Irenebrination: Notes on Architecture, Art, Fashion, Fashion Law, Science & Technology

Domestic Architectures as Memories of Time & Space: Füsun Onur's "The Dollhouse"

Our houses - our private spaces - turned into the centres of the universe under the long months of Coronavirus lockdown. As we all know, things can get incredibly claustrophobic when you spend too much time in a confined space. But that same space where we have lived in loneliness or that we have shared with our families or flatmates, could maybe inspire us personal and artistic projects revolving around the themes of memory, time and space. Among the contemporary artists who have explored these theme through an architecturally domestic perspective there is Füsun Onur.

Born in 1938 in Istanbul where she lives and works, Onur has played a key role in the development of modern Turkish art, introducing the avant-garde into the country's artistic landscape in the '70s. Among Onur's most mesmerising pieces there are her maquettes that recreate scenes from her childhood.

"The Dollhouse" (1970s) for example consists in a miniature doll's house, recreated in its finest details. On the outside you can admire the delicate stucco elements over the door and windows that are also characterised by stained glass motifs. The see-through ceiling is a way for Onur to invite viewers in the house, allowing them to peer inside and see handmade furniture and rugs, the kitchen table arranged with plates, cutlery and crockery. 

But the clear ceiling has also got a metaphorical meaning, it is indeed a way for the artist to share her private and domestic sphere, but also her memories, from the happy ones to the saddest, like the loss of her father when she was twelve. Besides, though everything has been perfectly recreated, the final structure proves fragile, a quality that mirrors the fragility of the human condition, while the house becomes also a nostalgic ode to the transitory qualities of childhood.

Memory is also the main subject of another miniature piece by Onur, "Musical Chair" (1976), that features a bright red chair that looks as if it were falling, but suddenly was frozen in time and space. The chair turns slowly thanks to a music box mechanism that reveals a painted figure underneath the chair through small, square windows, almost a ghost-like presence. 

Onur has lived and worked in the same house in Istanbul that overlooks the waters of the Bosphorus where she was born, so incorporating in her artworks childhood memories and objects (clothes, toys, furniture, photographs) as well as found objects collected from its vicinity comes as something natural to her. We could maybe take inspiration from her practice and do the same, collecting objects that have been dear to us in these terrible pandemic, in this year of loss, fear and anxiety, to tell our personal stories of lives suddenly suspended in times and space.

Opera in the Time of Covid-19

Italy slowly rebooted itself in May after the Coronavirus emergency and long months of lockdown. Unfortunately, most live shows were cancelled and cinemas and theatres remained closed in the weeks that followed the first reopening phase. Yet some companies started reorganising open air events and putting together alternative summer calendars. Two days ago, for example, a very peculiar adaptation of Puccini's opera buffa "Gianni Schicchi" was staged at the Cittadella del Carnevale, in Viareggio. Organised as part of the Puccini Festival, the opera had to follow all the new social distancing regulations so the number of seats was reduced to allow more space between members of the audience who also had to sanitise their hands before taking their seats and had to wear a face mask. Rules also applied to the performers on stage who sang wearing surgical masks (only in some cases when they had to hit higher notes, they were allowed to temporarily remove the protective devices). 

The shadow of Coronavirus also extended to the actual staging of the opera: director Valentina Carrasco opted indeed to transport the story from 1299 to our times, and relocate the vicissitudes of Gianni Schicchi in a contemporary Florence, deserted because of lockdown.

Puccini took inspiration for the opera from Dante's Inferno, Gianni Schicchi de' Cavalcanti was indeed a 13th-century Italian knight, a Florentine historical figure mentioned in Canto XXX, in which Dante visits the Circle of Impersonators. Schicchi was confined there after impersonating Buoso Donati and making his will highly favorable to himself.

In Carrasco's version of "Gianni Schicchi", with John Axerold conducting the orchestra, Buoso Donati dies of Coronavirus and his greedy relatives arrive to pretend to mourn his passing, but in reality to share his possessions (and here the story highlighted the grotesque selfishness and greed of human beings even during a global pandemic...).

None of the characters donned grand costumes or wonderful accessories, but very ordinary modern clothes. Yet this normality was reinterpreted in a highly apocalyptic key via high vis gear, PPE, gloves and surgical masks (sets and costumes were by Mauro Tinti). The furniture and objects on stage were also covered in plastic and the gestures of the characters - frequently washing their hands and using antibacterial hand sanitiser - pointed at the Coronavirus regulations.

Puccini and librettist Giovacchino Forzano borrowed heavily from the commedia dell'arte tradition for this work and while Schicchi himself in this opera is often compared to Harlequin, his daughter Lauretta calls to mind Columbina.

Carrasco preserved some of the elements of the commedia dell'arte, reinterpreting them: one performer in a civil defense suit, for example, often reminded the others of keeping social distancing and separated lovers Lauretta and Rinuccio when they tried to kiss.

As the story developed, images were projected on a screen behind the performers, they showed the Italian PM Giuseppe Conte (appearing as Dante Alighieri...) and the presidents of those regions (Attilio Fontana in Lombardy and Vincenzo De Luca in Campania) who became well-known faces during the months of lockdown for their press conferences and social media messages inviting people to stay at home and wear masks outside (De Luca became a bit of a hit on social media for his threats to those people who didn't respect the regulations, including sending the authorities with flame throwers to those ones who broke the rules and organised celebrations such as graduation parties).

Puccini conceived "Gianni Schicchi" as a blend of sentiment and opera buffa, and Carrasco also followed this interpretation. While the opera was surreal and comical, there was a deeply tragic moment with the aria "O mio babbino caro" (Oh, my dear papa) dedicated to all the Coronavirus victims and in particular to all those elederly people who died alone in hospitals and care homes.

This staging of the opera wasn't certainly a parody or a way to exploit Coronavirus and its victims, but it was a representation of a moment that has deeply socked and shaken us all and that will tragically go down in history. You can bet there will be other operas that will be reinvented and readapted in the time of Covid-19, but this one for the time being managed to capture a terrible moment for Italy and the rest of the world and to do so in an accessible and surreally serious way.

Vintage Mood: A Balletic One-Piece Suit from 1960

Let's continue the thread that started with yesterday's post about overalls and jumpsuits with another "tuta", but with a less casual and more elegant one.

The jumpsuit featured in this post was created by Emilio Pucci in 1960 and, while it still looked practical dynamic (something emphasised by the flat shoes matched with the design in this picture), it was mainly designed for the evening. The jumpsuit featured indeed a top decorated with colourful gems and embroideries and was inspired by ballet and ice skating costumes, but it was essentially the summer version of Pucci's more famous one-piece ski suits (Pucci was the first to design the one-piece ski suit and was a keen sportsman and skier).

"Tutti in Tuta" with Lellasport

When Italian painter and sculptor Ernesto Michahelles, better known as Thayaht, launched his "tuta" (T-shaped overalls), he accompanied this functional garment with a slogan, "Tutti in tuta" (Everbody in overalls). While at the time not everybody opted for his design (yet he still sold over 1,000 "tuta" paper patterns in the first weeks after the launch of this garment), the tuta (with or without sleeves) became a timeless design that never went out of fashion.

One popular producer of this item was the Italian ready-to-wear brand Lellasport. In the '50s this boutique was based in the heart of Milan, in San Pietro all’Orto and it was founded by former ski champion Domenico Lella, with his wife Valeria Carema and his sister Francesca, also known as Cicci. The boutique was a way for Domenico to continue the family tradition since his parents, Michele and Gemma Lella, moved from Bari to Milan where, after the Second World War, they managed a series of popular fashion shops that sold bags and accessories (it may be worth remembering that Domenico's brother Pino had an adventurous life since, as a young man, he joined an under­ground rail­road help­ing Jews escape over the Alps and secretely acted as a spy while working as a driver for a German general - his life is told in Mark Sullivan's novel Beneath a Scarlet Sky).   

The boutique then opened a small workshop in Corsico, followed by a proper factory that started producing its own collections focusing on casual garments and sportswear, including anoraks, jackets, trousers, jumpers and colourful shirts, swimwear and equestrian clothing.

Cicci continued working for Lellasport when Domenico died in 1974 and also founded her own brand Cicci R. Lella. Lellasport ceased to exist in 1998 when it was incorporated in another company. 

The two jumpsuits, published in this post were produced when Lellasport was extremely popular, in 1960, the first one was dedicated to dynamic women who loved bright colours, it came indeed in a bold sherbet yellow shade, it was cinched at the waist with a belt and characterised by an ample sailor collar (in this picture the design was accessorised with a large wicker basket bag by Sala).

The second image featured in this post shows instead another Lellasport design, a sleeveless and fitted jumpsuit in denim blue, but with a twist added - the fabric chosen for this garment was indeed shantung that subverted the basic minimalism of the design and made it look more elegant.

Comics & Fashion Photography: Mike Allred Vs Ormond Gigli

Yesterday we looked at a vintage advert for a Milan-based boutique by an illustrator who became a comic book artist. So for today let's continue the same thread by looking at a comic book cover inspired by an iconic fashion photograph.

Mike Allred's Batman ‘66 style variant cover for Justice League #31 (August 2014; reused for the Italian edition of the Universo DC anthology, View this photo), features Superman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman and Atom all standing on the window ledges of a building, while Robin waits in the Batmobile downstairs.

The neatly composed cover in bold and bright colours is an homage to Ormond Gigli's iconic "New York City (Girls in the Windows)". A photographer for Time, Life, Paris Match among the others, Gigli took this picture in the summer of 1960 on New York's East 58th Street.

From his studio he saw this brownstone building that was being prepared for demolition and, by looking at the open windows, he thought it would have been nice to have a woman in colourful clothes standing there to fill that empty void.

The demoltion supervisor granted him the permission to shoot as long as they cast his wife (which they did) and the next day models, socialites and also Gigli's wife turned up in their best dresses (so nothing was styled) and the photographer took the picture standing on the fire escape of the opposite building.

The result was an impressive shot that looks beautiful even now, 60 years after it was taken, and that is still an inspiration not just for photographers and creatives working in the fashion industries, but also for comic book artists as Mike Allred's artwork proves.

Early Guido Crepax Art in a 1960 Swimwear Advert

It is always exciting to spot examples of early works by illustrators who then went on to become well-known artists. This advert from 1960 was for example created by Guido Crepax. 

Born in Milan in 1933, Crepax was an architect and first started working as an illustrator, creating artworks for magazines, record covers, adverts and books and giving life to his most famous character - Valentina - in 1965. He was known for his adverts for Dunlop tyres and Terital textiles, but this specific advert was for swimwear sold at the Biraghi boutique in Milan.   

This is a very architectural drawing in a way: it is indeed a vertical advert with the figure of a woman sunbathing on an inflatable floating bed, occuping the entire space. This scene would have been maybe depicted in a more traditional way using a horizontal layout or portraying the woman standing in an ordinary pose. Yet that would have been less entertaining and eye-catching, so Crepax subverted this simple concept, making the figure more interesting, turning her around and matching to her graphic swimsuit a spiky swimming cap that looks like an extravagant headdress. The advert layout anticipates the architectural frames of Crepax's Valentina graphic novels, while his attention to the most fashionable details developed throughout the years into his famous heroine's passion for fashion.

A Vintage Pattern for June

Since April we started posting one vintage sewing pattern a month. For June let's opt for something super simple in case you were caught off guard by the sudden heatwave and you didn't have time to shop because you were in a Coronavirus lockdown.

This short tunic dress (a pattern from 1960) is ideal for the beach and you can opt to make it in a light fabric such as cotton, linen, jersey or shantung (if you want to go for a slightly more elegant option). If you opt for a boatneck you will avoid having to put a zip or buttons in the back and you can also add some side slits to make the dress in record time.

The following pattern, published on an issue of the Italian magazine Annabella, was designed for an Italian 46 size (size 14 in the UK; and 12 in the USA) and each square corresponds to 10 cm. [Parts: 1. Sleeves; 2. Half back; 3. Half front; 4. Belt]. Enjoy the June project!  

Vibrant Florals in a 1960 Cole of California Summer Dress

Let's continue the Summer inspiration that started with yesterday's post with a dress from 1960. This model characterised by a white bustier with green flower stems and a floral print of bright red and pink carnations on the ruched bra and skirt was produced by Cole of California. 

As you may remember from a previous post, the company was launched by Fred Cole in 1923 and brought excitement to swimwear, collaborating with Hollywood costume designer Margit Fellegi, and even producing swimwear for Christian Dior. 

The Cole of California products were mainly influenced and inspired by the lifestyle of sunny California, as proved by this dress that was ideal for the day thanks to its energetic colours and perfect for the evening as well, maybe enriched with a necklace with semiprecious stones or crystals in bold and bright colours à la Coppola e Toppo. And you, what will you be wearing this Summer?

An Exotic Inspiration for the Summer (with a Question about Design Education)

The summer season has finally arrived, maybe confusing most of us who have come out of lockdown between May and June, leaving us under the impression that we went from Winter to Summer, with Spring lost in digital whirlwind of Zoom meetings, online classes and Instagram stories. It is hard to think about Summer in a post-Coronavirus (are we really in a "post" phase?) world, as while some countries seem to be coming out of the worst, others are still struggling or have relapsed into it.

So, let's try at least to get into the summer spirit with this vibrant parrot silk satin textile from 1920. It was designed by Paul Poiret and manufactured by La Maison Martine (it is currently preserved in the Met Museum archives).

Owned and operated by Poiret, La Martine opened in April 1911 (so maybe it would be worthy to celebrate its 110th anniverary next year with an exhibition...). It included an experimental school for working-class girls, the École Martine; the design studio Atelier Martine, producing textiles and wallpapers, carpets, lighting, hand-painted glassware, ceramics, and even dolls dressed in Poiret's designs; and the retail and interior design service of the business called La Maison Martine.

While the shop at first only opened in Paris, by the early 1920s, there were branches in Marseille, Cannes, Biarritz, Deauville, La Baule, London, and Vienna, and the products were promoted and sold in department stores in America and Germany. The story of the Maison Martine could actually be inspiring to think about the future of education and of the design disciplines. Coronavirus has had an impact on education, with students all over the world staying at home and following classes online, and on retail as well as shops closed down. In future and to put emphasis on the physical, rather the digital environment, would it be worth it to reform the education and create schools with design studio and retail options attached? Maybe this could be an interesting topic for a debate that could be developed over the summer season.

Feel the Knitted Rainbow: Colours and Three-Dimensional Surfaces in Daniella Koller's Designs

Let's continue the rainbow thread that started with yesterday's post with a knitwear inspiration courtesy of Daniella Koller. A graduate from the Fashion Institute of Technology (BFA Fashion / Knitwear Design), Koller's background wasn't in design, but in maths and science. Yet there is a lot of maths and science in knitwear - her passion - if you think about programming knitting machines, counting stitches and using them as building blocks to create innovative structures.

Koller graduated with with a knit dissertation inspired by her own childhood drawings, Dr. Seuss's The Lorax, and the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to solve difficult problems.

She recombined these inspirations in twin garments with joinable and extendable sleeves that symbolise the fact that in unity we can overcome difficulties no matter how hard things look like, a very relevant theme if you think about isolation during the Coronavirus lockdown and the fact that we still reached out to each other and kept on creating and debating online.  

Her dissertation designs are also characterised by stretchable three-dimensional rainbow surfaces that create wave-like textures, patterns that can recover once stretched or that can't recover, because the stitch structure integrates a double memory that allows it to take multiple forms.

There is something architectural about Koller as she states that her main aim is to create knitted interactive textures (in some cases she employs 100% merino wool to accentuate the three-dimensional effect caused by the stitch transfers) that have a strong tactile quality about them and give the freedom to the wearer of rearranging them.  

For her creations Koller used yarns from Consinee, Tollegno and IGEA and she designed the knitted textures and programmed them on Stoll machines. On her Instagram page there are also other swatches combining rainbow colours and black and white Op Art like geometries. Koller's swatches can also be admired on the Instagram page of the Fashion School at Kent State University's Knit-Art Student Exhibition, a digital event inviting graduate and undergraduate students to submit original knitted designs.