposition of wool and cotton gingham in this one, plus the fabric manipulation within the pleating.
Another favourite one, which also works with fabric manipulation, this time around the hem. A very versatile garment.
Sometimes I need to readjust a skirt for one reason or another. Like this one...
became this one.
Match the same shirt with a different skirt, wear to work or out to dinner celebrating a birthday.
Take 2 metres of rayon and without cutting a thing, sew up a cool summer skirt.
Just finished making my latest skirt. I was given a piece of appealing vintage lace and as you can see, it is rather transparent.
I thought it would make a good overskirt, which I can wear on top of some skirts I already have in the wardrobe. It will revitalize a long black skirt, a short black skirt, maybe even white shorts.
We took a trip to Melbourne during the year. This sculpture stands atop their Arts & Culture Centre. It is inspired by a dancer's skirt, the tutu.
Thought this to be a relevant question from NZ Listener's 10 Quick Questions for this week.
Final image for my last blog for 2017, goes to a special tree wearing a 'bow skirt' in celebration of Christmas.
Happy festive time to you all.
SLTSLTBsigning off for 2017, which has been a special year.
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