WHY CLOTHES?
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Though fashion is inextricably linked to the material realm, its influence extends far beyond. Fashion has the power to transcend, to connect us with a power greater than ourselves - the divine - what we entitle "The Kingdom". Properly undertaken, the craftsman chases some higher ideal in his work, a manifestation of some perfection beyond our mortal reach. The wearer, in turn, embodies this pursuit of the ideal through an attitude of thoughtfulness exemplified in careful curation
Fashion is the most prolific and (we argue) necessary art form that exists. If you want to live in society, you must wear clothes. Because of this, the position that fashion designers, tailors, ateliers, and factory workers hold is an important one: service.
Clothing is in the hands of the maker, but it is at the will of the people. Designers must make garments that people want to wear and enjoy wearing. Both beauty and form move with function.
Fashion’s greatest strength, perhaps, is that these elements – beauty, form, and function – are co-authored. When a garment is made, the creative act begins with the maker’s vision and then leads into the construction and production of the piece. But it does not end at that. The piece is consummated with the consumer’s own creative act of wearing it, styling it, and allowing it to be an instrument for self-confidence and personal expression. The beauty and importance of this is that this can (and often does) happen every day. Wearing the right garment or putting together the sharpest outfit can be a slight but important step to daily self-empowerment; that shot of espresso to get you going in the morning.
While clothing can be used as a potent form of self-empowerment, it can – and often is – a vehicle for self-obsession, arrogance, and narcissism. Sociologist and filmmaker Adam Curtis defined the 20th century as “the century of the self.” He states, “The triumph of the self is the ultimate expression of democracy, where power has finally moved to the people. Certainly, the people may feel they are in charge, but are they really?” The people are in charge; that is, until brands and other influencers say differently.
How can fashion serve as a form of transcendent artistic expression when new trends, manufactured by fashion houses and celebrities, arise every 6 months? Hopping on trends or wearing what is currently “cool” just because it is currently “cool” seems more like dependence than independence. For most brands, celebrities, designers, etc., the concept of time is a necessity. Products, slogans, marketing campaigns are all tangential to the current (or past, a la Y2K movement) textures of the time.
Mesciu Gigi's team: Nicolas Segura and Luca Giusto
For us, time is a luxury. We strive to make our patterns, hues, and materials outside of time, only a mere reference to the ephemeral state of the present. The present was once the future and now it is the past, so why hold on?
Mesciu Gigi aims to look beyond this impermanence. Beyond the vogue and the trendy. It looks for something constant but perpetual, and our garments provide that.