ART: Fashion, Fantasy, and Freedom

"A few weeks ago, Patricia Field’s boutique on the Bowery shuttered, and I was instantly flooded with fond memories from my time spent as an honorary member of the House of Field," writes Jasmin Hernandez, curator of Visual AIDS' "Fashion, Fantasy, and Freedom" exhibit. "In the early 00’s, during my undergraduate years at Parsons the New School for Design, I was a PR intern at the House of Field showroom, a job which entailed everything from dressing models backstage during New York Fashion Week to FedExing costumes overseas to pop princess Britney Spears while on tour to hand-delivering a dress to Sarah Jessica Parker’s trailer while she was shooting Sex and the City." 

"But before all that, I was just a New York City teenager growing up in the late ‘90s and experiencing the last vestiges of a grittier New York. Despite the burgeoning ‘Disneyfication’ of the city under Mayor Giuliani’s administration, the streets were still burning, particularly down at the piers on Christopher Street, where I spent the majority of my time. As a 17-year-old, I came of age through voguing culture, the Latex Ball, endless nights partying at the Tunnel, Roxy, Limelight (which are all extinct now), and shopping religiously at Patricia Field’s store in Greenwich Village. ... In curating this web gallery for Visual Aids, 'Fashion, Fantasy, and Freedom', I wanted to reflect on my personal history and strong association with the LGBTI community, and how the power of fashion intersects with these truths. I chose powerful, thought-provoking works spanning various mediums — painting, photography, installation, illustration, and digital collage — all of which speak to the significant role fashion plays as a means of expression, escapism, therapy, and pride."

Above: Angel, 2012, Rob Ordonez, 10x8x2” 

[Text by Jasmin Hernandez, images courtesy of Visual AIDS]