Alexander M Earl © Murdo Inc 2011

Defying all the rules of a traditional fashion show, ArtaWEARness is an outlet for the artistic to truly show off their work as well as be a part of their own performance: a rarity. Eleven years ago, Natalie Gerber, a fiber student at the time, along with ACAD professor, Dee Fontans, founded this awakening event.

They collaborated for two years until Gerber graduated. Since then, the charismatic, Fontans has continued with ArtaWEARness: “It’s just overwhelming what’s happened with the commitment that people have had towards the wearable art movement… so I’m really thrilled.” Her outfit of the night was also an expression of herself like those of the designers showing. Fontans wore a strapless purple cocktail dress with pictures of her art work and poems she authored printed on it. Newspaper patterned leggings and zebra print shoes with red piping finished off her outfit nicely.

Elisabeth Cartwright started the night with Revival. The inspiring message behind her performance: all women are beautiful. Cartwright’s models came out wearing aviators and white jumpsuits, each with numbers on their back signifying how they are all alike with no variation existing. As the music picked up pace and reached its climax, the models tore off their white jump suits, where underneath, they wore a nude coloured spaghetti strapped tank top and short shorts. They danced around in freedom completely comfortable with their bodies.

One of the most energizing performances came from Georgia Lee’s models for The Desert’s Natural Law. Everything about them was vibrant. They wore goggle like sunglasses with a handkerchief over their mouth; gold chains and armor accompanied their outfits. Florence + The Machine’s electric song Dog Days Are Over played in the background. The beginning to this song starts off slow, but then peaks at the chorus, where the models tore of their hankerchiefs and danced with passion. Their energy captured the audience as they too clapped to the beat of the song with the models.

Toy Box by Chelsey Wensveen brought one’s childhood toys to life bringing back memories of when one was young. There was a raggedy ann doll couple, a jack-in-the-box, a drumming monkey, a rabbit along with others.

To end the event Kendra Joe’s Forbidden Passion was breath taking. All the intricately designed outfits for the couples were created from harlequin romance novels. Yes, the clothing of the models were made from pages of these books! The story line behind the performance, one of love and protection, pulled on the heart strings of the audience. It closed the night perfectly with everyone feeling a sense of awe for the talented individuals within our city.

Words by Daniela Codreanu

Photography courtesy of Benjamin Ross Hayden

See the full set of ARTAWARENESS XI runway shots.

The weekend of February 26th, while most of the world was glued to winter Olympic broadcasts, and Canadian athletes won gold for their nation, an astounding Calgarian victory was achieved. Though it is doubtful you would have heard talk of it around the water cooler the following Monday morning, the tenth annual artAWEARness wearable art fashion show at ACAD marked a decade of local artists showcasing remarkable talent in decorating the human form; with designs that evoke emotion, delight the audience, and at times, take your breath away.

The sheer talent of the student designers has fuelled its growth and popularity since its inception in 2000, when former ACAD student Natalie Gerber decided to create an annual forum for the display of art as fashion.

The artAWEARness show has come a long way since its meagre beginnings, now gaining sponsorship from local businesses such as PK sound,  Swizzlesticks Salon and several local art galleries.This year, with 14 designers and a horde of models showcasing designs that utilize a wide variety of materials, shapes, and themes, the evening provided thrills through fashion, music, and dance. With a reputation for the beautiful and bizarre, this year’s cast of designers did not disappoint, presenting the audience with a series of highly memorable wearable art collections.

The night is not one solely dedicated to entertainment, and some members of the large crowd the event attracts may not be aware of the competitive nature of the evening. Students vie for a position in the coveted event, and their collections are judged in a variety of categories deeming them as most entertaining, best performance, and so on. This spirit of competition provides a fitting reward for the raw talent. However, the warm reception that the event’s bubbly founder, Gerber, receives as she hosts the show, suggests our city’s love for fashion and the arts as the reason the event has endured for so long.

The show itself was a diverse spectrum. First down the runway was the Carnivalesque collection by  Jessica Seward, whose ‘bearded lady’ and candy floss frock remind us of the strange, yet captivating nature of the cirque. Ashleigh Moore & Lowell Smith presented Submerge, an otherworldly interpretive performance combining flounced skirts in rich fabrics, and translucent tear drop chest pieces fitted with lights for a dazzling performance.

The evening was not all serious, with Katie Kimber sending her peppy handful of models down the runway, literally popping out of their popcorn-esque costumes, and putting a smile on many a face with The Orville Series. Jessica Armstrong presented an exceptionally beautiful menagerie of models turned sea life a la Lady Ocean. A theme of the evening was a cheeky and disarming reworking of costume to suggest the naked human form, as presented by Yvonne Kustec in Skin, Fat & Flesh, and Nickie Burdett in Right to Bare Arms.

The artAWEARness show once again succeeded in creating an evening of fashion exceptionally enhanced by the imagination of our city’s brightest young artists. One of our most anticipated events of the year, this show has garnered much deserved praise as an outlet for creativity, and as an event that never ceases to impress.

Adriana Sveen

Photos by Ben Tsui Media Inc

Video by Benjamin Hayden & Paul Spenard

On November 5, ACAD’s Wearable Art – Object and Body Class transformed the packed and pulsating Art Central into a pillar performance space.  Attendees at Regalia were given front-row access to the three-tiered runway to sample the freshest perspectives in Calgary fashion.

Barbara Wordon literally made a meal out of her materials by setting the perfect table for one.   A well-structured, table-cloth gown was the base for a royal blue, folded-napkin sash – complete with cutlery tucked into its crisp fold – and what better crown for a delish-Princess than a silver platter serving up appetizing morsels.

Lindsay Joy and Jennifer Akkerman used the 20^th century suit as the canvas on which to create.  Joy did an Elizabethan remix on the contemporary corporate stable by stuffing the flutes of a nouveau neck-ruff with purple tulle, while Akkerman set the 3-piece-suit decidedly askew by drowning her male model in a parachute-sized striped tie.

Some artist’s pieces were more performative, like Ashley Q who sent a lithe elephant down the runway with a safari-woman hot on her trails.  Wearing a grey, strapless silk mini and a pellet of bullets serving as the elephant’s trunk, she created tension between her two models by giving the animal ammunition, but the armed hunter the weapon.

The remainder of the show dramatically teetered between light and dark; with some artists favouring a feminine fit built from natural fibres while others had a sharper edge by incorporating spiky-lines and sturdy-materials.

Bandeau tops, bellies and over-the shoulder accessories were the focus of Georgia Lee and Ashleigh Amber Moore’s pieces. Lee’s ocean-beauties wore aquamarine skirts with mini logs of raw driftwood draping off bare shoulders and Moore’s bandeau-babes floated under weighty, teardrop glass. Completing Moore’s look was hair set in large, parallel rollers, turning her models into tubular-Medusas.

Goddesses draped in vibrant, free-floating fibres descended from the Heavens in Jodie Stevens’ pieces entitled “Transflow” while Rebecca Taylor and Georgia Lee played with Mother Earth herself by showcasing raw fibres and feathers (Taylor), neutral tones, twigs and flowers (Lee).  The real showstopper was Amy Malbeuf’s bathing beauties who appeared to be emerging fresh from the sea, wearing shimmering swimsuits with huge neckpieces that were constructed to look like a shoreline brimming with beach activities.  Topping it all off with multi-coloured beads, leaves & feathers draping from the neckpieces, the overall effect was stunning and playful.

Mixed in with these breezy, delicate pieces were garments constructed from more rigid materials.  Highlights included Leo Casuga Jr.’s DJ femme-fatales whose LP corsets and turntable skirts made everyone’s head spin and the fan favourites, Sam Huskisson and Nick Ward, who rocked post-apocalyptic worlds. One of Huskisson’s well-armed models was suited in grey, reflective leggings and black, Lego-like war-gear and Ward’s wild-duo descended the runway in structured leather garments and gas masks with fangs.  Anna Cunningham’s male models closed the show with a fantastic-flourish: wearing only boxer-briefs, their taught bodies were the sturdy foundation for the spectacular webbed-architecture that extended from their fit-frames.

The entire show was a flavourful taste of what ACAD’s Wearable Art class has been up to this season.  The fact that the pieces were so vibrant and rich made them the treat of the evening.

Words by Amy Strilchurk

Photos by David Austin © 2009

Dee Fontans in original wearable art creations.

What better way to celebrate the 5^th Anniversary celebration of Calgary’s monthly culture crawl (a.k.a.: First Thursday) than by having art walk on two legs?  Art Central, the Mecca of Calgary’s visual art scene, will literally be bringing sculpture to life when 47 pieces of Wearable-Art descend the open-air staircase in a fantastical catwalk of Galliano-proportion.

Set to hit the runway at 8pm on November 5, Art Central is saving the much-anticipated show, Regalia, for last.  Showcasing the work of ACAD’s Wearable Art – Object and Body Class, Regalia will show the work of 18 students, all guided by the force that is Calgary-based artist Dee Fontans.

Fashion designer, jeweler, enamellist, performance artist and instructor, Fontans is a multi-tasking artist who juggles her tools and her time with her own Calgary brand of Zen.  Fontans is both an ambitious entrepreneur and a mellow soul. “Mentorship is a privilege. It provides stability in my life and allows enough time for me to seek out my own opportunities,” says Fontans of how she balances mentorship with her own artistic career:  By responding to open calls or invites for exhibitions, Fontans keeps her own artistic impulses alive by ensuring she continues to articulate her own point of view; fitting about one exhibition a month into her teaching schedule.

Dee’s work is primarily “concerned with the female figure and the body, as an interactive context for garment design and performance.”
“Everything we create has an impact on people” says Fontans.  Fontans ensures that her students are aware of this by encouraging them to be socially engaged artists and reminds them that they have a social responsibility within their practice.

At the beginning of the term, Fontans brings historical references to class, overviews various materials and discusses each student’s personal practice.  Then striking while the needle and thread are hot, makes sure that the students act on their first impulse because by the second week of the class, an object is made.  “It’s very quick in terms of what’s produced,” says Fontans.

While students act on instincts, Fontans has a unique practice that ensures that they remain self-aware, every step of the way.  “They’re required to write statements about their passion for personal understanding of what they’re making.  Even though artists are communicators through their medium, the artist also needs to know who to articulate that message or point of view through words.  So writing becomes the foundation on which they create their pieces.”

And how does Dee assess the process, the artist and the art?  “I’m not a believer in perfection. Perfection can paralyze.  I believe in being a peak performer because depending on time and skill, I strive to do my best.  This is what allows me to continue learning.”

Fontans has learned a lot about herself as an artist, over the years.  She recounts her time at the Parson’s school of Design in New York City, as an example of one her biggest learning-curves.  “There was this one time, back when I was a pretty impulsive person, where I was working on a garment at 3am and I just started cutting fabric.  It was just a bad decision. I just knew I shouldn’t be a fashion designer at that point in my life. The next day, I redirected my creative studies at Parsons and went into designing jewelery as my artistic focus”.

A series of events would bring the artist back to fashion, full-circle, with a few new skills in tow.  “Jewelry making came into my life and it taught me patience with myself and my materials.  Then an accident challenged me again: I caught my hand in a machine and broke my hand in 3 places.”  The massive cast prevented her from working with clasps and chains so she let other materials be her guide. “I was making rubber necklaces that would drape to the waist and gigantic hats made out of wire.”

From playing with new materials, the romance with fashion was rekindled and Fontans began creating garments in new ways; ways that have become the backbone of her work and have infused the work of some of Calgary’s hottest emerging artists.

Words by Amy Lynn Strilchuk

For more information about Dee Fontans go to: www.deefontans.com

The Wearable Art class will present Regalia, Thursday, November 5, 2009 at Art Central.