My journey from fashion to art

And back again

Before focusing solely on art, I worked at Teen Vogue for a brief stint. I grew up with a subscription to the magazine, which I would read cover to cover. The boxy size, smaller than a typical magazine on a newsstand and bigger than a book, was viscerally pleasing in its tactility. I wouldn’t say working there was a dream job of mine—I didn’t know how to dream that big when I was younger.

Anyway, I was at Teen Vogue’post-print, which meant I wrote a lot of online content. The work was taxing, and after a particularly gruelling New York Fashion Week, I decided that fashion was not for me and that I would fully commit to art.

Maryam Nassir Zadeh Spring 2020 show

While I don’t regret this decision, I do miss fashion. Ninety percent of the newsletters I subscribe to are fashion-related (five percent are art, and five percent are business). I’m always thinking about clothes or searching for clothes. I’ll chat anyone’s ear off about how Pleats Please by Issey Miyake is the perfect art fair outfit because it doesn’t wrinkle, plus it looks good immediately and effortlessly.

I'll take any opportunity to mix art and fashion. That’s why I jumped at the chance to write about Joy Walker’s exhibition at MKG127 in Toronto. Walker, like me, is a fashion enthusiast. Unlike me, she has technical skills and creativity behind her passion, which allows her to make art out of fabric.

Here’s an excerpt of the text:

---

“A circle of fine card board and a chance to see a tassel.” Gertrude Stein, Tender Buttons, 1914

In 1914, Gertrude Stein published Tender Buttons, a book of absurdist modernist prose. The short blurbs disorient. Each word makes sense individually, alluding to and referencing common objects. However, as a whole, meaning is just outside of grasp—not unlike Joy Walker’s latest exhibition at MKG127, A Line Becomes a Thread.

The exhibition is comprised of fabric: fabric scraps, deconstructed fabric, fabric hanging on thin metal rods, and fabric propped up as a sculpture. Buttons hold up strips of fabric, and buttons trace down the sleeve of a striped dress shirt. There are pleats, folds, and secret signatures if you know where to look: Yohji Yamamoto is on the side of one piece, and the iconic Margiela stitches (penciled in) on another. Joy Walker’s signature is subtly stamped on everything—an inventiveness of geometric restraint that the artist is known for.

We’re not used to seeing clothing cut up and made into something else; we’re used to wearing it. Fabric lies directly against our bodies, possessing an intimate place in our lives. In the gallery, no touching is allowed. Instead, we start to see clothes as something else: architectural, sculptural barriers. Walker expands the possibility of what clothing, fashion, and fabric are with her deconstruction and abstractions.

Just like Tender Buttons, Walker is making a study of objects

Untitled (Issey Miyake pants pattern), 2024, primed canvas, 20 x 42.5”; Untitled (Margiela Apron Skirt 1999), 2024, primed canvas, 36 x 41.5”

Keep reading here.

---

Art news, briefly

• The New York Times published an article on the trend of “art coaches,” crit clubs, and marketing schemes that claim to teach artists how to sell their art. I think the article fell short in distinguishing between legitimate community-led initiatives like post-school critique groups and more scammy ventures. I might write more about it soon…

• I visited the River Crossing Shop in Toronto and was blown away by how beautifully curated each element was. Art on the wall included Jana Ghalayini and Laura Dawe, but really, every piece in the store was a work of art.

  rivercrossingshop

  

  A post shared by @rivercrossingshop

• We’re starting to see the unfolding of the Christie’s hack—RansomHub has taken responsibility for the breach and says it will release personal information unless a ransom is paid by the end of May.

• Sean Baker has won the Palme d’Or for Anora—I’m excited and can’t wait to see it! You can watch a clip here.

• Speaking of fashion, here’s one of my favourite pieces I’ve ever written—about the proliferation of front-row seating at fashion shows in connection with corner office culture.

Please let me know what you think the ultimate fashion x art brand is! What are YOU packing to Basel in a couple weeks?