Lately I have been thinking about the notion of work. There are many reasons for this. I suppose the first being that right now I am doing a great deal of it. There is the professional work I do as an academic, the personal work I do as a caregiver and then the creative work I do as a writer and art director for a blog. When you work hard and with much effort work is called labor. This labor moves quickly and fast with little time for thinking or the daydreaming that seems so necessary to each of my endeavors. Little stumbling blocks become large frustrations rather than problems to be leisurely solved and learned from for the next time. This seems to be the condition of modern work. Some days it all blurs and I feel less like a human and more like a machine.
In this post I am wearing a dress by the design duo known as Aganovitch from their A/W 2013 collection. For the collection, Nana Aganovitch and Brooke Taylor were inspired by factories and old machines. The dress mimics the lines of an early twentieth century working class wardrobe with it’s voluminous long skirt and puffed up sleeves. Lines worked in bronze, black and violet with an asymmetrical silhouette, lush and cleverly bonded fabrics suggest the practicality and the mystery of a sophisticated machine.
Characterized as an “intelligent” fashion label, each of their collections is built around a narrative developed by Brooke, an essayist and philosophy graduate, and then realised in garments conceived and designed by Nana, a Central Saint Martins graduate. On the brands website and social media, references to art and literature abound and especially pertinent for this post: a concern with labor and working conditions. The pair designed a collection of clothes to take part in the May Day Riots in Central London. This year, in honor of International Workers Day, Nana and Brooke shared on Facebook the prototype for a clothing tag based on the classic icon for factory, a raised fist. The five digits represent five key points related to labor law. This tag on their clothing would indicate that whatever the factory or country of manufacture those five rights would be personally verified by Aganovitch.
When one takes time to research, daydream and reflect new ways of seeing old problems emerge. In the writing of this post I see that perhaps my professional life and creative life do not have to be so far apart. Perhaps I can make my work life more human if I explore how to combine the two. The more I delve into fashion the more I can see it is not incompatible with my commitment to social welfare. In fact it can be a powerful voice and tool. These activist designers have helped me to see that I do not have to sacrifice one passion for the other. That anarchy and a better solution can be created through elegance.
For more looks from this collection see my Pinterest Board, Accidental Icon: Aganovitch Work and Machines.
Your question–what is my relationship to my work and how do my clothes help to express it–is more layered than all the pieces of grey that I chose to don today. For a time my work was so creatively consuming that there was very little room for my personal life–and then, taking time each morning to create ensembles that expressed some combination of my mood and the needs of the day was really my only purely personal creative outlet. This was actually a life-line for me. Now, I have cut back my work to more sane levels, doing a different job for my organization, and yet that has entailed less professional creativity–and I miss that. Oddly, I am less inspired with how to express myself personally with my clothing at the same time. Because I don’t need to in the same way? Or am I just still floundering to find a new sense of style that matches my new position? I am not sure….Maybe a bit of both.
So thoughtful and such interesting observation. I think it has to do with the per formative nature of clothes. I will be interested in hearing more about the transition.
Your question–what is my relationship to my work and how do my clothes help to express it–is more layered than all the pieces of grey that I chose to don today. For a time my work was so creatively consuming that there was very little room for my personal life–and then, taking time each morning to create ensembles that expressed some combination of my mood and the needs of the day was really my only purely personal creative outlet. This was actually a life-line for me. Now, I have cut back my work to more sane levels, doing a different job for my organization, and yet that has entailed less professional creativity–and I miss that. Oddly, I am less inspired with how to express myself personally with my clothing at the same time. Because I don’t need to in the same way? Or am I just still floundering to find a new sense of style that matches my new position? I am not sure….Maybe a bit of both.
So thoughtful and such interesting observation. I think it has to do with the per formative nature of clothes. I will be interested in hearing more about the transition.
At one time my clothing colors(neutrals, for the most part) were a symbol of my neutrality. I was doing work in the social services field. The power delegated to me was threatening enough: bright colors would have been a distraction.
Once I worked at a small boutique store whose clients were higher income "travelers." I noticed that when I wore fabrics such as ikat or mudcloth there was more rapport.
In a small global world with chaos, could cross cultural communication evolve from dress? Thank you for this stimulating post.
Out of the comfort zone for sure.
That is a very large and very important question. One to be considered by us all.
What a setting for this post. The shades take the message to higher levels. You never disappoint.
Out of the comfort zone for sure.
That is a very large and very important question. One to be considered by us all.
‘Anarchy and a better solution can be created through elegance.’ I LOVE that
Well stated no? I actually think it came originally from Coco Chanel.
‘Anarchy and a better solution can be created through elegance.’ I LOVE that
Well stated no? I actually think it came originally from Coco Chanel.
The hair, the earrings, the colours –YES!!
Thought I would try something new.
The hair, the earrings, the colours –YES!!
Thought I would try something new.
Your thought process and values are as beautiful as you and your background in these photos.
Beautifully stated. A wordsmith in action.
You comments are more like poetry, like the way you move in your clothes.
Your thought process and values are as beautiful as you and your background in these photos.
You comments are more like poetry, like the way you move in your clothes.
As a freelance journalist who’s been working from home since the 1980s, I find I can get lazy about dressing, if I am not careful. But I love clothes, and make a point of wearing things I love every day. And that way, I am always turned out when I leave my home. I consider myself a creative person, and want my clothing to reflect that, whether I’m teaching a writing workshop, interviewing someone for a magazine story, or just proofreading a column in my home office. My clothes need to be comfortable, so I choose things with flow as well as unusual lines. Though I’m not overweight, I am not comfortable in tight, body-hugging clothing, and I believe I look taller and more elegant in clothes that have drape and movement.
Beautifully stated. A wordsmith in action.