Jessica Herman

Julie Laffin shuffles through a deck of photographs that evolve from a pure ivory wedding-type gown draped over her body into tarnished rags that seep off her skin, giving her the look of Ophelia, if not a sea creature. The snapshots document the work that Laffin has created for her performance at Woman Made Gallery's upcoming show, Fabrications.

"I avoided my tendency to go for the kitschy fifties apron," says Janet Bloch, the juror of the show. "I do think the invited artists are making not so much social commentary on gender (except Jill Ziccardi, who names pieces `Skirt' and `Lady') but definitely feminist sensibility. They show fashion as dangerous or ridiculous." The show falls on the heels of the Museum of Contemporary Arts' "Skin Tight" and other recent shows in Chicago and New York that examine the intersection between art and fashion.

Surrounded in her studio by a display of artistic self-expression--her signature "zipper" skirt suctioned onto the wall like a sprawled octopus--and two roaming house cats, Cat Chow narrates the history of her contribution to Fabrications: "I've been inspired by mourning jewelry, and I think of never having gone to mainland China," says Chow, pointing to the box of Victorian metal hardware that she brought back from her recent visit to Shanghai, her mother's homeland. She also points out a dress that she's constructing with crocheted horsehair, reminiscent of the ancient Chinese practice of incorporating the deceased's hair into garments.

Like Laffin's and Chow's pieces, Anne Elizabeth's three kimonos, made respectively of paperback novels and raspberry-painted tea bags, are wearable but certainly not intended as ready-to-wear. However, while the other women independently reference designers Hussein Chalayan and Issey Miyake as pioneers of their artistic genre, Elizabeth considers herself entirely outside of fashion's realm.

"I'm trying to get beyond fashion and talk about something more fundamental, which is the meaning of the clothing," says Laffin.

Fabrications opens October 8 from 6-9pm at Woman Made Gallery, 2418 West Bloomingdale, (773)489-8900, with a performance by Julie Laffin and a demonstration on October 17 from 2-3:30pm by Cat Chow and Anne Elizabeth. The show runs through November 11.

(2004-10-06)

Also by Jessica Herman

Custom couture
Nestled in industrial flatlands between an auto-repair shop and the Goose Island Brewery, Dame Couture , a custom dressmakers' studio, is an anomaly in her neighborhood
(2004-09-29)

Ziggy lives
Acres of really happy people sell products and productivity at The Motivation Show at McCormick Place
(2004-09-29)

Dialogue by design
Two headless torsos cloaked in black apparel dangling from the ceiling are not what you might expect for a boutique's window display. Then again, hejfina is not your typical boutique.
(2004-09-23)

Spin Control
A compilation mixed by Philadelphia producer/DJ King Britt and produced by Milan Records, is intended to embody the experience of lounging on the Chicago Park Hyatt's seventh floor
(2004-09-14)

To the Gill
(2004-09-08)

The art of the discount
(2004-08-31)

Boutiqueville
(2004-08-31)

Unabashedly cheesy
(2004-08-25)

Bird watching
(2004-08-25)

Pretty in pink
(2004-08-17)

Shopping around
(2004-08-10)

Unstoppable
(2004-08-03)

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