It’s about fashion’s deeper purpose …

CLOTH, Construct, CULTURE: fashion builds a story showcases exquisite collections from contemporary international designers. The exhibition, which is featured as one of the top 10 shows in The Oregonian Fall Arts 2023 picks by Briana Miller, explores how culture and identity are shaped through fashion. The show features vanguards in fashion with strong practices reflecting cultural, ecological, and sociological issues such as Kyle Denman, Isabella Diorio, Korina Emmerich (Puyallup), Karen Glass, Alena Kalana, Ruree Lee, Maital Levitan, Abiola Onabulé, and Yun Qu.

Framed in storytelling, “CLOTH” examines issues around the environment, multiculturalism, identity, and human connection, while calling attention to victimized and marginalized communities. Exploring deeper purpose within fashion and its role in our culture, this show is designed to offer an educational experience and intelligent context for how the construct of cloth can tell a story through design, triggering conversations regarding these deeper issues without losing focus on its aesthetic appeal.  With over 50 objects of exquisitely created looks, typically not seen in off-the-rack fashion, “CLOTH” reveals that innovative flair and socio-cultural narratives are not mutually exclusive.

I’ve had the desire to see contemporary fashion exhibits of designers who are among the living, emerging and established, it seems for an eternity. As curator, I am thrilled to witness the work by this select group of designers whose practice is not about ‘cut and sew and sell’, instead, about beauty, concept, meaning, and why it matters to create. I am humbled to be in the audience.

Skilled with technical composition, their body of work is mesmerizing and cultural savvy, while sending a strong message, often reaching viewers otherwise not engaged within the art world’s aesthetic discourse.

What’s fascinating, hmm … maybe disturbing, is that the purpose and meaning behind a designer’s body of work is lost on society, particularly at point of consumption. When you are shopping and select an item, you do not know the creative intent of that garment, nor do most people care. But if we understood the thinking, vision, or thematic substance of a garment, and the designer’s ecological practice, we may value clothes differently. Fashion can have a deeper purpose and meaning, one of appreciation, conservation, and contribution to culture.

Exhibition Details

CLOTH, Construct, CULTURE: fashion builds a story, curated by Rhonda P. Hill, 24 October 2023—24 January 2024, Parallax Art Center, Portland, Oregon, USA

#clothconstructculture

Feature image: Yun Qu, Karen Glass (beyond exit sign), “CLOTH, Construct, CULTURE” behind-the-scenes installation, Parallax Art Center | photo by Rhonda P. Hill