The Tamesis
Chloë Sevigny co-signing Giovanna Flores’ work is a big deal. That’s not just because the actor has admirable style, but because as the face of Kim Gordon’s “X-Girl” and the creative director of “Imitation of Christ,” Sevigny can say, as LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy did on “Losing My Edge,” “I was there.” That was the epicenter of New York City’s indie fashion scene in the late ’90s and early 20th century.
Flores is perhaps the most free-spirited of the new generation of designers following in the footsteps of Susan Cianciolo, Elsa Jimenez and the Asfour Quartet. “I do often reference vintage clothing and sentimental clothing, but I feel like the clothes don’t really feel like that. It’s almost like they have a baby with a car or a new toy. I like my pieces to have a freshness that even I can’t understand at first,” says the designer.
Flores collected much of the unsaleable material that directly influenced her collection. The designers didn’t use patterns and made everything themselves, and the result was aha! I often have moments like this when I sit down at my sewing machine. “The process was very raw and I discovered a lot while doing it,” she said. There’s a joy of discovery and a sense of play at work, but often with a weird awkwardness. The designs here are also very interactive, coming to life through the stretching and deformation of the body.
After working with prints for a few seasons, Flores turned her attention to the bright colors of fall, purchasing a slew of vibrant stretch velvets. When she opened the box, she discovered that the material had been cut into long vertical panels to reduce strain. Therefore, innovation is born out of necessity. Flores said she welcomes obstacles, and one of her solutions is to color-block the pieces and finish the edges with overlock stitches. Sleeve innovation is another solution. There was a yellow blouse with a triangular piece of fabric attached to the shoulders, hanging down on the arms like the hem of a handkerchief. Then there are the sleeve panels, which start at the chest and run down the arms, causing the fabric to pull and bunch. The effect is almost medieval. “I like things that are not just decorative, but they have such a function—I guess I wouldn’t really call it function—but it changes the body,” Flores said.
There’s also a cozy striped suit with leopard-print lining on the jacket’s padded edges. The pants also feature a padded waistline. Fabric remnants embedded in the polo create a classic pop of torque around the body. The designers wrapped and knotted strips of material around the models’ wrists and sock-clad feet in place of bracelets and shoes. (The look embodies the spirit of a seamless 1968 Vogue shoot in the desert, when Giorgio di Sant’Angelo wrapped Veruschka in digital materials.) “I looked at the piece as sketches, and I made them quick, letting the bulk of the work be free,” Flores says. Her motto might be to make do and work miracles.
