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Made in Vagina SAME Fashion Show, Las Vegas February 2003 | |
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After graduating college and moving to New York City Wilson drew and moused out thousands of flyers, candy package designs and calendars. Then in the last year he created SAME a company with his partner Karina. They live in North Carolina now, designing backhanded brainy fashion t-shirts for sale in boutiques from Tammany to Tokyo. "High concept tees for urban intellectuals," according to Sportswear International. Today, they make clothes, maybe someday climbable sculpture. |
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SAME was in Las Vegas to show their recent collection of shirts and sundry for the Pool expo - a showcase of "alternative" (young? brash?) fashion designers. These are people mostly making prints on existing clothes, maybe t-shirts: cutting and pasting pop-culture, perhaps to earn a reputation and the backing to do more radical cuts and fabrications. Pool piggybacks the Magic Fashion Trade Show, a huge garment expo. Jane and I were in attendance as fashion models for Wilson; willing and eager to walk the runway. This photo was taken just before the Pool fashion show at the Alexis Park Hotel. Behind the poolside area, the hallways were filled with flitting friends and fashionistas assembling their costumes, stripping down to underwear and donning fake-fur, tuxedos or top hats. Here Jane consents to have her hair done up, up into a beehive with many pins and spray and topped around with a tiara or two. |
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More hair doings with Karina working as Jane laughs. |
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Karina touches Jane's lips with plenty of dark glitter powder. |
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Finally, Jane stands assembled, shifting her hair to the side - "Made in Vagina" in a sequined sash across her front. |
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Together, united, "Made in Vagina" we stand ready to walk to the stage after a "Trophy" woman carried on a man's shoulders, a man adorned with gold bracelet and rings clad solely in a fur vest and "debtor" slacks, and an interpretive dancer who showed the audience her panties. |
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And so we smile. Wilson took print photographs of his people on the runway - maybe some day I'll have one to add here. You might see Jane and I alighting a white fur-lined stage in front of an audience of fellow fashion makers and fashion watchers. We swing-danced just a bit, and then I helped her off the stage where we continued our moves briefly, closer to the crowd. Someone asked loud and laughing, "Were you made in vagina?" to which I replied "Yes! We are all made in vagina!" Jane gave a polite wave and I accidentally escorted her out the wrong way. |
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Wilson stands with a number of his fellow young tough haberdashers. From left to right: ???, Josiah, Jeff (squatting), Wilson, Sam and John Whitledge from Trovata, another young design company. |
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The fireside at the PepperMill - old Las Vegas. Flames shooting out of water - simple, primal spectacle on a small scale. Low lights, low rounded booths, fake cherry blossoms. "Most of these women are prostitutes" a friend remarked. |
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Wilson and Karina looking tough in Las Vegas natural shine the day after the fashion show. |
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I'm wearing terminator-style glasses with bored/tired Jane wearing a bikini over her clothes near the SAME stall and the many other racks of soon-to-be-trendy t-shirts at the Pool fashion expo. |
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Wilson wearing one of his Trophy t-shirts in his SAME booth. Left of him is a spraypainted cardboard SAME mannequin, sporting a t-shirt commemorating the adventures of a black woman in the 1800s who got sick of mistreatment and took a shotgun to her foes. |
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Finished off our trip with a visit to Egg & I - Jane had a french toast sandwich, packed with scrambled eggs, bacon and melted cheese, topped with syrup. I had a "piggy skillet" - eggs topped with cheese, bacon, ham and sausage. |
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