uniformity
created by laura valentine
Uniformity is a two-piece collection of garments born from the 13 years I spent wearing Catholic school uniforms. I dreamt up the idea over a year ago on the floor of my college dorm room as I hastily scribbled a hot pink statue of the Virgin Mary surrounded by graffiti and chains of pearls on the back of a Trader Joe’s bag. I was in the middle of writing a final paper about Michel Gondry’s“ Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” a movie that deals with memory and the un-natural altercation of it. I started to think more and more about the ways memory can be portrayed and altered in art (and otherwise) and the ways that clothing holds memory.
I wanted to take used clothing, both from my childhood and from thrift and antique stores, and transform them into something new - to transform the memory of those items into something completely different.
As I mentioned earlier, I spent 13 years attending Catholic schools, all of which required adherence to a strict uniform code. Long dark green plaid pleated skirts that had to reach just furth enough under the knee to avoid being told to“ pull your skirt down,” starch white button-up polos, no nail polish (even clear), no“ excessive or distracting” jewelry, black or white shoes (any spots of color would have to be blacked out with a sharpie), white socks (crew length only), the list goes on.
And in high school, these rules shifted slightly. Things like“ no facial piercings” and“ no un-natural hair colors or styles” were added to the list of rules I had to follow whereas other rules, like nail polish and specific skirts and polos were lifted. Even though I was given slightly more freedom in the way I could dress, I had no idea how I wanted to present myself - I was somewhat robbed from developing a personal sense of style for years.
The thought of my old uniform is heavily tied to memories of my childhood - both good and bad. As someone who struggles with a lot of residual Catholic guilt, especially surrounding my sexuality, I still seem to incorporate a lot of Catholic motifs into my work. While it may not be something I resonate with now, it has formed an essential part of my personhood and to completely do away with that would be doing a disservice, both to myself and also to my art.
I wanted to create something that incorporates the pieces that constricted me in the past but in a way that represents the person and style I have grown into. I wanted to alter the memories embedded in the fabric into something that does not emphasize the ways I was held back from expression but rather celebrates the fact that I have come so far since then.
The skirt piece is made from old pieces of my uniform skirt, patchworked with various other plaid skirts or fabrics. There is a second panel of skirt created from a screen printed design of the drawing I had made of Mary on the Trader Joe’s bag. Hanging across the skirt are various pieces of jewelry from my childhood or gathered from antique stores over the years - both drawing from my memory and a the memory of strangers. Across the waist is a detachable belt made from excess plaid fabric and held together by a few brass grommets.
Across the blouse hangs a key that used to unlock my childhood jewelry box and a locket I used to wear every day that broke from continual wear. The sleeve is embellished with a screenprinted lamb and a patchworked rotten apple sits on the right side of the blouse.
The design is both reminiscent of the plaids and starched white shirts of my childhood while also being bright, maximalist, and messy.
The ability to create clothing has been the greatest gift on my journey of self-expression and I hope to inspire others to continue to play and get messy with the ways they express themselves, to rewrite the ways they have been told to appear in the world, to not be afraid to tear up pieces of the way things once were and sew them into something new, over and over again.
If you want to see more designs like“ Uniformity” check out my new clothing brand DJ School Dropout, which features upcycled, patchwork, screenprinted, and other unique designs.
