When the word deconstruct comes to mind, you may normally think of the tearing down of a building, or taking apart a confusing section of reading. However, if you think of De·Construct, then you would be referring to the workshop event Sheerfull held at the end of March in collaboration with Human Condition, a Seattle-based art fashion magazine. Our definition of De·Construct also involved taking apart and tearing down, but this time we wanted to focus on the taking apart of clothing. We brought together local artists to teach a community-based workshop where each person would learn how to take an old piece of clothing and turn it into their very own custom piece.
The event, hosted at local eyewear boutique Ollie Quinn, ended up attracting a variety of people from different places, who brought their own pieces, such as jeans, jackets, and even an apron--and spent time painting, patching, and sewing their clothes into something new. Three incredible local artists--Izzy, Ha-vy, and Aidan--each held demonstrations on how to make shirt sleeves, distress denim, and paint with acrylics on clothing. Our guests also had the opportunity to talk with the artists and ask them about where they draw inspiration from and what got them into fashion.
I have been a loyal follower of Man Repeller since 2014 so when they announced that they’re taking over four floors of the Free Hand hotel in NYC to have a weekend long sleepover for the MR community, I had a heart attack!
Not really… but that was the closest I’ve felt to having one. Anyway, after two whole minutes of self-deliberation, I decided that I must take part in this weekend no matter the cost! Which takes me to my next point:
If you couldn’t make the event, no fear--I reached out to some attendees who let us know more about their experience at the workshop. When I reached out to Carmen, an attendee who came with the hopes of being surrounded by like-minded individuals interested in fashion and art, she let me know that for her, the event ended up being a huge source of inspiration. She found the event inspiring because it built a platform for people to connect through art and fashion. “I just liked sharing my time and space with everyone.”
Similar to Carmen, I also appreciated the community building aspect of this event. It was a super cool to see everyone’s creativity flowing so freely and the connections that were being built. But as a member of the team, I was of course put to work and spent a lot of my time doing housekeeping, making sure everyone got enough newspapers, and checking that the event was going smoothly. Luckily, I did get a rose patch on my apron (shouts out to Daiso for the Hella cute aprons).
"(De)Construct was a huge source of inspiration for me because it built a platform for people to connect through art and fashion"
A tremendous thanks to everyone who attended our first workshop event. An extra special thanks to Ollie Quinn for their incredible generosity in hosting our event and Human Condition for collaborating with us.
Picture of me wearing the Daiso apron referenced above!
In the future, we hope to have another workshop. Deconstruct: Part 2. Thank you for reading this “deconstruction” of Deconstruct.
