CHRISTIAN DIOR is amazing!!!!!!! he is why i love clothing and why fashion is soooo powerful!!!!!

Jonathan Wille

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/F2010CTR-CDIOR

Mr. Pearl, corsetier.
He himself wears a corset constantly, even while sleeping. He states this helps him form a relationship with and develop a deep understanding for his clients feelings, desires, and experience being tight-laced. Mr. Pearl states that through corseting, "the body becomes voluptuous and palpably "there" rather than repressed". Corseting affects everything from the way a person looks and feels to the way they move. I find the craftsmanship of Mr. Pearls work fascinating, as well as his reflections upon the act of wearing a corset, what that means in contemporary culture, and whether the corset restricts or enhances the physical form.Dita Von Teese models a corset by Mr. Pearl. This corset laces from the crotch up the back through an attached hood.

-Sarah I.

Laura Splan is a NYC-based mixed media artist who made me go "YES! Other people are thinking like me!" I love working with patterns and constructions that have a root in science and nature, and her virus doilies and IV blood scarf really resonated with me. Her work mixes anatomical and scientific patterns/instruments with contemporary materials and feminine/domestic ideas in a very intelligent way. If I didn't edit myself I would end up posting a picture from every piece she's made, so everyone should go to her website and check out the rest.

Rachel

Joel Peter Witkin is a contemporary photographer. He was born in 1939 in Brooklyn and mainly began exhibiting in the 70s.
His work deals with both the grotesque and the beautiful, challenging the extents of the human body and often working with cadavers.

Kate.

Leigh Bowery

Among the heavyweights of performance and fashion is the visionary Leigh Bowery, whose experimentations with fashion, costume, character and performance, as well as the body and gender had an immense and lasting impact on so many of his contemporaries. Influential fashion designers from John Galliano to Gareth Pugh, Walter van Beirendonck and John Paul Gaultier, have paid tribute to Leigh in their collections and shows. He was also a muse of painters and musicians. Here he is in footage from Carolyn Franklin's The Clothes Show.

Kingpins, Bowie and the Culture Club

One of the things we will explore is the many manifestations your contribution to the Multi Media Event can take, from experimental runway show to live concert featuring costumed performers. In the coming weeks we will take a look at the development of the contemporary fashion show and related art forms, including stage and dance performance. Musicians have been influenced by the phenomenon of fashion, and the other way around. In the spirit of this, a sampling of music videos for your viewing pleasure.

and this classic from Boy George and the Culture Club, a friend of Leigh Bowery's.

Clarina Bezzola

Reception and Live Performance tomorrow night at the University of Maryland. If you can't make it to College Park, you might want to check out her website and garment-based performance work.