The Tamesis
Before Neil Grotzinger settled on the direction of his new fall collection, the New York designer was being frugal as usual and stumbled upon a skull shirt that had once been part of a Halloween costume. You might not think this is very high fashion, but the gruesome piece, especially the exposed bones, inspired an interesting idea. “I started thinking about the concept of indoors versus outdoors,” Grotzinger said. Designers wondered what it would be like if they sourced second-hand pieces and turned them all over—finding beauty in what is often hidden.
This idea drives Grotzinger’s new collection: a collection completely upcycled, with Grotzinger turning blazers, coats and skirts upside down to reveal their inner workings. Many pieces, like the wool blazer, had a distinctly stodgy corporate feel: Grotzinger wanted to deliberately subvert the 9-to-5 attire. “It’s all informal formality,” the designer said. “I wasn’t corporate, but I explored some things that were corporate, and my questioning of that ended up being a little bit hostile.”
These are certainly not your average Wall Street attire. Grotzinger flipped pieces with interesting linings or internal structures and then added colorful beading on top, decorating them with various vine-like patterns—almost like wonderful mold creeping over the clothes. One gray blazer has a navy silk lining on the front and a custom name tag from its previous owner (“Made for Andrew C. Estill”). It’s an interesting idea – taking a suit that was once custom-made for someone else and giving it a whole new life, this time with ornate trim. “In part, it’s a reflection on queerness and the suppression of sexual identity throughout history,” Grotzinger said. “[Queerness was] Something that exists only within. I wanted it to be really loud and upbeat. “
It’s an admirable idea, using discarded Liz Claiborne and Ann Taylor office wear to make it feel more youthful and fun. But many inverted pieces could do with some altered or updated shapes: Simply turning a jacket inside out and adding crystals on top is more of an act of decoration than proper design. However, Grotzinger’s skirts and pants paired with these pieces did offer some original silhouettes. Grozinger conceived of voluminous skirts hand-sewn from multiple pairs of culottes. Some of them also had colorful swimsuits or tank tops sewn onto one side.
This whimsical approach to upcycling shows that beauty doesn’t always mean wearing something brand new. With a little imagination, a hot glue gun, and a dream, you can make any vintage item inspirational. “This collection reminds me of the dress-up games I had as a teenager, and has really eclectic outfits that no one really understands,” Grotzinger said. The clothes may not be for everyone, but the vision is there, and it’s executed well.
