It’s campaign season again, that phenomenal time when each brand is able to translate their current season’s runway outings into artful, almost editorial-esque images that capture the collection’s...
ONE MOMENT WITH MARY ELLEN BEAUDREAU AND JENNY LAI
May 09, 2013 11:45 AM
On May 8, RISD grad and designer Jenny Lai of "NOT" collaborated with dancer Mary Ellen Beaudreau for a performance at the South Oxford Space with The Alliance of Residences Theatres in Brooklyn.
The event was hosted by Movement Research, an organization that not only supplies the community with free art and dance classes but also promotes research and examination of dance culture.
Ms. Beaudreau created her own piece entitled “One Moment” for the performance.
"One Moment was inspired by recorded interviews that I conducted with former and current professional ballet dancers who revealed their perspective on the ballet world.
"I created a soundtrack from their voices incorporating excerpts of Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet. Beyond the music creation, I collaborated with Jenny Lai of NOT, to create a costume made from used Pointe shoes. The choreography is manifested from ballet vocabulary, the interviewees’ perspectives and the feeling of being trapped.”
Jenny also explained her creative process to TWELV:
“I started out by analyzing each one of the hundreds of Pointe shoes I received by the dancer and documenting individual variations such as the type of hand-stitching, color of floss thread, elastic and ribbon, shellac or duct tape used to harden the insoles, etc...
"After understanding the "character" of the shoes, I experimented with all the ways it could be either built up as units or stripped down to raw material. The final pieces, which were developed in conjunction with the choreography of the piece, include a unitard covered with Pointe shoe "hides" that were individually dissected and hand sewn on, and three outer "harnesses", which are rows of Pointe shoes, that are secured to the body.”
Jenny Lai got her start interning for Viktor & Rolf in Amsterdam and the Boudicca studio in London. After years of watching other designers, she knew she wanted to be one herself. Once she was back in New York City, she started designing her own collection, named "NOT," for a woman who didn't want to just get dressed in the morning, but wanted to have an entirely different experience every time a new article is put on her body. Jenny described it as, "NOT is not about a name. It is about the woman who defines herself by being unlike the rest."
Jenny is also part of an online community of self-proclaimed "black sheep" that allows designers to create their own online shops and gain exposure within the community and the digital world. "NOT JUST A LABEL" serves as an expansion platform that not only showcases and celebrates designers like Jenny, but supplies fans of unique designs a destination for fashion education.
Jenny Lai's and Ms. Beaudreau's collaboration was a true success; the performance was breathtaking and brilliant. It is clear both women are ones to watch.
To learn more about NOT, please visit her on facebook at: www.notaligne.com
If you are interested in seeing Jenny Lai's upcoming performance with the Aynsley Vandenbrouke's Movement Group at The Chocolate Factory on May 15-18, please visit:
http://www.chocolatefactorytheater.org/redesign/event/aynsley-vandenbroucke/
WRITTEN BY: SARAH GRANETZ
related posts
CAGED PYTHONS: ALEXANDRE BIRMAN PRE-FALL2013
Brazilian designer, Alexandre Birman, has been making quite a stir lately with his eponymous shoe label, which was founded in Brazil in 2008 and is now produced primarily in Italy. In 2010 Birman...
WHO LET THE DOGS OUT (AGAIN) ? GIVENCHY MENS PRE-FALL 2013
If the house codes for Givenchy’s men’s line under Riccardo Tisci wasn’t already clearly ingrained, Tisci’s new Pre-Fall collection ensured that a Givenchy look could be spotted a mile away. His...
Fashion Fights Cancer Winter Benefit
Monday night join Saskia de Brauw, face of Chanel Spring and Pamela Love, sovereign NY jewelry designer at...
MARGIELA RAISES AIDS AWARENESS IN CHINA
Although Martin Margiela himself left the brand years ago, many of his legacies still remain: the deconstruction, the highly conceptualized clothing that would have historical materialist...
BERNHARD WILLHELM x CAMPER: A COLORFUL & QUIRKY COLLAB
Each season Camper teams up with a creative selection of designers to fuse their signature style with that of the designer’s aesthetic, giving rise to the ‘Camper Together With’ footwear range.
BARNEY'S ELECTRIC HOLIDAY SPREADS PIXIE DUST, FASHION DREAMS DO COME TRUE!
Fashion can be one of the most intrinsic forms of living out our fantasies: the simplicity of throwing on a leather studded perfecto can make us feel like we’re mosh-pitting at CBGB’s, or perhaps...
PROENZA SCHOULER A/W2012 AVATARS ENCHANT DOLPHINS
Nostalgia in fashion is often associated with a wafting miasma, but there’s no denying that designers of late have been longing for a reoccurrence of 90’s era simplicity, nonchalance, and even 16-...
TWELV ISSUE #2 LAUNCH PARTY
This past Wednesday, TWELV and over 1,700 of our closest friends celebrated the launch of our Second Issue, “Transformation,” at Public Assembly in Brooklyn.
Viktor & Rolf Innovate The Baby Carriage
Designer collaborations are a dime a dozen these days, but this recent collaboration between Viktor & Rolf and Bugaboo (a luxury baby carriage brand) is particularly noteworthy as it allowed...
DIGITAL ARTIST GEOFFREY LILLEMON EMOTES BERNHARD WILLHELM S/S2013
BernHard Willhelm has always been on the cutting edge of quirky high-fashion. From endless post-modern references in his work, his collections are cheeky, playful, fun, and definitely not for the...
DIOR HOMME'S SALUTE TO "PRE-SPRING" STYLING
Pre-spring, or as they’re often called, resort collections, allow designers to present small focused collections with classic pieces to keep the retail shelves stocked, while providing fresh...
"SHEER FANTASIES" TOKYO FASHION WEEK HIGHLIGHTS (PART 3)
The final two days of Tokyo Fashion Week were jam-packed with collections filled with sheer femininity and surrealism, reminding us that fashion is a realm for us to envision and realize our own...
SUPERHEROS: SUBLIME SARTORIAL SELECTIONS
Superheroes appeared all over the catwalks for the AW’12 season. Perhaps the incessant banter of the impending doomsday this December (according to the Ancient Mayans) motivated designers to...
"NEON GEOMETRY" TOKYO FASHION WEEK HIGHLIGHTS (PART 2)
Anrealage designer Kunihiko Morinaga presented an exceptionally focused and dramatic collection drawing inspiration from structural art deco forms.
PINK PINK PINK
It’s safe to say that we are now well into the fall season.
Comme des Garçons Revives "SIX" Magazine for iPad
Back in 1988, Rei Kawakubo and the Comme des Garçons brand printed a biannual, SIX, to reference the sixth sense.
"Peasant Grunge" - Tokyo Fashion Week Highlights (Part 1)
Tokyo has secured its place as the fifth stop on Fashion Week’s global tour.
Inevitable: Chanel No. 5 & Brad Pitt
Since its creation back in 1921, a long line of femme fatales such as Catherine Deneuve, Lauren Hutton, and Nicole Kidman have leant their visage to Chanel’s iconic perfume, No. 5.
The Skinny on Slimane's New Menswear
It seems that Hedi Slimane just couldn’t resist a foray back into menswear. The SS’13 lookbook for a new men’s collection, Saint Laurent Skinny, recently emerged on the revamped YSL website. The...
Carine's Big Deal
With the fashion world rapidly embracing fashion as a truly global enterprise, it seems no surprise that Harper’s Bazaar (owned by Hearst media) would create a new position: Global Fashion...
Saint Laurent Paris S/S2013
"No Smoking,” Karl Lagerfeld recently joked in one of his spontaneous sketches.
Watch Prada's "Real Fantasy" AW'12
Melding antiquity with the intergalactic, this season the Prada man and woman live in a “world” all of their own.
Fashion Favorites from the Emmys
No, nothing exciting happened at the Emmy's. So don't ask. But there were a handful of standout performances in the fashion department.
Dior Homme re-launches it’s Flagship in Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue Shopping District
With immaculately tailored pieces, androgynous style, and a rebellious sophistication, Dior Homme has continuously been an inspiration to Twelv Magazine. Dior Homme’s ability to mix influences...
The Sign Language of Chanel Lacquer
You can thank Ruth Hogben for your current addiction to fashion video. The artist has shot for Lady Gaga, Gareth Pugh, and Louis Vuitton.
Gerlan + Minnie Mouse S/S2013
Gerlan and Minnie Mouse introduce the GERL POWER movement this Thursday during New York Fashion Week.
Farewell Anna
The ever-eclectic, fashion icon and editor of Vogue Italia Anna Piaggi died on August 7th in her Milan home.
RAD UNISEX COUTURE
Rad Hourani, the new Couturier on the scene from Montreal, Canada, now based in Paris, France since his debut in 2007, recently presented Couture's first "...
Vintage BUM-CAKE
BUM-CAKE, launched one year ago by Christiana Greene, is a vintage collection of hand-selected pieces from around the world.
NOUVEAU PR × IMG it Girl MARINE HEINE
Exclusive Fashion Story "NOUVEAU PR × IMG it Girl MARINE HEINE" is now available!
Check inside for the Special Editorial
Fashion Story "We Own the Universe"
Julia Lang is the 25 year old blogger behind www.geeksndfashion.com.
TWELV digital issue
TWELV is now sold digitally for $0.99, 12% goes to charity!
The Prada Men - Fall/Winter menswear 2012
The much-hyped Prada Fall/Winter 2012 menswear collection gives us so many reasons to get excited.