Last month we invited everyone at City of Craft to sit down and sketch memorable moments that have defined their sartorial selves. The drawings were too charming to keep confined to the office walls, so we felt compelled to share them with you all.
Binders are the antithesis of a bra. Bras, with their tendency to be colourful and embellished, are available in wild and wondrous patterns and shapes of every sort; they’re built to cup and lift, and designed to be seen and admired. Binders, on the other hand, are plain and inconspicuous, built to be worn like a second skin and designed not for the eye, but simply to perform a purpose; they flatten and shape a chest, creating a more masculine, square form for those who don’t wish to show their breasts. Bras have been considered beautiful and often liberating—but who says binders can’t be too? Kyle Lasky shows binders as a work of art in “Presence In Absense,” a photo series that captures the pain, liberation, and beauty in binders.
Kyle is a queer photographer based in Toronto who has just launched their first solo show with “Presence in Absence” this month at the female-friendly sex shop Come As You Are. Kyle chose binders because, “for a lot of people who bind, a binder is the final layer in undressing, so these photos actually function as nudes, they’re portraits of bare chests.” By presenting the binder as a chest itself, the wish of the wearer is being granted; the photos show almost no sign of a traditionally feminine form.
Binders are essentially an extremely tight fitting sort of modern version of a corset, and are used exclusively to flatten breasts and create a male contour chest. They’re worn almost equally by masculine identified people and feminine identified people, and most importantly they provide a surgery-free option of comfort for those who can’t afford the expenses and down-time a mastectomy can demand. Read the rest of this article »
I’ve recently become addicted to the filmography of Alfred Hitchcock. Whenever something by the Master of Suspense is playing, you can’t not keep your eyes on the screen. Not only are they nail-bitingly intense, but you gotta love those classic and clean Edith Head costumes. These images are a few of my favourites from two of his most iconic films. How brilliant was it the way clothing was linked to mistaken identity in Vertigo?
Audrey Cantwell portrait by Yuli Sato
Montreal designer Audrey Cantwell stays true to her own vision. From her line Ovate, which she designs and makes, to the goth, grunge-inflected vintage finds at her online store Tarantula Sisters, she keeps things dark but simple. It’s a vision that extends to her blog and her latest awesome project, the Tarantula Sisters zine.
Tell me about how the Tarantula Sisters Etsy store got started.
I had an Etsy store way back called Black Market Baby—but it was mostly stuff I didn’t want to wear anymore. Then a year and a half ago I decided I wanted to try it seriously. Originally, it was me and a friend but it’s hard to be a partner, especially when money’s involved and you have different aesthetics. I was all, “No cute sweaters with puppies!” So we went our separate ways. I’ve always really loved vintage clothes and I like the idea of not buying new stuff. I like vintage that doesn’t look like vintage, nice fabrics, nice cuts, classic things. I also have a soft spot for ’90s grunge.
How did you come up with the idea for the zine?
I’ve made zines in the past for my friends, like an Iggy Pop fanzine. I had the idea about six months ago to do a zine that’s all collaborative projects. It was a reason to get to know people who I would otherwise have no reason to contact. There’s an endless number of people in Montreal I want to work with. I’m into fashion big time, so for sure it’s a fashion zine—I styled some shoots and did an interview with my friend Maude Nibelungen who’s an awesome knitter—but I’m also into punk in Montreal and illustration and comics, so it’s got that too.
From Tarantula Sisters Zine #3
The fashion shoots are very professional. Is that hard to pull off?
The only thing that’s hard is trying to find people who are down to do it for fun, because there’s no budget. But I’ve got some wicked friends like makeup artists and hair stylists, who are always willing to help. My friends model, or I’ll model. And often agencies, if they have new models, will let you use them for free. I usually work with all girl teams, which I feel is a bit unusual in Montreal. I’m all about the girl teams for fashion shoots; we have fun. We smoke a joint, we drink some beer, eat snacks, and do a shoot.
Kind of like the ultimate sleepover.
Yeah! And then we stay up all night and go through, like, 3,000 photos. I would do a shoot every week if I could.
You mentioned that you don’t like the idea of buying new clothes. How do you reconcile that with the fact that you’re also a designer?
I like the idea of handmade. Everything you can buy used, buy used, but I’m a kind of craftsperson and I like artisan things and I think that’s important to support. I mean new things in the way of going the mall, and buying a bunch of crap. For the most part, I only wear used clothes except for a few special things that my friends made, or I made. But I’m not going to lie, I’ve got a few things from Zara.
Audrey in her studio by April Lea
Is this a new realization?
Yeah. I worked at Urban Outfitters and H&M during school and I was all over that shit. After two or three years of working in retail, I realized that after every year I’d have nothing from the year before. It wasn’t worth anything to me; it wasn’t worth anything to anyone. I felt like I wasted so much money and was impulsive on trends and I just ended up wearing the same thing as everyone else. After I stopped working there, didn’t have a good discount anymore, and only bought stuff at the thrift store, I felt like my style was much better. I felt cooler and looked better trying to be creative with second-hand things.
Are you aware of that when you’re designing? Making something timeless?
Gosh, I don’t really think about it too much. A lot of people say my stuff is goth, and I guess goth is a trend, but there are pieces that people would wear for many years—at least that’s what I hope for.
interview by Sacha Jackson
