Gardner Museum to open designer Carla's fashion exhibition

03 Apr '14

5 min read

A key component of that process is her design workshop Taller Flora, a mobile laboratorythat collaborates with Mexico’s indigenous communities. New radical designs are generated while preserving the traditional textile techniques. This is a sustainable business model based on close collaboration with and recognition of local knowledge and talent.

Color, mobility and creativity are the signposts around which The Barefoot Designer is conceived and structured. During her career, Fernández has worked with many indigenous communities throughout Mexico. The exhibition will highlight the styles and techniques of five States: Chiapas, Yucatan, Campeche, the State of Mexico and Mexico City. Designs inspired by each region are color-coded according to geographical area.

“It’s eye-opening to see the five regions of Mexico represented and learn about the origins of indigenous style,” Fernández said. “You can really see that although some of the regions are very close to each other, their cultures are completely different.

If you blend their work with contemporary design, you can make fashion out of tradition and it’s not static. It can be moving and revitalizing.

Mobility and collaboration can be seen and felt throughout the exhibition: in its installation, multiple films and monthly dance performances, as well as, its workshops for the public. The garments and mannequins are positioned on life-sized, mobile displays. Fernández has also activated the garments through a live and filmed dance performance by dancers Raushan Mitchell and Silas Reiner, bringing to life the notion of “clothing as canvas.”

The collaborative approach with artists and artisans from different disciplines is characteristic of the way Fernández works. The Barefoot Designer will include short process videos of weavers, embroiders, and carpenters by photographer and filmmaker Ramiro Chaves, as well as fashion films produced by Chaves and Pedro Torres in New York City, Boston and Mexico City.

A large workshop table adds a hands-on visitor experience to the exhibition, featuring workshops in embroidery and tassel making, as well as weekly demonstrations illustrating the Square Root method. The exhibition will also be complemented by master weavers, pop-up studios by Boston-based designers, and a waistloom workshop with two indigenous master weavers from Chiapas.

Fernández will run a two-day clothing workshop as well as workshops with the Gardner’s School and Community Partnership Programs. The table will also include examples of textiles, books, and iPads illustrating the embroidery techniques and weaving processes used by the different communities.

“I want people to understand that you can find happiness many different ways, and one way is by creating goods by hand and making things unique to the artist,” Fernández said. “Discovering the process helps people to understand how these different worlds work, because you fall in love with the artisan, and then you fall in love with the piece. You can create a whole economy based on the artists, and how their work is made.”

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

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