What made you want to become a shoe designer and how did you start out learning about design?

I’ve been designing since I could crawl but I focused more on Fine Art and Graphic Design, which I studied at Uni. I decided to become a shoe designer after spending years working as a Recruitment Consultant in the city. I had always loved shoes so I decided to channel my design ability in this direction. I quit my job in the city a week later and went to work for a shoemaker in East London.

What inspires you and what has inspired your latest collection?

Confident women with sex appeal, I find heels very sexual, and they change the way a women walks, the way she feels and her overall look. My AW12 boot collection is all about ‘Everyday luxury for women on the go’. I don’t think style and comfort are mutually exclusive.

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PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TOURIST BOARD PARTNERS WITH EXCITING MISS TURKS & CAICOS UNIVERSE BEAUTY ORGANIZATION:

Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands; Wednesday, December 19th 2012- The Turks and Caicos Tourist Board announced today its partnership with the newly established Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Beauty Organization Ltd. (MTCUBO), to produce the upcoming 2013 Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Beauty Pageant, under the direction of Saint George Fashion House (SGFH).

The newly incorporated Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Beauty Organization has a board of highly educated, qualified and vibrant minds that are all dedicated to a new standard for the franchise. They have brought to the table a plan; one that incorporates a new logo for the organization, new rules and regulations for contestants, new judging criteria that mimics that of the Miss Universe franchise and strategic plans to produce a calendar of events that is not only exciting to watch, but to be a part of.

The MTCUBO Board consists of: Kazz Forbes, President and Managing Director; Tremmaine Harvey, Vice President and Legal Advisor; Shaveena Been, Financial Controller and Recruitment and Training Officer; Takara Bain, Public Relations Officer and General Secretary; Romell Phillips, Production Coordinator; Weinika Ewing, Head of Sales and Marketing and Recruitment and Training Officer; Romaine Missick, Head of Image and Beauty; Samantha Williams – Glinton, Head of Entertainment and Cynclair Musgrove, Head of Personal Development.

In a brief statement, Kazz Forbes, President and Managing Director of MTCUBO said, “The Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Beauty Organization will  set unprecedented standards for the Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Beauty Pageants and our events. We as an organization don’t want to just produce a beauty queen or an ambassador, but a legacy of women that will act as activist, role models and motivators for future generations of women from the Turks and Caicos Islands.”

With production plans underway, Kazz Forbes has already made an impact with the newly established Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Beauty Organization Board. The MTCUBO has launched a vibrant new website; www.MissTCI.org, numerous social media pages including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, with daily updates and well produced recruitment advertisements with much more to come.

Mr. Ralph Higgs, Chairman of the Turks & Caicos Tourist Board said “Considering all that has already been done, and the plan that has been placed before us by MTCUBO; we at the Tourist Board think that this is the right direction for the Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Franchise and are excited to partner with this group. We are looking forward to see what the MTCUBO and its board have in store for us in the near future and pledge our support 100% in making this an event that will be recognized internationally!” We also take the opportunity to laud past committees responsible for setting the foundation for previous Miss Turks & Caicos Pageants and their efforts in bringing us to where we are now.”

Notes to Editors:

The Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Beauty Organization (MTCUBO)

Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Beauty Organization is a company that advances and supports today’s women through its Passion for Pageantry with a Purpose. Our mission is to bring out the personal best women seek to achieve by cultivating their passions, self-image, and education in an environment that encourages the pursuit of purpose, promotes discipline, and supports the strengthening of character.

The Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Beauty Organization will prepare them to take on the world as women who are aware of the power that derives from fulfilling their purpose, and who use that power to impact the welfare of humanity.

Commencing December 19^th 2012, the Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Pageants and events are produced by the Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Beauty Organization and held under the direction of Saint George Fashion House.

Saint George Fashion House (SGFH)

Saint George Fashion House by Kazz Forbes; The Fashion Label of the Turks and Caicos Islands, is a men and ladies high-end fashion line established in 2010 and based in the Turks and Caicos Islands. We specialize in well-tailored garments with a focus on stellar craftsmanship and fit. All our garments are made to order and can be made in standard sizes or customized to fit your measurements. We can also design a garment just for you!

As Principal Designer, Forbes endeavoured to establish a Turks and Caicos Islands first, a designer clothing brand for the discerning fashion conscious clientèle from his country’s ‘Beautiful by Nature’ shores to the international market.

Forbes, who hails from the Island of South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands debuted in the world of fashion in Manhattan, New York, June 8th 2011. He is a noted fashion and commercial photographer and fashion designer based in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands.

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One of the remits of my research is to discover how and if natural fibrous materials, which grow in abundance in the region and are often seen as waste from the production and harvesting of fruit, could be used in the production of eco fashions and cultural dress.

The whole arena of eco fashion is still very much in its infancy worldwide and the Caribbean like many other places is slow to catch on. Yet from what I’ve seen the Caribbean could be one of the leading regions in the development of renewable organic materials for the eco fashion industry.

From dolls dresses made from banana leaves in Dominica, the use of lagetto lace bark in historic dress in Jamaica, straw hats from palm fronds in Turks and Caicos to bags and shoes from coconut coir, sisal fibres, and straw in the Bahamas, the ideas and ability for development is there so why hasn’t it caught on more?

From what I can gather it’s a case of education. As I stated earlier sustainability is still a fairly new concept across the world and sustainability and renewability in fashion is still a foetus. A sustainability executive once told me that fashion was one of the most wasteful industries in the world. Now I don’t know how true that is but I think it’s fair to say that to educate people into a different way of thinking about the production of materials for fashion items is going to take a long and concerted effort from those of us who care and or have influence.

Emily Brennan and Lori-Ann Harris writing for the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens blog, Economic Botany wrote that an attempted resurgence in the production of Lagetto lace bark was made back in the 80’s in Jamaica but production ceased due to hurricane damage and political upheaval.

Despite this various islands have tried to keep the production of their natural resources alive within the cultural dress arena. At the 2009 Miss Carival pageant the Miss Dominica (an island which prides itself on its uncultivated naturalness) contestant walked onstage for the national dress competition in an outfit almost entirely made of dried banana palm leaves. She didn’t win, and from a designer’s point of view I can see why, but the efforts and commitment to the use of natural materials by the designer is to be applauded.

However I think one of the reasons eco fashion and styling hasn’t caught on more in the region is because it hasn’t been seen in great numbers across the world stage. This speaks to the “collective low self esteem” amongst Diasporan Africans or the “I can’t do it if others aren’t doing it” syndrome.

For a region with so much it seems as if they have so little because the powers that be and the people to a greater or lesser extent don’t seem to recognise the value of what is growing under foot. As many others do designers in the Caribbean look towards what is popular in America or Europe and let these trends set the bar for design styles and standards to adhere to. However the Caribbean has a wealth of resources and the creative gravitas to be able to set their own bar on style and standards of design development.

The commitment to using renewable resources in fashion and cultural attire is certainly not something to be dismissed and I think will eventually lead to big business. The idea of this is catching on slowly but steadily in the Bahamas. The Bahamas has a long history of palm straw development and weaving which they call “plaiting”.

After the production of cotton had eroded the soil in the 1800’s they turned to the production of straw goods and sisal fibre rope to boost the Bahamian economy.  Apparently there are some 200 different weave patterns developed by enslaved African women in this archipelago and the importance of the straw industry can be seen today with the expansive straw market in the heart of Nassau, New Providence.

Yet there is room beyond the tourist market for the development of cultural dress and fashion items suitable for the world stage. One company which has understood this is Harl Taylor Bag. Harl Taylor Bag produces designer luxury bags from palm straw and sisal fibres embellished with mother of pearl beads, shells and jewels. Each bag is exquisitely designed and made and has adorned the arms of celebrities and royalty from Oprah to Queen Elizabeth II. But there needs to be more Harl Taylors.

The education and understanding of how these renewable resources could be used and what could be produced from them, as well as the export of the raw fibres to other places in the world would boost the economy of the whole region and give the Caribbean a strong foot hold in the world of eco fashion, styling and design.

People the world over need a re-education when it comes to eco fashion and styling but the market is there and the world is waiting, I just hope designers and producers in the Caribbean hear the call before others come to exploit the region and its people of their resources.

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Named after the  address of the Meiling fashion studio, this collaborative creative brainchild of Caribbean fashion doyenne Meiling Esau and one of New York’s finest graphic artists Sparrow is the latest fashion, culture and lifestyle magazine on the block.

Packed full of juicy articles about art, eco design and cultural politics’ alongside moody fashion photo spreads 6 Carlos is certainly nothing to be sniffed at! Its aim is to represent a standard for print media in the Caribbean.

For the rest of us in the north of the planet (North America, Europe, Canada) 6 Carlos strikes me as a breath of fresh air and a much needed addition to the current lifestyle magazine genre. We at CIAD will be pushing to have it made available wherever we can get it.

The launch itself was a sheer delight. We were kept sufficiently refreshed by Absolut vodka cocktails and tantalized by delicious eensy weensy cupcakes, whilst rubbing shoulders with the beautiful and fascinating folk.

The next issue of 6 Carlos is due out in October. To find out more and to subscribe to the magazine visit www.6carlos.com

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In the late 1970s and 80s, during hip hop’s humble beginnings, female rappers developed carefully costumed persona’s found in concert flyers, album covers, and vividly articulated rap lyrics-unforgettable looks that helped define the rap genre- now itself a worldwide cultural force, originally created by youth of the African Diaspora in New York City.

On November 21, 1979 the New Zoo Discotheque in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn was to host a hip hop battle amid some 10,000 square feet of raw dance floors and under 15,000 watts of colourful lights. In a setting such as this, pulsating with light and shadow, the “Battle of the Sexes” would firmly root female MCs into the world of hip hop where they would lyrically spar with the men—as equals.

As early as 1977, women’s crews and stars began to gain ground amidst a world of hip hop that consisted mostly of male artists. The Zulu Queens, DJ Wanda Dee, the Mercedes Ladies, B-Girl Crew, as well as MCs Little Lee, Sweet and Sour, and Pebblee Poo were just a few of the women that initially set the gold standard, laying a ground-work for the celebrated female hip hop personas familiar in the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries.

As a gender minority in an arts culture dominated by men, struggle already existed for women, who, as Christopher “Kid” Reid from the 1980s duo Kid-N-Play notes, “have to work twice as hard to get half the credit.”[1]  This struggle for relevancy in the culture created a number of powerful female personas and fashioned identities that attempted to hold their own among the men with lyrical and sartorial style.

As long as female MCs have expressed themselves on the mic, they have provided for the listener and viewer a bevy of illustrious personal introductions, like macho championship fighters thrown into the ring and ready for battle. As prized fighters in their own right, female artists put a spotlight on their stylish looks in addition to their lyrical skills, describing their bodily measurements and extolling the virtues of their brown skinned beauty as factors in the fight for lyrical supremacy. Blondie from the crew The Sequence initiates the rhyming on the group’s biggest hit of 1979, “Funk You Up,” with “I’m 5 ft. 2 built so fine / 36-26-36 down,”[2] while on the 1983 track “Sucker DJs (I Will Survive)” Dimples D says “I got big brown eyes, holes in my cheeks […] now I’m 5 ft. 5 stayin’ alive / In this world Dimples D will sure ‘nuff survive.”[3]  And, another member of The Sequence, Angie B. who is “dressed to a tee” describes the skin underneath her stylish clothes as irresistibly palatable, declaring, “I got chocolate hips and a milky way.”[4]

Within hip hop culture, a fly girl’s fashioned presence was a vital component of her identity, situating her as a member of that artistic community. This was especially evident to male rappers and flyer artists, who drew upon imagery of ideal females—in many cases stock illustrations of fashion models—to enliven the look of party posters. Many event invitations prominently displayed the rear vantage points of ladies in skintight jeans and demanded that female attendees wear designer denim, indicating preferred brands like Jordache, Calvin Klein, Sasson, Cacharel and Ferrari. Accordingly, admission was discounted for properly adorned lower halves. This display proved successful, as flyer models akin to those in fashion catalogues clued in to the desire for mainstream legitimacy on the part of female hip hop artists.

Although they were part of an underground movement, ideals of beauty were still informed by popular fashion imagery, and one’s clothed image on the streets was an important aspect of one’s reputation as a rapper. As Lisa Lee, a female MC with Cosmic Force made clear in an interview for a 1983 hip hop exposé published in Time magazine, “If you don’t have the right clothes it can give you a bad name. Nobody wants to be with you.”[5]

Even as female artists battle rapped alongside male artists, garnering acclaim and legitimacy within the culture, the imagery of women found on flyer art of the period points to female attractiveness as one of the major driving forces in the social atmosphere of the hip hop party or concert. From cinematic vixens to disco divas, images of girly sex pots were the focal point of many early flyer compositions, which often enticed female partygoers with reduced admission simply for being a woman, or for adhering to the dress code with a particular sexy garment. For event organizers the sight of gorgeous gams and bodies in fitted textiles made for a better social gathering, as phrases on flyers circa 1980 exclaimed, “Ladies wearing shorts $2.00!” or “First 100 ladies free wearing terry cloth suits!” Via party flyer representations of a stylishly clothed female sexuality, hip hop culture set the stage for the emergence of the “Fly Girl,” a distinguished title which crowned the queens of rap during the 1980s.

Cheryl L. Keyes’ theory of social constructions related to females in the hip hop community divides them into four categories in rap music performance: “Queen Mother,” “Fly Girl,” “Sista with Attitude” and “Lesbian.”[6]  Naturally, artists within these categorizations often visually distinguish their personas through dress. The rapper Queen Latifah’s regal demeanor, wearing of African textiles, somber colors and modest silhouettes situates her in one of the various roles of Queen Mother, clarifying a message of female primacy with her famously powerful lyrics.

Likewise, for women artists whose lyrical message was less politicized, the alluring distinction of “Fly Girl” was adopted; a title that more explicitly related to a woman whose aim was to beautify the world of hip hop with her well-groomed and modish exterior. Keyes’ defining “fly” characteristics include female rappers in chic clothing, fashionable hairstyles, jewelry and cosmetics, going further to describe “short skirts, sequined fabric, high heeled shoes and prominent makeup,” oftentimes paired with more masculine sportswear elements such as baseball jackets, jogging suit pullovers and hoodies. Keye’s also cites the portrayal of fly girls as powerful, independent, party-goers that existed as “erotic subjects, rather than objectified ones.”[7] Artists creating music in the late 70s and 80s such as Sha Rock of the Funky Four Plus One, Roxanne Shante, Sparky Dee and the ladies of Salt ‘N’ Pepa fit the fly girl persona.

Above all, it was the bright hues, slick styling and intricately decorated exterior of the fly girl in the rap world that was most often represented in early hip hop’s underground marketing. Party flyers, album covers and various other promotional materials used these images to enhance the still developing image of women in hip hop. Every sequin, gold accessory, pair of designer denim, slouchy sports jacket, intricate hairstyle and creative color combination was of critical significance to every performer, on every stage, in every club. It was the battle for style supremacy. Lyrical victory was already a given; the costumes were the thing to make every ladies’ performance perfectly complete.

References

Cocks, Jay, and  Koepp, Stephen. “Chilling Out on Rap Flash: New City Music Brings Out the Last Word in Wild Style.” Time, March 21, 1983, 72-73.

D, Dimples. “Sucker DJs (I Will Survive).” Sucker DJs (I Will Survive).     Partytime Records, PT-101, Vinyl, 12″, 1983.

Keyes, Cheryl L. “Empowering Self, Making Choices, Creating Spaces: Black Female

Identity Via Rap Music Performance.” The Journal of American Folklore, no. 449, 2000, p. 256-260.

Rose, Tricia. Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America.

Hanover: Wesleyan University Press, 1994.

Sequence. “Funk You Up.” Funk You Up. Sugar Hill Records, SH543, 12” LP, 1979.

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So if we’re talking international fashion in Jamaica then no event is complete without the delightful Cedella Marley. Boasting true reggae royalty credentials Cedella is the African Diasporas shining, smiling answer to Stella McCartney (seriously does Stella ever smile?).

Her collection this year had a bit of everything from play suits to flowing evening dresses; casual day wear to beach attire as if not wanting to leave any lifestyle uncatered for.

Sexy swimwear was emblazoned with graphics from her father Bob’s Exodus Tour, whilst delicious day wear had us reaching for the credit card!

Fabulously tailored and beautifully designed 18 hour dresses which would easily take you from the boardroom to the bar rubbed shoulders with structure blazers and military style jackets for the brothers.

Finally finishing up with a glimpse of her designs for team Jamaica at this year’s Olympics.  If by some strange twist of misfortune the Jamaicans don’t go home with a bag full of gold medals they can comfort themselves with the fact they will surely be the best dressed team in London!

One thing is clear from this collection and that we know for sure Ms Marley works hard as hell and has fun doing it and for this we love her even more!

Check out our favourite pieces from her collection below and follow this link to purchase selections from her swimwear range…now where did I put that credit card!

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Jeremy Scott a designer with a reputation for being daring, outrageous and unconventional in his work has designed a pair of trainers in collaboration with Adidas. The JS Roundhouse Mid has a plastic chain and orange cuff coming out of the back which attaches to the wearers ankles. The idea was apparently that the shoes were so hot they would need to be handcuffed to the wearer’s feet to stop them from being stolen (!?) Hhhmm.

Needless to say there have been critiques a plenty saying the cuff is actually reminiscent of slavery shackles and prison handcuffs and that they are offensive. There have also been tons of positive feedback and critique backlash saying the shoes are fabulous and people who are offended and or who relate them to slavery need to get over themselves.

Whatever your view since Adidas debuted the shoes on their Facebook page tongues have been a wagging all over the internet, and this is where I have an issue. This type of thing has gone on many times before and quite frankly I smell a rat in the shape of controversy marketing.  That’s basically when a company takes something controversial or socially sensitive and uses it to market a product or brand.

Now Adidas as we all know is a huge billion dollar company that sponsors athletes like Kobe Bryant and teams like the New Zealand All Blacks. They have no need to market their brand as even people living on the edge of the Bungle, Bungle know who they are, however I can’t help feeling that the connotations and associations for this design were too obvious to be missed by the design team, which leads me to believe they must have wanted to offend and set tongues wagging on purpose. As they say no publicity is bad publicity!

The trainers which were due for release in mid August have since been pulled by Adidas stating:

“Since the shoe debuted on our Facebook page ahead of its market release in August, Adidas has received both favourable and critical feedback. We apologize if people are offended by the design and we are withdrawing our plans to make them available in the marketplace.”

(L.A. Times, 19.06.12)

Again, hhhmm. Call me cynical and suspicious if you like but I know fashion and big brands don’t usually care about trampling on the feelings of a few to attract the many (dying Aids patient in the Benetton ad anyone!), so what’s going on here? Is it a sign of a more caring ethos being adopted by a global mega brand, or is it the economic downturn that has got Adidas worried that it will alienate a large proportion of its market? I don’t think it’s either of those things. If there’s one thing I know about marketing folk they’re devilishly clever and often think of the most absurd and obscure ways of promoting a product. I wouldn’t put it past any marketing team to try and generate a buzz by pissing off a few people of African heritage; after all they’re only black people who cares what they think, right?

This lack of concern for the sensitivities of some black people (not all black people feel slighted by this association as one young African American male stated in a comment on the trainers, I think they’re fly, fuck slavery!), is nothing new when it comes to fashion and I wonder whether it’s something we’re gonna have to just come to expect and accept.

Last year Vogue Italia published an article about some gold hoop earrings and related them to enslaved African women stating:

“Jewellery has always flirted with circular shapes, especially for use in making earrings. The most classic models are the slave and Creole styles in gold hoops. If the name brings to the mind the decorative traditions of the women of colour who were brought to the southern Unites [sic] States during the slave trade, the latest interpretation is pure freedom. Coloured stones, symbolic pendants and multiple spheres. And the evolution goes on.”

(Telegraph.co.uk 22.08.11)

As I’m hoping you can imagine this caused a controversy tornado of gargantuan proportions with angry bloggers and readers threatening worldwide backlash for essentially glorifying the experiences of enslaved African women.  Vogue Italia apologised and put the indiscretion down to poor translation! Really?!

I find it astounding that global corporations like Vogue Italia should have a problem with translating words properly or that these brands are seemingly so oblivious to the sensitivity and rawness of this history.

In-between dodging the push back of “oh you’re just being overly sensitive” and “get over it” and “slavery was years ago get over yourself” there is a real issue here of fashions insensitivity to the tragic and soul destroying histories of non Europeans. Jeremy Scott sites his inspiration for the handcuffs on the Roundhouse Mid shoe as being the orange plastic shackles which could be found on a My Pet Monster toy! Now I’m sure Mr Scott is an incredibly intelligent person but I simply refuse to believe that he couldn’t see the connection between taking actual shackles (albeit brightly coloured plastic ones) off a toy and putting them on a shoe to be worn by humans (many of them of African heritage no doubt)! Maybe he was suffering temporary insanity (read stupidity)? Come on!

The bottom line is using controversial histories or a socially sensitive occurrence to market your wares when the sensibilities of ANYONE are at stake is amoral, unethical and just plain wrong. People’s life experiences and feelings should be respected and should not be used as ping pong balls to bat about when needed and cast aside when not. We all want to feel good about ourselves and our possessions, we could do this much better if we we’re all considered  and felt like global corporations cared about our sensitive issues…but wait, maybe I’m being overly sensitive and I should get over it? Well when they start making shirts and tops with a single yellow 6 pointed star over the left breast or a serial number printed down the inner forearm I might consider it!

The post Making slavery a fashion accesory appeared first on CIAD.

With all that to prepare for you can imagine how busy the production team has been, however we managed to pin down Gail Behr, Isango’s resident costume designer and ask her a few questions about the costumes for the performances.

The costumes you have created for the Ensembles London run are very creative what was the inspiration behind their development?

LIke all of our director Mark Dornford May’s productions, his La Boheme is a meld of purist Puccini meets Africa which makes for a pretty free palette. I am personally slightly wearied of the stereotypical take of Africa [beads, leather skirts, gum boots and traditional prints etc] and Mark and I decided upon “Victorian Pantsula with a spoonful of steroids” /Township meets Dickens. We are also endlessly intrigued by the Herero tribe of Namibia who have a wonderful personalized take on Victorian dress that they still wear today. Prints worn with prints with a deliciously personalized flavour … and so we came up with an organic alchemy of costume that the actors too could become involved with from the outset. ” tighter , longer , smaller , bigger and please may I add my favourite brooch to the lapel ” was the dialogue between ourselves and the players which was a interesting and delightful way to work .

It’s good to hear that the actors had an input into the creation of the pieces, how did the collaboration with the artists and the director help you to achieve the concept outcome?

We had fairly limited time and almost no precedent but I think we all knew what the final look and feel should be. Mark Dornford May screaming “cutaways” as we attempted to create tailed jackets out of stretch jersey knit and a generic melody quickly developed, bustle back print skirts for our girls with cream buttoned shirts with lace trimmed tails. Skinny pantsula type pants for our chaps with the tails of their jackets being edged in wire to allow for “the steroid” part of the narrative. Pauline Malefane [our Mimi] is so beautiful that one could send her out in a dressing gown and she would look remarkable. [clearly we did not send her out in a dressing gown but instead dressed her in a simple pleated antique lace trimmed black smock with a black back frilled skirt for layering and a felt grey heart pinned to her sleeve with a blanket pin ]. All the costumes are lightly sprinkled with wit!

And it would seem more than a hint of Victoriana! Are the costumes locally sourced and made?

Yes 100% locally sourced and made.

I know it has been customary with a few African theatre companies to use recycled materials in their costumes, why have you used the materials you have and are there any elements of reclaimed or upcycled fabrics in the finished pieces?

We work on a damningly tight budget and this has a strangely inspirational offshoot. We work with what we have and have severe financial limitation on what we source. Luckily I am a clothing designer and generally have a store room filled to the brim with roll ends and reject textiles. Dagogo (costume supervisor) became extremely resourceful in finding buttons and lace and required oddities in various second hand stores and market stalls and somehow this all came together as a cacophony of integrated costume

La Boheme is currently playing at Hackney Empire until June 1st visits our event page here for more information and to book tickets.

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Finding the tiny room that they’d put the exhibition in was a little bit of a challenge in the spralling corridors of the V&A but eventually I found it and it did not dissapoint.

In the small darkened room stood a glass cpae with the most beautiful golden yellw emroidered cape I’d ever seen in my whole life. It really did seem like a garment from a fairy tale and seemed to posess its own ethereal glow. I’m not exaggerating the cpae was glowing!

It was maginificent to behold and made me wonder wheather the wearer would be imbued with some speacila spider powers oonce they had it on!

Everything was included in this tiny darkened room; from books containing sinister etchings of the ghoulish spiders which talked of the process of silk extraction to the embroidery designs for the cape and spools of silk. There was even an alternative pieces of woven silk displyed in cases around the walls. These spiders have clearly been very busy!

Apart from the cpae the part I enjoyed most about this exhibition was the short film which showed how local people in Madagascar had woven and embroidered the silk by hand. It was a definite bonus to be able to see the artisans at work and for them to get some recoginition for their obvious hard work and dedication.

See the short clip below of the designers Simon Peers and Nicholas Godley talking about the conception and development of the cape.

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The zoot suit came into prominence amongst young African American males around the 1930’s and stayed around to mid way through the Second World War. It is one of the few times in our most modern history (over the past 100 years) when the male silhouette changed dramatically.

The zoot suit was characterised by high waisted baggy trousers that could reach 30inches or more in circumference around the knee and then tapered sharply into cuffs around the ankles. These trousers were often known as drapes or Punjab pants because of the excess material and their similarity to trousers seen on Indian soldiers. A long jacket or coat that hugged the waist and sometimes reached to or past the knee would accompany the trousers; the shoulders of the jacket were equipped with large shoulder pads which gave the wearer a square boxy body shape that had the advantage of making him look larger than he was.

Finishing this ensemble would be a wide brimmed hat often with a feather stuck in the band and an extraordinarily long key chain that could be seen swinging from underneath the jacket. All this may seem spectacular enough but the outrageousness didn’t stop there. The suits would often be in bright or unusual colours and worn with the greatest aplomb and pride. Truly a man in a zoot suit was a man who was looking sharp!

According to the New York Times in June 1943 a young bus driver by the name of Clyde Duncan was the first person to purchase a zoot suit from a tailor in Gainsville, Georgia, USA under the premise that he wanted to look like Rhett Butler from Gone with the Wind. Knowing that GWTW is set in the late 1800’s around the time of the American Civil war it is unclear which Rhett Butler scene he was referencing as excess fabric in men’s suits was not common in this era and no one from that film wears anything similar to a zoot suit.

However the real exact origins of the genesis of this attire are unclear. There have been reports that it was developed from the night life in Harlem or suggestions that it came from the extravagant wear of the jazz band leaders such as Cab Calloway or Eduardo “Lalo” Guerrero. However it came to be it is clear that very much like the hoodie of recent years the zoot suit developed from an emblem of ethnicity amongst young African Americans into a symbol of youth culture that was seen as a threat because of its refusal to adhere to the rules of subservience.

The enigmatic charisma and creativity of the African American communities was something that was not lost on the youth of other cultures and before long the zoot suit along with jazz music was adopted by Latino and Filipino American youth. There is much written about young Mexican American (pachuco) street gangs of the early 1940’s and how they became synonymous with the suit. The zoot suit had become the uniform of urban youth and so when the US War Production Board rationed the use of fabric for suiting and drew up regulatory guidelines for the manufacture of streamline suits it was seen as an attempt to halt the production of the zoot suit.

Although many tailors stopped making and advertising the manufacture of the zoot suit this didn’t stop the appeal and a number of bootleg tailors in Los Angeles and New York were still catering to the demand. This bought about a stark contrast between the inner-city youth and service men who wore the seemingly sensible regulation streamline chino suit.

The zoot suit had become political, purposefully and publically throwing rationing regulations back in the face of the authorities. It was seen as making a stand against the outward show of patriotism that the chino stood for. The zoot suit represented social and moral degeneracy in the eyes of the authorities not just for disregarding the rationing laws but for being associated with pachuco gangs, petty crime and violence.

At this stage tensions amongst servicemen and inner city ethnic populations were running high and in the summer of 1943 thousands of service men piled into the streets of Los Angeles with the intention of destroying the zoot suit and anyone wearing it.

Unstopped by the police that accompanied them; marines, sailors and civilian vigilantes indiscriminately assaulted thousands of young Mexican, Filipino and African American men and women whether they were criminals or not. Zoot suit wearers were dragged out of bars, pool halls and cinemas. They were badly beaten with iron bars and weighted ropes, stripped of their suits and had their conch and “ducktail” hairstyles forcibly cut. The suits were ritualistically ripped and burned in the street.

Papers like the Los Angeles Times were at great pains to try and alleviate the level of mutual violence and suggest that the rioting was not racially motivated. However their concern was purely economic rather than racially harmonious as they feared the knowledge of brutality towards Latino Americans would result in a boycott by manual labourers and farm workers from Central and South America.

The outcome of the riots was an ineffective report with a number of suggestions circulating around youth recreation centres, multi racial police training and greater security measures. After trying to make the wearing of a zoot suit a jailable offence the Los Angeles City Council encouraged the WPB to reiterate its regulations regarding fabric rationing and investigate tailoring practices in an attempting to quash illegal zoot suit production

By 1944 the zoot suit had reached London but never really caught on with the same vigor (rationing regulations still applied) and within a year fashion had moved on. It may seem remarkable that an item of clothing can cause such social unrest but it is less the clothing and more the idea of what the clothing symbolises in the limited minds of a few that causes the greater problems.

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