Let's continue today the Academy of Art University thread that started earlier this week with a knitwear designer addressing gender issues in her work.
The expression "spinning a good yarn" means telling a good story, but, quite often, knitwear designers manage to tell compelling stories through their designs, thanks to their choice of specific yarns, patterns and textures that form the structures and the semantics of their personal knitted language. Academy of Art University's Heather Scholl is among such designers.
For her MFA collection showcased during New York Fashion Week she knitted stories moving from three of her main interests - race, gender and sexuality. Using wool, cotton, cashmere and lurex, and often embellishing her pieces with glass beads, Scholl told a tale revolving around the sexually obsessed nature of queer culture and the semiotics of eroticism, pain and glamour that often accompany it.
Though some Scholl's pieces accessorised with soft lurex bangles recalled at times Kansai Yamamoto's knitwear designs for David Bowie, the main reference for this collection is actually not the iconic singer, but a mix of African American queer artists.
Can you tell us more about your background?
Heather Scholl: I grew up out of the mossy socially conscious world of Portland, Oregon, and spent my life until the Academy firmly planted in the Northwest. I was a good little queer Portland girl and went to the Evergreen State College to study race, gender and sexuality. I did activism, supported queer youth groups, and read any book on queerness and race I could get my hands on. Now I just drool over all the new books out there but spend all my free time doing hand work, so I can never manage to read my ever expanding book list. I have been living in Oakland while attending AAU in San Francisco, the best of both worlds. I devoted all of my waking hours the last 3 years to working on my fashion and knitwear design degree.
What's the most important thing you learnt from your years at AAU?
Heather Scholl: To let my craziness out into my designs; to embrace my difference and stand tall with it and fight with it.
Who has been the greatest influence on your career choices?
Heather Scholl: Everyone I encountered so far has had an influence, in good or bad ways. They have all pushed me to where I am at - first my ex getting me out of Portland, then the friends at school who believed in me when I didn’t, and the instructors who finally saw what I was trying to do and responded to it. And my parents who came through during the collection process and have been doing everything in their power to help my career dreams come true. I am always looking to great fashion artists such as Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, Martin Margiela, Rei Kawakubo, whenever I need a reminder that there is a place for creative weirdos like me.
Is there an artist who inspires you in your work?
Heather Scholl: I have always been inspired by Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dali, by their way of looking in and looking outwards. How they both told their stories but through a very distorted lens. And of course how could a girl like me not love Dali’s naughty side!? I got the biggest Dali book possible when I was 17 and squealed with laughter and disgust when I saw all of the sexual sketches he did. The humor and precision that Kahlo used to address her own life as well as her more feminist works has always stuck with me as well. Anything I find that reminds me to have fun with my serious side gets filed away in my head for future inspiration. Sometimes it’s a random meme from the Internet, other times its encountering street art, or going to a performance.
Can you tell us more about your creative process?
Heather Scholl: My creative process starts with channeling the honey badger (in the viral video) and everyone who’s had the strength to adopt the attitude of ‘I don’t give a shit’. Chanting that a few times helps fight off those doubts that come each time I sit down to start designing something new. I try to get all of the core ideas out the first day I sketch. That initial energy is usually the best, after that it’s just about refining and editing. I find that if I am laughing or uncomfortable over what I am sketching then I am probably onto something good!
How did you feel at showcasing your collection at the Academy of the Arts fashion show?
Heather Scholl: It felt like the perfect first step. The best kind of practice run for what it will be like to make and design my own collection and get it down the runway. My whole life of work and struggle lead up to this moment. And now I am left with a blank slate to start the rest of my life and career… an exhilarating feeling!
What inspired your graduate collection?
Heather Scholl: I’m always trying to find new ways of incorporating my queer cultural heritage, my understanding of race, politics and social activism with humor and an occasionally vulgar creative aesthetic. This collection in particular is based on African American queer artists, a mix of the painful history of experience in this country as well as a call back to traditional African beading and the often nauseating glitter and sexuality of queer culture.
Can you tell us more about the process behind your knits and your choice of yarns?
Heather Scholl: My graphic knits are an extension of the geometric repeats seen in African beading and textiles but with my own quirky queer edge to the images used. In general I am drawn to a more graphic use of knitting techniques, even when utilizing other techniques. Initially I was drawn to the cashmere yarns because of the range of colors and because I wanted to make sure my cheeky ideas were elevated to a luxury level with materials as well as technique. Once I started thinking about adding glitter with the lurex yarns, I got excited by the idea of them on their own to create a completely different weight of fabric than the cashmere. Plus I am known for trying to get nudity into my collections whenever I can...unfortunately with a Fall/Winter collection this was the best I could do! Adding in the chunky yarn for the last dress was one of the best ideas as it gave the garment as much weight as the subject matter of the dress.
Is there a knitwear company you'd like to collaborate with one day?
Heather Scholl: I hope to collaborate with a few knitwear designers. I have a few peers in mind already and I have been eyeing the progress of Degen, a new knitwear designer in New York. I think there is something special about working with others new to the industry. Folks who haven’t been influenced by the commercialism and corporatization of the fashion world yet. The freedom to collaborate with more of my peers of all creative disciplines gets my juices flowing. It can be messy, but with some interesting results!
What plans do you have for the future?
Heather Scholl: I plan to take over the world of fashion! I'd like to keep shocking people, keep them on their toes and bring a new voice to luxury designer fashion. I’m through with school; I’m looking for paid work wherever I can get it, even if it’s on my knees… scrubbing floors that is. I'm also itching to see what kind of collection I’ll come up with on my own, away from a school institution.
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