MACKI*

House of Diehl blew into Chicago, April 11th—one of four international artists brought to the School of the Art Institute for the “Global Fits” lecture series, delivering “a global perspective on contemporary innovative design.” Rather than deliver a simple presentation, House of Diehl chose to engage the audience in a collaborative high-fashion experience. In the course of their lecture, a couture gown of vintage shirts designed by MJ Diehl was unleashed on the audience–worn by one of SAIC’s students. Audience members were invited to “finish” the garment with their own creativity—their marks becoming the supercool original pattern of this one-of-a-kind gown. This piece now joins other community-created couture pieces from New York and London, as part of a House of Diehl’s Global fashion collection–The Signature Line.

A site-specific fashion happening, installation and performance incorporating the voice of Vito Acconci, House of Diehl captures a moment through high fashion and gives it away. Performed with the JVA Flag Corps, choreographed by Vanessa Walters.

With the runway operating as a canvas, stage and catwalk, traditional limits between audience and performers are dissolved as attendees squat below the hulk of an exploded airplane to fill in the runway’s open statement with their own assertions of hot and not. MJ poses in a human dress and walks the red runway. The JVA dance an exuberant routine. The soles of their feet are covered in rubber stamps that imprint a pattern on the catwalk. The socially generated textile is immediately recontextualized as clothing in the fashion world as t-shirts. The mood is one of amplification, congregation and celebration.

Produced in tandem with Nancy Rubins and Denial is a River, Mass <-> Production: The Quantity Theory of Celebrity creates a dialogue with SculptureCenter’s space and exhibitions in the language of House of Diehl’s generous production of fashion.— S Basta

Performance artists gown:

performance artists about to cut up the catwalk for audience to wear and then model..

The spectacular venue.

FASHION AS THE NEW ROCK’N'ROLL… Imagine there were no live concerts, only studio LPs–then, out of nowhere, Jimmy Hendrix rocked the world with a live guitar. Fashion often feels sterile and over-produced. House of Diehl is Haute Couture’s Hendrix–emotional, sexy, raw, alive. Standing-room-only crowds cheer and crush the stage as designers dance, models mingle, and guests take the catwalk to get glamour-ized on the spot.

Instant Couture = Instant Celebrity: House of Diehl makes everyone the star as model, muse and co-creator of each collection: Each design as unique as guest who inspires it; each collection as unique as the city in which it is created.

OVERVIEW
Instant Couture is a city-specific event and fashioncollection – equal parts interactive performance, fashion show, and style lab. Upon arrival, guests mount the stage to undergo their “15 minutes” with a House of Diehl DJ of Style, who mixes Diehl design techniques, guests’ unique personalities, regional artifacts and vintage clothing into Instant Couture, especially for them. Newly created “It” -girls and -boys walk the catwalk, past snapping paparazzi, as supermodels of the show. Everyone is a star.

TREND AS TIME CAPSULE
Each Instant Couture Collection represents the unique spirit of city in which it was created through the incorporation of native talent, materials and guests. The “collection” created is a Profile In Style of a specific time, place and people. Each city’s Style Profile, captured in video and images, is displayed at every other city’s show to promote cross-cultural awareness, understanding and communication using the power of fashion. The Instant Couture Experience creates and identifies “Style tribes” which transcend geographic and ethnic boundaries.
It’s hoped that the findings of the GLOBAL STYLE TRIBES(TM) project will make a valuable contribution to the dialog on visual/style communication at the start of the 21st century.

MATERIALS
Regional artifacts—to give voice to the culture in which the “collection” is created.
Culturally relevant vintage & new clothing.

The unique personality of each guest. 

By Sydney Croskery…

PERFORMANCE
There are very common threads that run through these performance works; a desexualisation of the female form employed by the ludicrous and/or repulsive, and a challenge of the notion of high and low art.

The Egg – 2006. 3rd Annual Deitch Art Parade

Since the Egg’s birth in 2006, The Egg has been a guest at such prestigous Events as The Getty Center’s Movement in the Visual Arts and the 2nd and 3rd Annual Deitch Art Parades in New York. The Egg has also appeared in the Comedy world, performing at Josh Fadem’s Acid Reflux Hourin Hollywood, California.
The Egg hopes to become a leading figure in the Art, Comedy and Entertainment Worlds.

WHEEL DRESS
LACE, 2006 with the LA Art Girls

When the LA Art Girls were invited by Lace (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) to suggest a contemporary read of 60’s Fluxus performance pieces, the Girls decided to perform a Fluxus Fashion Show based on an original Fluxus dresses, such as “Build a dress made enitrlely of envelopes so people can put items in or take items out”.

I built a dress out of wheels, and performed thoughout the gallery by rolling around and spinning. We dressed in 60’s inspired make-up and hair as a nod to the era out of which fluxus was borne.

A beautifully crafted, yet completely uncomfortable dress that obstructs all feminine parts via a box, the Wheel Dress was poking fun at fashion and model society as well as haute couture, all genres that are based solely on money and beauty.

LA Art Girls
Fluxus Fashion Show

From left front: Wheel Dress, Dress made of Plastic, Fire Dress
Next Row: Pescription Dress, Dress for a Klutz, Merkin Dress, Tampon Dress, Letter Dress
Back Row: Upside Down Dress, Newspaper Dress, Glow in the Dark Dress, Tin Foil Dress, Sandpaper Dress, Pregnant Lady Dress, Velcrow Dress, Feather Dress
Photo Credit: Bartholomew Cooke