Kaffe Fassett

One of my recent vintage fashion book purchases is called Creative Dressing, published in 1980. It highlights various clothing, textile, and knit wear designers and instructions on how to essentially knock off one or two of their designs at home, fully endorsed by the designer.

Interestingly, before each new style, there is a 2-3 page essay written by the designer on their design philosphy. The essays are very confident in their exactness, which I admire.  I think direction and focus is something that I need to work on in my own brand. I often have a hard time describing my work to other people, especially since my inspiration changes from season to season. I’d love be able to say something as arbitrary as “cool clothes for cool girls” or “contemporary Canadian chic” and that be enough. For fall 09, I hired a marketing company to critique and overhaul my branding, and they ultimately described it this way:

“The Butikofer girl covets high fashion. She has a unique, personal brand and her style truly reflects this. The look is un-precious yet flattering; staple pieces with a twist that transition seamlessly from season to season and with the other pieces in ones closet. Butikofer expertly blends seemingly opposite aesthetics; simple and complex, pretty and rugged, vintage and modern, old technology and new eco-fabrics to produce a wearable and highly unique fashion line.”

I believe this statement to be a pretty well rounded, accurate description, and very broad- leaving me with a lot of room for growth and change. But, at the same time, it’s broadness may be a good indicator of my lack of a focussed direction. I wish I could sum all of it up in a more succinct statement. Am I really that all over the place?

Back to Creative Dressing. Out of curiousity, I’ve been googling the designers featured in the book to see where they are now. Most of them are no where. The one name that is definitely still around is Kaffe Fassett. He started out as a painter who by chance became a knitter, and is now a textile/knitwear designer and author. I’ve bought a couple of his cotton prints from Telio in the past- they were supposed to be for my Spring 09 collection, but got cut. Luckily, one in particular is perfect for my Spring 2010 imaginary ”Lake Superior Yacht Club” collection. I really, really love this print, called lichen.

Kaffe Fasset is renowned for his use and love of colour and pattern. In terms of conviction about what and who he is as a designer, read this quote taken from his Creative Dressing essay:

“I believe in making clothes that are wearable, that are beautiful and flattering to the body. But within those limitations I like to arrive at the most luscious colourings by using lots of colours and textures, taking advantage of the fact that I am making it by hand, so I can put in the extras that a machine can’t. I always like in my knitting to do the most difficult things, to try for really complicated effects. And I like my designs to be timeless. If they’re beautiful today, I want them to be beautiful ten years from now. I want them to have qualities that will go on saying something – not just reflect what’s accepted, what’s ‘in fashion’, at the moment.

He’s my new hero. His designs are so wild, vivid and colourful, but they still manage to retain that timelessness he strives for. It’s really amazing.

I think often in today’s fashion, especially Canadian fashion, timelessness is associated with classic.  So, in order to be timeless, you have to strip away the design and personality in a garment. So, timeless=boring? Kind of. I’ve been doing this to my own work for the past few seasons, basically stripping away the essense of who I am as a designer in order to be more .  . .  . commercial, I guess? A large majority of everything I used to design involved humour, and maybe I was the only one laughing, but where did that designer go? Making pieces like this ‘big heart/big key’ top and ‘watermelon’ skirt.

 Granted, I am not 23 anymore, and now these designs embarass me just a little.  I think my humour would translate differently six years later, and be far less literal and childlike. But, I rarely let myself go there. Somewhere along the path of turning fashion design into a career, I lost a bit of the spirit I had when I started.

So, I am going to try to be more Kaffe like in the coming months. I am going to rediscover my passion, and explore it full force. Figure out what I want to say.  Here’s a picture of my new hero, from Creative Dressing, 1980:

 And Kaffe now:

 How lovely is this man? Look how calm he is! Notice the little buddhas in the backround then, and now. Talk about keeping it real. Based on his current website, his work includes needlepoint, mosaic, patchwork and quilting, painting, and of course knitting. Imagine his life! He must be always making something, if not many, many things. That’s a lot of time with busy hands and a wandering mind.  I’m charmed.