GRAHAM TABOR – INTERVIEW
New York based designer Graham Tabor’s primal designs have been catching the attention of the industry elite for some time now. Using advanced seamless knitwear technology, his designs are the antithesis to high fashion. Rips, holes and tears feature heavily in his designs, as do trailing threads and unravelling edges. Yet his S/S 09 collection is underpinned by an ethereality compounded by the use of sheer fabrics and clever design. The worn look is entirely intentional, reflecting Tabor’s fascination with archaeology which is heavily incorporated into his designs. His clothes are conceptual, exploring the cultural fragments of civilisation. This is fashion stripped down to the very basics.
What initially attracted you to the idea of working in fashion?
I’ve always been interested and involved in making objects since I was young. For me, fashion is another form of object making. I’m also fascinated by the fragmented tribalism of modern urban life and fashion’s role in it. As high tech and ‘evolved’ as we are, we still exist and function in tribes. Only now they are centred on our job, our career, our taste in music/arts and our tribes and communities are less and less geographically defined they are global. We might be in closer contact with someone in Paris then our next-door neighbour, but despite this, we still define and identify our selves visually as a member of our tribe.
You’ve worked for designers such as Helmut Lang in the past. What are the most important lessons that you have learned from them when it comes to designing?
Taking the time necessary to get something right. Trying to always open oneself to alternatives or possibilities that you might not see immediately. Most importantly, a lot about methodological things ways of working that are good and bad.
What do you strive to achieve when designing a collection?
To make something beautiful and satisfying that looks beautiful on people.
Your collection has been compared to an archaeological dig in how the clothes are constructed. Was it a conscious decision to design specifically with that in mind, or was it something that emerged during the design process?
I think it was an extension of other interests and not necessarily the original inspiration. It was natural metaphor to help convey my interest in fragmentation and the transformative power of work like – Gordon Matta Clark’s extractions as well as another facet of the fragmented modern tribalism of our society. It was also a metaphor for the way we as spectators transform what we see with the partial knowledge we have of any given situation. This was really about knowledge transfer more than anything aesthetic. It was about the idea that we only ever have an incomplete knowledge of any situation – like an archaeologist who only has the handle of a coffee cup and has to piece in the rest of the object and create a story about it¹s function and the society that used it. Just as the spectators who see my show only have fragmentary idea of what was in my head and are left to create the story around what they see.
You also work as a fashion director for FLY DVD magazine. Has this influenced you in any way as a designer?
Styling is an interesting practical exercise for me. It brings you back to how you would want a person to wear a garment now. It brings the abstraction and makes it real and functional. How would I want to see someone wear his or her clothes on the street? How would I want her pants and jacket to fit? It can also be a good playground to test out little ideas and play with fit a proportion.
How much consideration do you give to practicality and wearability when designing?
It depends on where it fits into the collection and what the product is. Clothing is made for the human body so it needs to respond to the body no matter if it¹s a commercial or conceptual piece. Even if deforming the body- and perhaps more so in this case- you need to have an awareness of the human body underneath. Clothing should make the body look more exciting,
more interesting and sexier, otherwise you might as well be naked.
Your designs do not seek to reveal the body, but to deform it. Why did you decide to cover the male form instead of flaunt it?
Something hidden is often more exciting then something reveled.
You made reference to artist Gordon Matta- Clark. Do you think there is an overlap between fashion and art?
They both attempt to create something new and both are businesses, so yes I think there is an overlap. How much depends on the given designer, the time and the current trend.
What are you working on next?
I’m working on a new limited edition accessory collection called ‘1-100’with Miguel Villalbos. I’m also working on a women¹s ready to wear collection in collaboration with a friend. Miguel and I will also be working on a few installations and art shows- more details about that are to follow.
Words Kay Weston Images Miguel Villalbos Accessories in collaboration with Kristin Victoria Barron
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