Using Fashion to tell a story

The vogue article I came across today is about a solo show at the Perez Art museum inMiami entitled “While the Dew Is still on the Roses” by Jamaican artist EbonyG. Patterson. The scene at first glance appears to be a serene moonlit garden, including crochet flowers, banana leaves dusted with glitter plastered on the walls among other things. However, when one looks closer, discarded pieces of clothing, dismembered black and brown hands and feet can be seen entangled in the lush flora and fauna of her work.

Patterson’s art confronts death head on, even though it seems to be teeming with life on the surface. Her pieces are designed to bring up and engage discussion about problems such as race and social injustice that we still find in society, in which fashion and style play an important role. Christian Louboutin himself commented on Patterson`s work: 

Ebony G. Patterson, Christian Louboutin

Her work manages to combine two very disparate things—beauty and violence—to deliver a powerful message.

She says her mother was the one who helped her understand the self-actualizing power of dress. A quote from her mother is mentioned in the article which I found interesting:

And when you think about where black and brown bodies have ended up historically, then style becomes an important way for us to claim our identities. Consider that civil rights leaders would call the suits they wore armor.

I found this quote interesting because I never thought about it this way. How dressing themselves speaks a sense of self-assuredness and pride, which I find inspiring. I think this reflects to how fashion is a diverse topic which conveys many meanings. In my opinion, fashion is a language in itself, and we sometimes speak it without even realizing it. 

Fashion is everywhere because everyone wears clothes. I think that one important aspect of fashion is how it makes us feel, as it can influence our mood and emotions. I believe that when one looks good, they feel good. However, this does not mean that if we are not dressed up we feel bad, how we feel about ourselves should not revolve all around fashion, but dressing how we like to feel and feeling like ourselves and liking it is an important factor.

Photo: Ebony G. Patterson / Courtesy of Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago 

Patterson designs all the clothing that appears in her work, choosing the textiles herself, each piece custom made for the model in her tapestry. 

She comments that for her what`s important is that the outfits resonate in a real way. 

This for me reflects how fashion can be used to tell a story, representing something and making a person reflect and think, which is exactly what  Ebony G. Patterson`s work does.