Wearable Art

Wearable art is the very definition of what we do at Katie Blauer. Through the process of individually designing and hand making every pair of shoes, we’re able use avant garde materials in a way that would never be able to be mass produced, and therefore consider each pair a unique work of wearable art. I love this concept and perk up when I see other artists creating pieces with a similar mentality.

Just last night, I caught the premiere episode of Mad Fashion on Bravo from my hotel room in Seattle, and had a good laugh relating to the premise of past Project Runway contestant Chris March’s new business venture. Each episode, the eccentric team at Chris March Designs sets out to create one-of-a-kind outfits for high-profile clientele looking to wow the room at their next big event. March’s aesthetic might be a bit flamboyant for some tastes, but his level of creativity is definitely one to admire and his work is also a perfect example of true wearable art.

I was pleasantly surprised by another sighting of wearable art recently while strolling the Burlington Mall, one of my old haunts outside Boston. In one of the halls a fashion exhibit comprised of many non-textile garments was on display, aptly titled Wearable Art and presented by my own alma mater, Mass Art. While I was unable to attend the corresponding fashion show, the Assistant Professor of Fashion Design explained on their website, “The students and I can’t wait to fit traffic cones, 3-D glasses, molded vinyl records and more on our special models. No one is expecting silk charmeuse or duchess satin – it’s all recycled, sustainable, eco-friendly wearable art!”

I was really impressed by the craftsmanship of the unique pieces I saw at that mall that day and so I snapped a few pics of my favorites – one of them being this chunky black overcoat intricately woven out of generic trash bags! Just a few days later I was admiring an Isabel Marant Spring 12 runway show post on fashiontoast and found a collection of garments with an almost identical texture. The timing of these events proves that the similarity is pure coincidence and I love how pairing the student work with the runway version gives even more validity to the ingenuity of wearable art.