Project Hallway

Each week, I get the Sunday edition of the New York Times delivered to my door, usually in a heavy thud as the paper boy slings it up the stairs with all the force he can muster, the hurling mass heavy enough to knock someone unconscious, or, as the case may be, bring me to consciousnesses through deep sleep. Given my current economic state, I really should just read it online, but I like the smell, and the discovery of the unknown while flipping through the pages, my fingers collecting soot from the ink, as I drink my coffee and eat my glutten free toast. Seldom do I read the official “news” portion, reserving my energy and eyes for the style, arts, books, and travel sections. This morning two things in particular caught my eye. The first was a story about figure-8 car racing in the Sports section, and the second was McQueen in the Style section in Bill Cunningham’s photographs from Fashion Week.

Both articles reflect the same idea, as aptly phrased by the NYTimes, “No Room for Hesitation.” Ramon grew up around the figure-8 dirt track, his father racing a stock-car at the local-speedway. While the dirt-track Ramon frequented at a child now only runs as an oval—I can only assume for fatality’s sake—the excitement still gleams in his eyes when we occasionally spectate. Even if it is a “red-neck” activity, anyone who goes will feel it too.

But, Is the rush and thrill of the adrenaline not great enough when you just go in a circle, or wind your way around a road-course? While it is pretty clear how in figure-8 racing hesitation becomes weakness— a pile-up of metal—in Fashion, hesitation becomes message lost. Voice disappears in inconsistency. You must believe in your own work in order for people to buy-into the idea, and later buy the garment. Hesitation is something that I never recall seeing in any of McQueen’s collections, in-fact, I would say it was exactly the opposite. He never played it safe. In fact, I don’t think he ever “played-it,” at all. Looking at many of the minimalistic shapes coming out of Fashion Week I feel left without inspiration and wonder. I feel bored. Many of these garments are trying to dress women, but I feel that I miss a story, a perspective, and a point. Perhaps I am short-sighted, and perhaps it is just my style. McQueen did more than just dress women, in fact, while I think that women were his muses, his inspiration and vision came only from within—an extremely rarity—and his artwork finding form in the physical world on women, not for them.

Ramon and I have been watching Season 2 of Project Runway on DVD from the library. I feel that I am hearing a lot about how Santinto can make interesting garments, he doesn’t know how to design for women. Upon hearing this, I realize that there is quite a disparity between the two. Designing for a woman includes considering her movement, shape and needs, not just making something that is unique, interesting, or beautiful. On Friday, while having the background noise of the E! channel on, I heard Heidi Klum discussing her clothing line for pregnant women, describing that she knows how a pregnant woman feels, and thus how to design for her. Well, I certainly wouldn’t agree with you, Heidi. You pull of pregnancy and fashion in an elegant way, and after having four children, I trust that you know better than I do how a pregnant woman feels, and feels in particular types of clothing. You have worn many.

So, where does this put McQueen? Clearly he was creating artwork, but did he also create his artwork for women? I cannot know undoubtedly, but I think that the answer lays in his ability to create and sew. Coming from a tailoring background learning how things fit and why is extremely important in making your clients happy, and as a Master Tailor, I think he was qualified with knowledge about how to make garments fit, move and work on a woman’s body. A lot of things he created for the runway didn’t make it back to fashion week on the guests because of their elaborate qualities. Honestly, I think that guests showing up to our most recent New York Fashion Week in McQueen’s runway looks would have put current designers’ collections to shame.

McQueen garments are not always easy to wear as subtlety within them is infrequently found. I applaud the women who did show up in his ready to wear. From the few images that I saw of the guests there were two, both wearing the futuristic prints from McQueen’s Spring 2009 collection.

Getting back to my own work, yesterday was one step forward and two steps back. Well, really it was one inch circularly knitted forward, and two inches frogged by the end of the day. To my great dismay, I discovered that even though I had followed my pattern to a T, the pattern was wrong. Why I didn’t stop to think about it, and add up the stitches while I was working, I can only chalk up to trust, or laziness, but at least I have learned something here, always do the math. Realizing that four extra stitches equated to an additional inch with this particular gauge and pattern, Ramon voted for going back the two inches necessary to finish the mistake. He is usually not one for the frogging, but made a strong case for it this time, and I couldn’t argue. Why spend so much time to get it wrong, when you can spend a little extra time in the middle repairing the damage. Ramon says, “One inch in, and two inches out equals 3 inches of progress.” I think this is a dose of optimism that I need.

I almost completed a second tailored shirt yesterday when I ran out of white thread. This seems to be a more common occurrence recently than ever before. Up until I this summer I have never, ever run out of thread on the spool. I hope to finish the tailored shirt by the end of the day after a trip to the fabric store, finishing my English homework, getting progress made on Ramon’s website, and calling back my dear friend who works for the EDD. I am hoping to have time for the Farmer’s Market too, but the way things are going … I think I may have a time management issue.

The racing story can be found here: Danger and Excitement Intersect at Figure Eight Racing

The racing story can be found here: On the Street by Bill Cunningham