Finding Inspiration (Pt. 1)

Finding Inspiration: Theme, City Walk and Making the Invisible ‘Visible’

By Zoe Goetzmann

Theme

Theme: Androgyny Cover Star: Jodie Comer, Killing Eve The first few weeks of this course have been a blur of frenzy and excitement. The first week, our group settled on a theme for our Mock Vogue cover: androgyny.

Our team also met for the first time this week. We made the decision to pick British actress Jodie Comer, who plays the lovable and sociopathic assassin on BBC’s Killing Eve, as our cover star. Having been a fan of Jodie since her days on the show My Mad Fat Diary, I absolutely love her character on this new show and have admired how much her career has progressed since its early years. I pitched her to our group as a more ‘realistic’ option for a Vogue cover star. In addition, since the show has been on the air, her character “Villanelle” as become somewhat of a media icon amongst the LGBTQ community, taking ownership of her fluid sexuality, blending the lines between stereotypical masculine and feminine roles through her performance.

From walking through the streets of London to analyzing London street fashion, the notion of rebellion has been a guiding source of inspiration for our project. With Brexit and the future of Great Britain still up in the air, we were aware of these specific events when coming up with the theme for our mock cover. In addition, we also used the concept of androgyny and punk/grunge trends to help to further characterize Britain’s transitional – in flux – state.

City Walk

Our first assignment as a group took us to the Wallace Collection, Trafalgar Square and to the Tate Modern. The Manolo Blahnik exhibition at the Wallace Collection was absolutely amazing. Preserved in glass cases, I admired how seemlessly the shoes fit amongst the other art pieces in the collection. Thus, showing the strong link between both art and fashion.

Next, we visited the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Sqaure created by artist Michael Rakowitz. Displayed in – arguably – one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world, this sculpture is a public representation of London. The title of the world, The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist, a project that was started in 2008, attempts to recognize stolen archeological artifacts that were taken from the country during the war, using recycled products from this specific region in the sculpture’s construction. Recognizing the concept of sustainability as well as the visibility of other cultures in its overall execution.

Finally, we visited the Tate Modern, going up to the top level to have a view from the building’s new addition (once of my favorite parts of London). Despite having to navigate through the building’s forever confusing architecture, when you reach this upper deck, the view of the strand and the Thames is absolutely breathtaking and serves as instant source of creative inspiration. It is also a constant reminder of London and its ever-changing state, reminding everyone how far it has come and yet, how far it still has to go in terms of it social, political and economic climate and landscape.