2. Fashioning Life: Wear Your Story
The Design Exchange
Toronto, Ontario
February 9th
– MArch 6th
2015
Curated by: Filomena Natale Gasparro
Ryerson University Supervising Faculty: Dr. Irene Gammel
Project Management: Rosalia Natale
Photography: Shayne Gray Photography
Photographer’s Assistants: Isabel Fernandez, Laura Del Giacco
Graphic Design: Renée Chudzik Design
Editor: Holly Bennett
Filomena Natale Gasparro.............9
Catherine Vamvakas Lay.................11
Colleen Schindler-Lynch............... 13
Marianne Urvari..................................... 15
Aline Emsallem...................................... 17
Sara Nickleson.......................................19
Léonie Daignault-Leclerc............. 21
Valerie Aquino.......................................23
Maria R. Dal Cin....................................25
Kimberly Wahl.......................................27
Karen Chowansky Natale.............29
Heather Grande.................................... 31
Florence Bortoluzzi..........................33
Isabel Fernandez................................35
Fashioning
Life:
Wearyour story
3. Fashioning Life:
Wear Your Story
Fashioning Life: Wear Your Story creates a
narrative at the intersection of fashion, affect, and
autobiography. More than a protective skin for hiding
or showcasing the body, clothing is a repository for
emotion and memory. It is also a powerful medium
for communicating and writing a life.
To illustrate fashion’s potential as a medium for life
writing, I asked fourteen women to illustrate a crucial
experience from their lives onto a simple white
canvas dress. I designed three template dresses
using three iconic silhouettes from the 1950s, 60s,
and 70s, which the women were encouraged to
manipulate and deconstruct as they wished. Thus,
each woman used one of these template dresses
to articulate a pivotal experience – illustrating a
moment that defined her life.
I also asked the women to narrate in words
the particular moment that presented the
inspiration for the fashioning of the dress, and
these autobiographical pieces are featured in this
catalogue along with photographs of the dresses.
Together, these fourteen dresses stand as a
collection of moments told through fashion life
writing, exhibiting deeply personal memories and
emotions. Telling a life story in public takes courage
and honesty. It is risky and requires trust. I am proud
of the fourteen fashion autobiographers presented in
this exhibition.
“In visual media, artists can palpably push the
autobiographical to the very interior of the body...”
— Sidonie Smith & Julia Watson, Reading Autobiography
5
4. Canvas Dresses
Design Inspiration
The 1950s-inspired canvas dress is reminiscent
of the Dior Look, which is cinched at the waistline
and includes a full skirt (figure 1). The historical and
feminist references of the Dior Look include the
post-war return to femininity and domesticity for
women, who had been fulfilling male roles in the
work force and at home during the war years.
The 1960s dress silhouette (figure 2) was
influenced by Christóbal Balenciaga’s “sack dress.”
The sack dress abandoned the female form and
waistline, skimming the hipline and tapering to a
narrow hem that reached just below the knee. It
was the forerunner of the mini skirt, which brought
the hemline to its highest point in the history of
women’s fashion. Coinciding with the introduction
of the birth control pill, these styles reflect a sense
of emancipation and sexual liberation for women.
The 1970s-inspired canvas dress (figure 3)
references the wrap dress made popular by Diane
von Furstenberg. Facilitated by the development
of stretchable jersey knit fabric, the wrap dress
came to represent freedom and ease in movement,
with sexual connotations. The design of the dress
– free of buttons, snaps, clips or zippers and held
together only by a string at the waistline – had a
seductive implication, as did the concurrent trend
towards a natural look for women’s breasts.
These blank canvas dresses with their iconic
references are the bases upon which the fourteen
women could relay their life narratives.
7
2 3 1
5. FRONT 9
BACK
Marriage at 18
Filomena
Dress Description
1970s canvas wrap dress
There are two distinct parts to this dress, which are
attached together using a grommet lacing system.
The upper part of the dress is made of silk with
silver embroidery, while the part trailing behind is
the original cotton dress, also embroidered. The silk
dress has an empire waistline and a princess cut.
The cotton dress component has been folded down
and permanently stitched to take its current place on
the ground.
Autobiographical Inspiration
I wake up one morning during the summer of 1977.
I’m in a strange bed, far away from home. Things
smell different. It’s hot and I’m not alone. A man is
sleeping next to me and I have no clothes on… my
wrap dress is on the floor.
In 2014, I collapse my wrap dress in half and place it
on the ground behind me to create an embroidered
train, instead of the apron it might have become. My
new dress is tight-laced to my pleasure, leaving the
seams open, with strings long enough to play with
the space between the lines.
Filomena is a visual artist in Toronto. She is also a
graduate student, a mother, and a grandmother.
6. 11
BACK
FRONT
Here and Now, There and Then
Catherine
Dress Description
1960s canvas sack dress
The dress incorporates an array of iconic Greek
images that have been ironed onto the fabric. There
are also a variety of charm-like elements and small
religious artifacts attached to the dress, such as a
glass heart, a contemporary protective eye, a Hamsa
evil eye charm and a metal-embossed little girl
image. The design for the border of the dress is hand
painted and copied from an image of the Agia Triada
sarcophagus. The back of the dress is inspired by
Catherine’s Cretan origins, while the front represents
her present reality in Canada.
Autobiographical Inspiration
I was 16 when I arrived in Montreal with my family
late at night. It was December and I had never
experienced snow before. The next morning was
blindingly bright, not one cloud in the sky. I looked
with amazement out my window at the pure white
and reflective snow and ran outside wearing only a
T-shirt. The extreme cold hit me like a shock. It did
not make sense to me. The sun was out and yet it
was so cold! Things were so different in this country,
so unlike everything I had known before. I ran back
inside, confused and sad.
Catherine is a visual artist who lives and works in
Toronto. She is originally from Crete, Greece.
7. 13
BACK
FRONT
Grief, Inch by Inch
Colleen
Dress Description
1950s canvas “Dior Look” dress
Colleen’s dress features row upon row of text.
The artist has used a soy wax resist process and
painted the letters onto a black cotton fabric. The
fabric was bleached to discharge the black dye from
around the type, and the wax removed, resulting in
a rusty red background colour with black text. The
fabric was then shredded into strips and applied to
the canvas dress. In some places, the shredding of
the fabric has created interruptions in the text and
has left frayed edges.
Autobiographical Inspiration
Inch by inch, grief grew with me. Outwardly,
I continued my “normal” life, but inwardly, I was
consumed by sadness. Emotional wounds would
seem to heal temporarily, only to be roughly ripped
open again. For ten years, I bore the weight of
incremental grief – a burden I didn’t even know I
was carrying.
Colleen is an illustration professor in Toronto.
She is also a wife, a daughter, a sister, and a friend.
8. 15
The Fabric of My Life
Marianne
Dress Description
1960s canvas sack dress
Marianne’s dress is embellished with a collection of
memorabilia from her childhood, including items
that belonged to her mother and grandmothers.
Heirlooms and photos of her family dating back to
the 1830s have been placed around the neckline
and arranged on the surface of the dress. There is
a triangular piece of fabric situated on the pelvic
area at the front of the dress that is a fragment
of a Hungarian textile. Scarves that belonged to
Marianne’s mother create an underskirt that alters the
silhouette of the dress into an ankle-length garment.
Autobiographical Inspiration
The loss of my beloved mother to cancer in 2007
reinforced the importance of keeping family
traditions, stories and history alive. How I wish I had
asked more questions of her. I am left with many
parts of our family narrative missing, fragments of
a puzzle that will never be solved. Thankfully my
father, the last remaining link, is still with us. Our past
permits our present and lays the path to our future.
My mother’s passing cements my position in our
family as the “keeper of the past.” My responsibility
is to keep our stories relevant for the next
generation and to impart meaning to the lives of
those who lived before us. This dress chronicles
people and events in our family history, our rich
Hungarian heritage, and sentimental connections.
Our story is one of love, war, loss, sacrifice, exile,
separation, rebirth, joy and sorrow. Our family’s
significant contributions to society, in science,
medicine, the arts and culture – despite obstacles
– make me proud. Canada gave us refuge and
possibilities. I’m forever grateful.
Marianne is a wife, a mother and a grandmother.
She is a real estate agent in Toronto. Her family is
from Budapest, Hungary.
BACK
FRONT
9. 17
BACK
FRONT
Paris — Toronto
Aline
Dress Description
1970s canvas wrap dress
Using off-white, orange and black, Aline’s dress
features a hand-drawn sun centered on the back.
Scarves attached to the waistline are decorated
with hand-drawn musical elements such as a piano
keyboard, hearts and text, including “je suis Charlie,”
as well as the Eiffel Tower and the CN Tower. Each
scarf is attached to the waistline as a rosette, at the
center of which is placed a silver charm – a tree of
life, a dove, a cupid, a shoe and hearts.
Autobiographical Inspiration
My life has always been influenced by spirituality, but
this took on a new meaning when, at the age of 35, I
lost my husband while living in Paris, France. I moved
to Toronto in 1997 with my children, who were seven,
six and two years old at the time.
For the past 20 years, I have raised them on my own
with the support of my very close family. Despite this
life-changing experience, my goal has been to keep
the joie-de-vivre in our home and to make the best of
what we have.
Aline works as a real estate agent in Toronto. She is
also a mother of three children, a massage therapist
and an osteopath.
10. 19
BACK
FRONT
Why Black?
Sara
Dress Description
1960s canvas sack dress
Sara’s black dress is assembled from clothes that
she once used. The various textured fragments from
the deconstructed garments are draped into a “baby
doll” silhouette. There are small tears in the fabrics;
brand labels and yarn from old sweaters are used as
part of the new dress. Straps across the chest area
and over the shoulders are also recycled from other
garments. The only non-black elements are the
two white, thinly twisted straps on the back of the
dress, which were part of the original canvas dress
provided for this project.
Autobiographical Inspiration
There is a stereotype of the curator all dressed in
black, and in my case, the stereotype holds true.
This tendency toward dark clothing came long before
my job title. I’ve also been the art student dressed
all in black, the bartender dressed all in black, the
daughter dressed all in black, the designer dressed
all in black, the friend dressed all in black.
Why black? It just feels honest, I suppose. I don’t
really like to be the center of attention. Black is both
minimalist and complex, and I like to believe that it
places the focus on what I say and who I am, rather
than on what I’m wearing.
Sara lives in Toronto and is a curator.
11. 21
BACK
FRONT
Loss
Léonie
Dress Description
1950s canvas ‘Dior Look’ dress
The colourful images on Léonie’s dress were drawn
by hand using markers. The large drawing on the
front is a self-portrait; a red and pink swirled design
surrounds the figure of the girl. There are winged
angels on the shoulders of the dress, while the back
of the dress shows a black outline of a family of four,
with small red hearts lined up one above the other.
Autobiographical Inspiration
My father died the night of May 23, 2000. I was eight
years old. My mother died on September 24, 2006,
in the late afternoon. I was fourteen. I had spent the
entire weekend at the hospital, surrounded by all my
family and friends, and my boyfriend at the time.
I could not accept that she was leaving me. Not only
was she my only parent, she was my best friend. We
shared everything. The pain was so vivid that it was
actually physical, a sharp pain in my stomach.
I wanted to scream to the world against this injustice.
I felt that I would die without her, and I wanted to run
away to escape this nightmare. I felt like I was in a
bad dream that would be ending soon. It took me a
long time to realize she was actually gone.
Léonie is a young fashion designer from Québec.
She is also a graduate student in Ontario.
12. 23
BACK
FRONT
I Turned 50
Valerie
Dress Description
1960s canvas sack dress
Valerie’s dress is embellished using felt, safety pins
and markers. On the left front panel of the dress are
two hearts and a star-like shape made from felt and
safety-pinned in place. On the right side of the dress
are dark clouds and thunderbolt shapes, also made
of felt and pinned. The words “Love” and “Dread”
have been written in black marker onto the dress as
opposing terms. At the center front is verse from
William Wordsworth’s poem “Composed a Few Miles
Above Tintern Abbey.” Colourful pompoms trim the
neckline and hemline of the dress.
Autobiographical Inspiration
When I turned 50, I began to accept myself, and
to accept the world around me for what it is. I
can honestly say there has not been one defining
moment in my life that has altered my path,
but a series of events: the joy and anguish of family,
betrayals of partnerships, and the loss of much-
loved people.
Valerie is a poet and has dedicated herself to
her family.
13. 2525
BACK
FRONT
The Dress Doesn’t Fit
Maria
Dress Description
1970s canvas wrap dress
Maria deconstructed her dress and made a garment
that can be transformed from a masculine tailored
jacket to a feminine ensemble. The wool jacket is
constructed with multiple zippers that allow for the
reconfiguration of shapes and modes of wearing the
garment. The feminine under-blouse is made of a
flesh-coloured chiffon fabric, which can also be worn
in several different styles or independently.
Autobiographical Inspiration
There was never one defining moment or event,
just a continuous experience of opposition. As my
experience grew, the defiance and sabotage became
more intense. My requests made using “masculine”
approaches were met with resistance, and yet
“feminine” behavior seemed to reduce my credibility.
As the battle of working in a man’s world became
increasingly difficult, I gave up fighting. I did so
knowing that I can be effective while still remaining
true to myself.
Maria is a designer and a graduate student in
Toronto.
14. 27
BACK
FRONT
Temporal Blooms
Kimberly
Dress Description
1950s canvas “Dior Look” dress
Kimberly’s dress was created in an abstract
expressionist manner, with green and black paint
thrown across the surface in a random way. The
resulting pattern contrasts with the hand-painted
flowers. The flowers are in shades of purple and red
and show various stages of bloom.
Autobiographical Inspiration
My dress presents an abstracted interpretation
of personal, recurrent and painful events. It is the
antithesis of a story. Instead, its narrative form
remains unresolved, without even a moment of
clarity. It is a tale that ceaselessly turns back on
itself. The repetitive forms and their “blooms” reveal
cycles of intense planning, hope, disappointment,
loss and longing that characterize my experience of
undergoing treatment for infertility over a seven-
year period.
Kimberly is an art history professor and an author.
15. 29
BACK
FRONT
My First Trip
Karen
Dress Description
1960s canvas sack dress
Karen’s dress is embellished with colourful
embroidered leaves made of silk. The neckline
and arm openings are trimmed with a dense linear
pattern. An image of the Duomo has been painted
on a silk fabric and then applied to the center front
of the dress. There is embroidered text throughout
the dress creating words and phrases such as
“dreams come true” and “adventurous.”
Autobiographical Inspiration
Florence, Italy. I stand alone and close my eyes to
try to burn this image into my mind forever. I can’t
believe how hot the August day is or how rich the
smell of food is all around me. This trip has changed
me forever. I have dreamed of travelling all my life.
I just celebrated my 50th birthday and this is my
first trip.
Karen is a craft artist and entrepreneur. She lives in
New Jersey with her husband and her four children.
16. 31
BACK
FRONT
My Three Sons
Heather
Dress description
1970s canvas wrap dress
Heather’s dress features hand-drawn images of
children’s paraphernalia and alphabets distributed
on all sides. The binding along the dress’s edges has
been coloured and acts as a trim, with a repeated
pattern of colours accentuating the neckline.
Autobiographical Inspiration
The moment my firstborn was here I was a mom.
That’s my identity in this stage of my life and I love it.
I have three beautiful boys. They have skinned knees
and they jump on couches; they scream, wrestle and
yell. They spill milk and they draw on my floors.
They tell me I am their best friend. They kiss me a
million times a day. They snuggle and they take good
care of each other. They have their daddy’s smile
and my nose.
Heather lives in New Jersey. She is a stay-at-home
mother raising her three sons.
17. 33
inside lining
FRONT
back
Turning 40
Florence
Dress Description
1970s canvas wrap dress
Florence’s dress is covered with images of a fernlike
leaf, a Maori Koru, hand-painted on the surface of
the dress. She has added a sky-blue lining covered
with beaded dragonflies and embroidered text. The
front edges of the dress and the decorative shapes
on the front are trimmed in green.
Autobiographical Inspiration
It was the summer of 2000, two days before my
40th birthday. I had lost about 30 pounds in the
past year; I was feeling good and my business was
flourishing.
I was completely taken by surprise when a client
invited me to dinner. Naturally I was flattered that a
near-stranger, and a very sexy one at that, would find
me desirable. To this day I don’t know why I asked
that he call me back the following week – it was so
uncharacteristic of me.
My 40th birthday was a celebration of friendship
and love; I was overjoyed. At four p.m., my husband
of sixteen years finally called to wish me a happy
birthday. When I asked where we were going for
supper, he said, “Nowhere, let’s just have some
sandwiches at home.”
That was a defining moment. I remember thinking
“What am I doing? In 20 years I do not want to look
back and wish I had done something.” I decided I was
going to make changes to my life!
The following week I accepted the invitation to
dinner from Rob and my life has been forever
changed. I have wind beneath my wings!
Florence is a wife and mother. She has an Honours
Business degree and has specialized in real estate.
Originally from Ontario, she has spent the last four
years living in Kelowna, B.C., where she works as a
business and life coach.
18. 3535
BACK
FRONT
La Viajera (Mapping My Life)
Isabel
Dress Description
1970s canvas wrap dress
Isabel’s dress is a customized polyester/cotton
textile wrap dress that has been digitally printed
with a graphic design. The image that encompasses
the entire dress is a violet-blue colour and includes
the continents, like a world map. She has added a
cap to her dress display, which is a fashion object
used to show support for the Venezuelan people
during street protests against their government.
The balloons beneath the dress make the dress
buoyant and the “floating” skirt includes an image
of an airplane and a series of clear plastic pockets
that hold images of friends and family members. On
the right side of the bodice is a functioning window
shutter with an image of Australia. This area is also a
pocket, which holds a plane ticket.
Autobiographical Inspiration
On February 2nd, 1999, Hugo Chavez won the
Venezuelan election. This event, which permanently
altered the political path of my country, forced my
family to leave Venezuela in search of safety and
better opportunities.
This election also had an impact on my parents’
marriage, which ended in divorce. Many of my
relationships have also broken down, partly due to
the great distance dividing us. I have been left with
a sense of helplessness. All the things that were
familiar to me from the past are gone.
Isabel is a graphic designer and a graduate student
who has lived in several countries. She lives in
Toronto, but is in the process of moving to Australia.
19. “The story of objects
asserting themselves
as things, then, is the story
of a changed relation to the
human subject and thus
the story of how the thing
really names less an object
than a particular
subject-object relation.”
Bill Brown, “THing THeory”
3737
20. Bibliography
Brown, Bill. “Thing Theory” in Critical Inquiry.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001.
Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 1-22. Print.
Smith, Sidonie and Watson, Julia. Reading
Autobiography: A Guide for Interpreting
Life Narratives. Minneapolis: University of
Minneapolis Press, 2010. Second Edition. Print.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the myriad of individuals
and participants who took an interest in this
exhibition project and believed in the power
of sharing. Those who supported the project
with their professional skills as educators,
curators, artists and professionals have amazed
me with their generosity and knowledge. I’ve
learned that professionalism and kindness
are not separate skills; one’s ability to be
kind must also be practiced as a measure
of success. Special thanks to the following
individuals: wearable art artist Josette Luyckx,
for her sewing instruction; Sara Nickleson,
the curator at the Design Exchange, for her
guidance; Isabel Fernandez for her graphic
design savvy; Rosalia Natale for her dedicated
friendship and project management skills;
Domenica Hoyes for contributing her intuitive
sensibility to the production process; Professor
Alison Matthews David for all her efforts; and
Professor Irene Gammel, my supervisor, for
being an inspirational role model. I also extend
heartfelt gratitude to the thirteen women
who were brave enough to create ‘fashion
autobiographies’ for this project: Valerie
Aquino, Florence Bortoluzzi, Léonie Daignault-
Leclerc, Maria R. Dal Cin, Aline Emsallem,
Isabel Fernandez, Heather Grande, Catherine
Vamvakas Lay, Karen Chowansky Natale, Sara
Nickleson, Colleen Schindler-Lynch, Marianne
Urvari, and Kimberly Wahl.
I also owe much of my success for this project
to a distinguished group of friends who have
given of their time and kindness, which in some
cases include countless consoling words of
encouragement. However, if it were not for the
tenacity of one woman in particular I could not
image having had the strength to move forward
with my dream to communicate through art
and fashion. Boundless amounts of gratitude
to Karen Chowansky Natale for her dedicated
friendship, like no other.
Last, but not least, thanks to my youngest
daughter, Candice, for being the beautifully
balanced person you have become, and to my
granddaughters Isabella, Alessia and Mia for
their innocence.
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