1000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

Shenan Anddrommeda Fraguadas 251

078

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An eccentric

hundred-heir living in

Greenpoint, Brooklyn,

Shenan Anddrommeda

Fraguadas cocked her

eye and decided on a

button  y. Only a few

have been lucky enough

to watch her work, and

there was no contest.

She was a woman

possessed: music,

outsider art, magic,

beat writing, dreams,

psychology, her two

moms, friends, loves,

crimes of passion, etc.

Nothing was too much

for her mirror, and she

said she was always

interested in working

with new materials...

across the room, a jack

rabbit raised his ears.

No need to scheme who

she could dress, there

was an assortment

of success: Devendra

Banhart, Bebel

Gilberto, Turner Cody,

Effi Briest, members

of the Yeah Yeah

Yeahs, the Liars, the

Ex-Models. So the day

came and went while

Shenan paid a different

kind of rent working

at Mark Eisen, Uniqlo,

Gap International,

Steven Alan, and

Calvin Klein.

Shenan Anddrommeda Fraguadas

www.shenan.us

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771

R

EFERENCES. When I

design I think of my

friends that are artists

and musicians, the

person down the street

who serves coffee, my

mother, criminals,

humanitarians…an

amalgamation of the

intelligent, the outsider,

the leader: this becomes

my idea of

she

and

he.

772 INSPIRATION. When I begin a

collection I allow myself to be a sponge

and absorb as many sources as possible,

tapping into both my own subconscious

and the collective unconscious. I combine

music, images from art and  lm, writing,

experiences I have that have moved

me, then collage it all both visually and

psychologically.

773 D

EVELOPING A COLLECTION. I

translate the concept of each collection

using symbolic imagery drawn from larger

ideas. For example, in spring 2007 my

concept was “Chairman Mao in the English

Countryside” and I combined elements

of peasant and worker clothing with

quaint elements of the dress of a young

girl living in the English countryside to

show how these two concepts are at odds,

but when combined visually they become

interesting.

774 M

ATERIALS. I look for unique,

modern fabrics. In the picture shown,

the rayon fabric is heat-crinkled and acid

washed to make it look beaten and worn.

The rayon makes the piece drape easily. I

would never use shiny spandex…it always

looks trashy.

775 T

RADITIONAL MANUFACTURING

VS. EXPERIMENTATION. Tradition is an

important resource to be mined: the

ability to move forward is enhanced by

studying tradition without allowing

yourself to be trapped in it. The dress

shown is a traditional smock dress, which

is a representative item for me. It is totally

sheer, incorporating elements of sexuality

to a traditionally conservative piece.

252 1,000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

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776 BRAND VA L U E S . Since I do it to

express myself I want others to feel free

and unencumbered when they wear my

clothes and to feel like they’re creating

their own world, as I create my own

world when I make a collection. This

is in combination with  ne quality and

workmanship.

777 C

OMMUNICATION STRATEGY. To

appreciate the magical or surreal in the

everyday, which allows both escape to

another reality and the con dence to

exist in your current one. My strategy is

to in ltrate people’s subconscious: your

subconscious.

778 I

S FASHION ART? Yes, I make art.

I believe life is art.

779 STREET FASHION VS. FA SHION

DESIGNER. Fashion comes from the street,

from daydreams, from history, from tribal

symbols, from the world around us.

780 G

OOD HABITS. A good designer

should always be observing, absorbing,

translating culture. They should try to

avoid ego or pomposity, which just eats

itself.

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