fabulosa monstrum venatrix

 

 

fabulosa monstrum venatrix is a deconstructed ~ reconstructed coat made from wool, with inset panels of cashmere coating and velvet. It has a sculpted shape in front and back - with the back featuring intentional curves and juts ... plus a variety of dots of black velvet oversewn with sprays of black stitching (one on the lapel, one at the back of the neck, one toward the bottom of the back, and see one under the right sleeve). There are some unmatched buttons and button holes that have been cut adrift on one side, as well as one upside-down pocket down toward the hem.

About the tag, it's a bit tough to sort out in the photo, but I made the tag by stitching "secret lentil" in black thread on velvet. It's low contrast and looks super lush in person.

stoic cocoon vestcoat

I'm irrationally fond of stoicism and notions of self-containment, even when they're obviously flawed concepts and I can see that, and I can see why. It doesn't matter, I still like to feel strong, unflappable, untouchable even - stacked, bundled, separate, with distinct boundaries from the rest of humanity — and I'm drawn to clothes that express that, too — I like being a traveling island or a turtle or a cocoon ... maybe because the artifice-laden realm of style is the exact place to play with such flawed ideas that we are drawn back to, despite evidence, despite knowing better.

So, here is a self-contained stoic cocoon made of black wool. It's a coat-weight vest — made from a mix of thicker machine-fulled boiled wool plus some gorgeous wool coating that has a bit of a lovely sheen to it (the bottom petals are made from this - see the close-ups).  Sewn with black exposed serged thread, no closures, billowy pod shape with graceful waffley-honeycomb panels, and of course, all black.

Available here.

Survivor's Field Dress from The Aether Wars: manufacturing artifacts

Survivor's Field Dress from The Aether Wars

You made it. You survived the mythical Aether Wars. You are changed forever, and it shows, even if you have no words for it. Few others will understand you now but when you meet the eyes of someone else who was there, you will know each other without speaking. It marks you but it's not a hardening: instead you are annealed — changed, yes, but still flexible.

This piece is part of a path I'm working on that explores the creation of artificial artifacts. I think we are drawn to things with provenance, with history, drawn to things that show use and wear — even when we know the marks are artificial. No, it's not the wear born of authentic use, which can only manifest with the added element of time. But still, the pull toward it is there. The appeal is real.

The Survivor's field dress is made from roughly hand-dyed linen, in an olive green with a burnished look, as if it was made from an overblown tent that has seen a lot of rain and wind. It's trimmed with olive stitching that is over-stitched with khaki thread. The rough red panel that runs down the center is top-stitched with multiple rows of khaki also, and the edges are frayed. Two peplum-ish side panels have layers of khaki and red stitching and raw frayed details that show through to the bottom layer of natural linen.

Survivor's Field Dress from The Aether Wars, detail

Welcome to the Secret Lentil studio ...

You choke my days,

I'll choke yours.

hue, saturation

Today I'm wearing a black dress, black leggings, black shoes. That's pretty much what I do every day. When it gets cold I'll add a black sweater. But this is what I'm looking at: lovely lush bold shibori-dyed fun.

I'm making things and my artist-comrade Carmel Nicoletti is dyeing them. Actually, it's kind of hard to stop her. She takes a batch and says she'll get them back to me by the end of the week then the next morning —poof— she's back and they're done and they're lovely.  She's not just great with color, she works with my design details and is thoughtful and thorough ... it's such an easy great collaboration.