fabulous new website on the way

 It's taken me a long time to get to this point, but i am finally tackling the major overhaul of the Gypsy Palace website. For now, please use this blog as your point of entry and check back soon for more photos and news about what's being created this spring. I am excited to say that the website will soon be on par with that of other industry professionals---no more hippie slackin'! If you haven't already found us on Twitter, you can follow here . This blog will be updated frequently with fashion news, links to designers and lots of photos.

Thanks for your patience!
Madame7

Riding on the coattails of success--copycat designers of reconstructed clothing

one of my early pieces c.2002

Reconstructed clothing is nothing new. People have been fashioning new garments from repurposed material since the depression era when
resources
were scarce. Many of us who have always been creative and innovative have experimented by making adjustments to existing clothing or using parts of it for other purposes. The very roots of Gypsy Palace Couture were developed in  reconstructing sweaters, satin comforters and fleece jackets to make children's clothing, back in 1999 when I had my first child and had the luxury of staying home without having to make much money. That was when I also started making legwarmers and armwarmers. Nobody had armwarmers then. (There are 2211 pairs of them for sale on Etsy right now!)

Imitation of Christ

pop tab purse

In 2000, Tara Subkoff debuted the Imitation of Christ line of deconstructed clothing, which was a ridiculous success amongst fashionistas who bought into Tara's practical joke on the fashion industry. Her line tanked in 2007 when people finally realized how hideous the clothing really was, and at $2500 for a ripped up t-shirt, borderline criminal. Since then, I have seen a steady increase in reconstructed, repurposed clothing being marketed from "hippie bohemian gypsy" to "eco-chic" selling from the low double-digits on Ebay to the upper triple digits in Manhattan boutiques. It's become quite trendy to recycle clothing, plastic bags, bicycle inner tubes, pop can tabs and other refuse into wearable art. The northwest has a reputation of being "green" so you will find a lot of this sort of thing in artsy shops, galleries and boutiques. On Etsy and in other indie-craft marketplaces, it's even become redundant, ad nauseum--how many versions of the vintage necktie skirt do you have to see before it's just not that clever anymore?

Kat O'Sullivan

Well last night I came across the Etsy shop and website of a woman known as Katwise who makes the most delightful coats out of repurposed sweaters. Here's a bit of her autobiography: "My life has not been terribly ordinary, and I guess I am pretty grateful for that. I have been waltzing around the planet for years now, trying not to listen to all the people who insist that I ought to settle down. Sometimes it takes a lot of work to remember that a life lived in the pursuit of joy is just as valid (or more!) than a life lived in the pursuit of money."  

 I discovered after extensive probing that this young woman is a lot like me--unstoppably creative in many art forms, wildly independent and devoted to living life on her own terms. Kat has been so successful selling her incredible reconstructed sweater coats on Etsy that she's been able to buy a farm in upstate New York as well as travel all over the world. A woman after my own heart, indeed. Kat has been selling her creations on the street in New York and online at Etsy.com, barely keeping up with orders. She has sold well over 2000 of these coats on Etsy, and has inspired not only a huge following of fans, but at least half a dozen copycats. Check these out:

Enlightened Platypus

Sunspiral Autumn 

Harry and the Hippe Chick 

Spiral Gypsy

Candy Corsets

Maise Studio 

Some of these sellers are charging at least $100 more for what they're calling "original designs", but if you look at the number of sales they've had, clearly they haven't been around nearly as long as Kat. These people are riding on the coattails of her success. One of these sellers, Jill2Day, (who has no sweaters for sale currently--but tons of clever armwarmers!) has received public acclaim for her creations in several blogs.

Is this the hundredth monkey phenomenon at work in the fashion business? That could be the case with armwarmers, as there is little design latitude there--you make a tube out of a sweater and it has to be sewn together somehow. But these intricately patchworked sweaters have clearly been ripped off, and shamelessly at that.

It bugs me.

Katwise is my superhero of the week. She is living the life I've sought after for years--putting heart and soul into her art, living as a work of art herself. And yet, there is no copyright to this brand of super-stardom. Fashion trends devour all, and rarely water the garden that grew them. I made these sweaters 4-5 years ago:

 

and I've seen so many similar designs since then, I've just had to move on to something new. I believe this is the mark of the true visionary artist, being far ahead of your time and having to invent and reinvent constantly. There are creators, and there are consumers, and I've just realized today that some people are actually consumers masquerading as creators. A parrot is indeed an intelligent bird, but how deeply does it understand the words it repeats? The parrot's true voice is beyond our language, it is the primal expression of its soul. This is what Gypsy Palace is all about, and it is who Gypsy Palace supports.

There will always be cultural memes, trends, colloquialisms, and copycats. In the music industry, you can sue someone for ripping off your lyrics or melodies (remember Vanilla Ice's blatant rip-off of David Bowie/Queen's bass line from "Under Pressure"?). I doubt many reconstructed clothing designers will go so far as to patent their patterns, so it comes down to a matter of ethics. Respect those who inspire you by at least giving them credit. I am careful not to step on another designer's toes when I notice that we're working in a similar style, and if I wish to move forward with mine, I may invite them to collaborate with me. In fact, this is the theme of the next Gypsy Palace fashion show, coming up in May 2011. Five designers will be collaborating to create a collection of de/reconstructed garments and display them in a multi-media performance. I believe that collaboration is the next wave of visionary art as we learn to detach from what is "ours" and hold strong to the collective vision. I envision a national convention of reconstructed fashion someday, with hands-on workshops taught by people who have been doing this since before it was cool. If our collective vision is to save the world by recycling as much as possible, then let's not compete or step on each other for money--let's just save the world, ok?

please feel free to email me at gypsypalace7@gmail.com, or add your comments to this article.

Fall fashion forward--->What to wear to the Apocalypse

http://www.ayyawear.com

In Seattle, the weather snaps at the end of August, declaring summer unofficially but indubitably over. The evening chill demands a hoodie, and nights are frosty enough that we start closing the windows again. In my opinion, the only worthy compromise for saying goodbye to the most perfect weather on earth is fall fashion.

I have always found myself salivating like a hungry dog while anticipating the appearance of the September issue of Vogue magazine. Elle seems to get it out faster, and I have often suspected that Vogue intentionally makes us get hungry before releasing that fat, juicy volume of what people are wearing this season. Meanwhile, designers are already onto the next new thing, secretly scheming while consumers devour the current fashion trends. I know this, because I am one of those fashion visionaries--I saw the tattered, stained denim, victorian trash jewelry, distressed leather, buckled boots and military jackets a long time ago and have been creating in that genre for well over a year. It's frustrating being a visionary who produces on such a small, local and boutique scale, because I often see what appear to be knock-offs of my visions mass-produced by companies like Free People and played out before I could even hope to reach beyond my small circle of fans.

But Gypsy Palace is all about inventing and re-inventing again and again. It's about resurrecting and destroying, over and over. My personal design philosophy includes a sort of "sourdough" theme, using a bit of old culture to start a new batch. I often use pieces out of the waste bin to create new fabrics and have at times cut up things I made long ago to make new pieces. I have no attachments to my materials any more. It's all got to go, for one day, this will all be gone...and I'd like to think I at least made good creative use of otherwise useless crap while helping people dress well for the apocalypse.

And speaking of the apocalypse, here's another great article from SF Gate columnist Mark Morford.

"You do not wear shorts to the Apocalypse. You do not wear flipflops or capri pants or a kicky little pink halter from Betsy Johnson. You certainly don't wear skinny jeans or a nice pea coat and some Mary Janes. There are no Ugg boots at Judgment Day. Tasseled loafers? Please. Sweatpants are sort of tacky, but hoodies are widely accepted if you really must go the bleak oatmeal route. Then again, this is the apocalypse, sweetheart. Isn't it about time you got serious?"   (read more HERE)

  And here are a couple of websites with apocalypse-worthy clothing and accessories:

ad2013.com

 

 http://www.ayyawear.com/

 

 And in case your vision of the apocalypse is more cheerful than average, I wanted to share these incredibly gorgeous Elven ear embellishments from Liquid Fire Mantra jewelry.

After all, while we may very well see the dissolution of  parts of our civilization that have defined our culture for many years, those of us with a strong vision of peace, joy and vibrance for the future are part of creating a whole new paradigm. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that we may in the near future see people wearing things like this. Hey, why not be the first of your friends to get married wearing Mother of Pearl elf ears!




And finally, a note on what's up for Gypsy Palace this fall. MASSIVE website redesign, upgrade of Etsy shop, a fashion show for sure, AND.... a consistent line of ready-to-wear jewelry available for purchase in select boutiques or online. So far Gypsy Palace has only offered unique couture pieces of jewelry but we are currently working on some designs for a larger-scale production. Also in the works is a collaboration of designers doing a trunk show sometime this fall, so stay tuned.

Time to put an extra blanket on the bed and snuggle in for a movie. Happy apocalyptic shopping!

Madame7

Wild Graffiti: Berlin artists create street art out of used fur coats.

Female street-art crew Neozoon makes striking works using second-hand fur coats. Their artworks are so popular that they usually disappear within a week of installation. In this video, the pair don masks and install a family of bears at the Jannowitzbrücke junction in the heart of Berlin. The artists also invite us to their studio, where they carefully prepare the fur silhouettes, and show us round a local bear pit, where the symbols of Berlin live a more pitiful existence.



Gypsy Palace hearts this idea, naturally.

Gypsy Palace Couture slideshow of new work

I just created this slideshow for my application to the Artist Trust's Grants for Artists award. I stayed up all night making it, only to find the next day that they mistakenly included video as a medium that people in the Crafts category could use to show their work. So I had to start over and submit still photos, which sucked, but HEY at least I got this lovely little video out of the deal. Even if I don't win the award, which I asked for to help me promote my jewelry and clothing design, I have more promotional material now.



Some of the images in the slideshow are from the "Alice's Dark Mirror" photo shoot project I just did with Karina Elizabeth (Lux Vivens Photography), Molly Friedrich (amazing Steampunk designer), Nikki Reign (makeup artist), Miguel Vigil (hair), and models Kaida Hitomi, Heather Rouge, Andrew Forrayi, Sam Freeman and Chryseph Fawcett. I will have a complete slideshow of that photo shoot on the website really soon--i documented the entire process and will be interviewing everyone who worked on the shoot. Final images from the shoot are still being processed but those will be available on the website and also on the Gypsy Palace Facebook page (which is about to get created. Please become a fan!)

What's new in the studio? Wire wrapping! I am just getting my feet wet in this medium but already I can see that I will love it. I am incorporating semi-precious stones with metals, found objects, industrial hardware and vintage jewelry components. I could solder these things together, but it often makes more sense to attach things together by wrapping and weaving, which wire does beautifully. I will post my new pieces here as I create them, but also check out the portfolio page frequently as I am posting new work there and offering it for sale at my Etsy Shop

Look for a major overhaul to this blog and the Gypsy Palace website in the very near future. Thanks for your support!

Singer-Songwriter Amelie Julac singing in the streets of Bolivia

video by Ryan Maxey (www.ryanisyourfriend.com)



More about Amelie Julac, alter-ego of actor Julia McAlee HERE

wonderful artist documentaries

The Radar documentary series is produced by the folks at the Workbook project, "The WorkBook Project is for those who want to be creative in the digital age. An open creative network that provides insight into the process of funding, creating, distributing and sustaining from one's creative efforts." These mini artist documentaries showcase brilliant people doing what makes them happy and sharing it with others. Gypsy Palace is now researching funding for a similar project that features Seattle underground artists. We would love to hear from you if you have experience, ideas, resources, advice or comments on this project. For now, enjoy these films. They will stream one right after the other unless you stop the player, and each one is about 3-4 minutes long.