Is Home Sewing Killing Fashion?
I was idly flipping through some "pieces of flair" on Facebook (embarrassing to admit, but true) and one of the "button" designs was this: Home Sewing is Killing Fashion - with a drawing of a sewing machine with teeth rather than a presser foot.
Is Home Sewing Killing Fashion? Hmm. I guess you'd have to start with the concept of "Fashion". If "Fashion" is strictly the mass-produced sweatshop made crap that is generally found in stores, then yes I suppose that we, the "home sewing" crowd might be posing a bit of a threat.
In the interest of trying to be fair to different points of view, I can imagine a couple of ways in which I might be sympathetic to the button's designer.
First, that many consider the wave of "hack, slash and stitch" projects that seem to have proliferated over the past few years (1000 to remake a t-shirt/jeans/skirt/quilt/curtain, etc.) have encouraged a lot of very poor quality workmanship in the name of "fashion" that has only a very faint resemblance to the incredible quality of most garments that come from a couture house - even the ones that look deconstructed. Fair enough.
Perhaps some design students also feel that it is invalid for anyone with a sewing machine making their own clothing and accessories who has not had formal training to call themselves a fashion designer. Again, it's understandable that they might feel that way.
But I think overall such a statement is terribly shortsighted. Where did Coco Chanel learn to make hats and clothing? She was certainly highly skilled but I don't believe she ever studied with another couturier. There have certainly been Project Runway finalists (Laura...the tall pregnant redhead comes to mind) who had other occupations besides design and would qualify for the term "home sew-er" prior to getting launched by Project Runway. And many successful designers (too many for me to list here) certainly list learning to sew at home as the beginning of their interest in fashion design.
I wish I could track down the originator of that design to get their take on the question. Comments, anyone?
Is Home Sewing Killing Fashion? Hmm. I guess you'd have to start with the concept of "Fashion". If "Fashion" is strictly the mass-produced sweatshop made crap that is generally found in stores, then yes I suppose that we, the "home sewing" crowd might be posing a bit of a threat.
In the interest of trying to be fair to different points of view, I can imagine a couple of ways in which I might be sympathetic to the button's designer.
First, that many consider the wave of "hack, slash and stitch" projects that seem to have proliferated over the past few years (1000 to remake a t-shirt/jeans/skirt/quilt/curtain, etc.) have encouraged a lot of very poor quality workmanship in the name of "fashion" that has only a very faint resemblance to the incredible quality of most garments that come from a couture house - even the ones that look deconstructed. Fair enough.
Perhaps some design students also feel that it is invalid for anyone with a sewing machine making their own clothing and accessories who has not had formal training to call themselves a fashion designer. Again, it's understandable that they might feel that way.
But I think overall such a statement is terribly shortsighted. Where did Coco Chanel learn to make hats and clothing? She was certainly highly skilled but I don't believe she ever studied with another couturier. There have certainly been Project Runway finalists (Laura...the tall pregnant redhead comes to mind) who had other occupations besides design and would qualify for the term "home sew-er" prior to getting launched by Project Runway. And many successful designers (too many for me to list here) certainly list learning to sew at home as the beginning of their interest in fashion design.
I wish I could track down the originator of that design to get their take on the question. Comments, anyone?
posted by Katrina at
2:06 PM
3 Comments:
Hey Katrina
Maybe it was a retail clothing manager that created the "flair" and their sales are just tanking right now. After all, if you're good enough to sew quality, it is less expensive to make quality garments than to sew quality garments. Notice I said "quality", not that throwaway cheap trendy clothing.
Laura
PS Don't knock "pieces of flair". That's where I found all the artwork for my pink ribbon flower ornaments :-)
I was embarrassed to admit it because I was really supposed to be working hard at that particular moment! I wondered where you found all those great designs - what a fab idea!
I hear you on the quality clothing retail. I've been told many, many times by a certain sector of the population that "you can't save money sewing" (for these individuals, that obviously was considered the only reason to sew). When prompted for a reply, like you, I always pointed out I wasn't making Walmart clothes! The clothes *I* really want cost thousands of dollars...
As a fashion student in Nyc, I'm so with you on the importance of home sewing. If more people instead of less were proficient with a needle and thread, they wouldn't stand for the poor quality of garments being sold at exorbitant prices, which is put up with because of brand image, and status. Home sewing can offer the ability to appreciate beautiful craftsmanship, and can make people realize the importance of less in quantity but more in style and quality.
A note on Chanel: She actually was formally trained, she grew up in an orphanage sewing, and then worked for a tailor before her slew of lovers helped establish her as first a milliner, then a couturier. Couturier is the french word for a tailor.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home