DESIGN:69-Déjà Vu

Fashion has always reflected social trends, cementing a certain movement in a certain sort of appearance. Clothes makers and fashion producers move forward symbiotically with the sentiment of the people, both pulling inspiration from the masses and providing them with what they demand – new styles to reflect their ideals. The heads of fashion become advocates and often participate in the movements themselves, incorporating a philosophy directly into their lines.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: MOCA Archive

In the past couple of years, androgyny in fashion has risen alongside a growing discussion about gender identity. More and more people are expressing themselves on a spectrum of gender that doesn’t adhere to the binary norm, with clothes as a major vehicle for such self-expression. With the exhibition “Déjà Vu” the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (MOCA), at its Pacific Design Center presents the anonymous brand 69 the brainchild of an anonymous Los Angeles-based designer.  69 is a clothing brand that describes itself as nondemographic. This means that every garment designed and carried by 69 are not made for either a man or a woman, any intended race, or even, in large part, a single body type. This last demographic category, body type, is perhaps the most interesting that 69 clothing equalizes. 69’s name gives a nod to the titillation of erotic play while referencing the designer’s astrological sign, Cancer. The universality of astrological signs and the particular reversibility of the symbol “♋” make for an apt logo, suitable to designs that are resolutely unfixed in terms of where, how, and by whom they might be worn. Likewise, denim is an omnipresent material, popular around the globe for its durability and comfortable, casual feel. In the language of 69’s garments, oversize is often the right size, and the body may be excessively draped to suggest a faux-modesty that paradoxically highlights the attractiveness of the human form. To counter the fashion industry’s emphasis on faces, 69 has at times covered models’ heads in their shaggy “Fringe Masks” (2015) or “Sunblock Hats” (2014), leaving only the eyes exposed. Sometimes a flash of skin raises more questions than it answers. “Butt Void” (2016) and “Tit Void” (2016) are generously draped garments with removable panels over the eponymous body parts that highlight just how much of the wearer’s body is covered. The “Baps Button Up” (2016) shirt takes the opposite approach with a panel of flat and loose fabric attached to its front, suggesting the breast as an appendage that can, in the game of getting dressed up, be taken on or off on a whim. The politics of 69’s clothing speak to the radical transformation of our understanding of who we are and how the social constructs of gender, race, class, and age both do and don’t define us.

Info: Curators: Lanka Tattersall and Karlyn Olvido, The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (MOCA), Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, Duration 4/8-28/10/18, Days & Hours: Tue-Fri 11:00-17:00, Sat-Sun 11:00-18:00, www.moca.org