Statement by Enid Crow, Producer

 

The Feminist Fashion Show is a project that I created during my artistic fellowship at A.I.R. Gallery, with help from BUST, a feminist magazine notorious for publishing cutting-edge fashion editorials and the Department of Craft, a New York City arts and crafts collective. A.I.R. Gallery is the oldest artist-run gallery in the country devoted to women artists. When the gallery was founded in 1972, only 2% of the art in commercial New York City galleries was made by women. A.I.R. Gallery's artist members have played a significant role in changing that statistic by creating a forum for women's artwork and serving as a model for women-focused galleries throughout the country. As part of its mission, A.I.R. awards a handful of emerging women artists artistic fellowships, providing them with solo shows and the opportunity to work on projects of their choosing.

As a feminist and a photographer, most of my self-portraits are rooted in costume and an exploration of gender. I wanted to use my fellowship project to explore dress and feminism from another angle, and I wanted to provide a venue for feminist artists to show their work. So I posed the question to artists and designers: What is feminist fashion? The gallery received about 100 submissions ranging from a dress made from rubber tires to a handful of wedding dresses. An eight-member jury comprised of fashion industry experts, artists, and emerging designers selected the 16 pieces in the show based on sketches or photographs and essays about how the work related to feminism.

So, what is feminist fashion? Robyn Jordan answered with a poke at the Jackson-Timberlake Superbowl fiasco and by thumbing her nose at traditional notions of "male" and "female" behavior and dress; Diane Arrieta and Cynthia Krewson addressed reproductive rights; Denise DiJoseph honored her feminist hero Maggie Kuhn who fought for the rights of older Americans; Kpoene' Kofi-Bruce and Hannah Howard explored in/visibility and race; Hope Perkins gave us a new male donkey-headed centerfold on a painted dress; Galen Warden and Jane Allen Nodine designed new takes on armor; and Angela Keslar served up sexy in a vintage tablecloth. (You can read more about the artists' concepts on this Web site.)

Although the Feminist Fashion Show manages to address many issues that are central to the feminist movement, it falls short of being perfect in several ways. No men submitted designs and, with only one exception, the garments were designed to be worn by women. There's only one pair of pants in the show. No models above the age of 35 agreed to model, and there aren't any models with physical disabilities represented. As a collection, the clothing sizes don't accurately reflect American women's body sizes (even though they are significantly larger than the clothes you'd see on the runway at Fashion Week). Despite these imperfections, the show has managed to bring together provocative designs that I hope will stimulate thought about feminism in the context of a fashion show.

There are so many people to be thanked: the directors, members, and supporters of A.I.R. Gallery who made the fellowship program possible; BUST Magazine for publicizing the fashion show, serving on the jury, and connecting me with scholar-writer Chloe Burrow who has written a terrific essay; Kim Newman and Jessica Firger for publicizing the show; the Department of Craft for modeling in the photographs; the jury for their recommendations; the models for enduring two hours of standing in the installation as a symbol of feminist solidarity; Justin Duerr for the soundtrack and behind-the-scenes assistance; Jinnine Pak for taking pictures at the show; Daria Dorosh, Kayte Terry, and Emily Harris for their creative advice; Dena Muller for her guidance and support; and most importantly, the designers who put so much work into making this happen.