The location of my photoshoot is just as important to my vision as my designs themselves. Mary A Whalen an 1930s oil tanker located in the dock neighborhood of Red Hook, Brooklyn in New York City. She is a relic of the neighborhood's industrial roots that have weathered the storm of luxury development that plagues other valuable landmarks in the city. Beautiful brownstone and brick townhouse leveled to make way for 30+ floor apartments buildings made with cheaper materials, devoid of traditional design aesthetic.
My clothes harken back to a time of traditional athleticwear, a time that predates polyester. I forced myself to use tradition materials - wool and silk - to create clothing that you can move in. Devoid of reliance on stretch fabric, we have to deploy tradition techniques. Darts, pleats, raglan sleeves.
On the surface, you see the bold red and black exterior, only, the energy changes when you enter the boat's kitchen. The predominate color can evade no eyes. The color was all the rage in Europe as Egyptomania hit around the 1880s.
The color was THE color in the 1930s when our MARY A. WHALEN was built. It lingered on for some decades and then fell strongly out of favor, sometimes referred to as "institutional green" associated with the DMV, police precincts and hallway tile in old public schools.
To be clear, I discovered this boat only after completing my collection. Order is irrelevant because it transformed my understand of my own designs. My designs came to take on an even greater importance. Design is a living, breathing animal.
