“When I started making clothes for my line Y’s in 1977 all I
wanted was for women to wear men’s clothes. I jumped on
the idea of a coat guarding and hiding a woman’s body. I
wanted to protect the woman’s body from something- maybe
from men’s eyes or a cold wind.””
-Yohji Yamamoto
I was privileged to have been one of the artists chosen by Harpers Baazar Magazine to travel to Paris and attend the Chanel's Fall/Spring show. Inspired by the textiles, and the philosophy that can be found in fashion gave rise to Taupeline Jacket, whereby the juxtaposition of the masculine material against the female body gives rise to a plethora of interesting contexts.
Travelling to Paris and having had the opportunity for tours with the team at Chanel,
I had an intimate look into Chanel’s life and her development process.
Many has coined her as being the woman
Many has coined her as being the woman
who revolutionised how women dressed in the 1930s. She had appropriated
the fisherman’s jacket and also the sailor’s jacket into wear for women.
She had also taken the material of tweed from Ireland and incorporated it
into her Jackets, making them durable and practical against harsh elements.
In this project I intend to marry these two fascinations culminating into an
artwork that expresses my sentiments of Tarpeline, a material that is heavily
used in construction and immigration, that is not at all associated with high
society and the iconic symbol of the jacket, which is universally worn and
contains a treasure trove of imagery and symbolic meaning.
