NEW: TATTERDEMALION
Join us Friday, June 14 for the Grand Opening Party for the Tatterdemalion Pop-Up Shop at Blackbird.
Tatterdemalion is a collection of vintage European and Japanese clothing and textiles curated by our good friend Ty Ziskis. This pop-up concept store will run from June 11th - July 15th in our Ballard store and online.
Over the past years Ty has been developing an exclusive partnership with Cosmo Wise of De Rien (London) who has been collecting, wearing, and giving value to clothing and textiles that had previously been regarded as worthless for many years. Acid stenciled cotton dresses from the early 1900's, extensively and beautifully darned. The farmers' jacket from the 1920's- the moleskin once black now a greyish purple, bleached by sun and sweat to the degree that one could make out the original wearer's body contours in the patina of the garment. The hunter's trousers, wide wale cord crudely yet sturdily held together with a mix of patches and thick stitches. Each piece reveals the repairer's character, social standing and finances in the way they cared for and fixed their clothes.
The interest is always on clothing dating no later than the 1950's. When synthetic fibers became ubiquitous, the post-war boom years and mass production led to a more disposable nature of fashion, and a drop in quality of new garments reduced need of the masses to repair and keep their clothing for several years (if not decades) rather than seasons.
These pieces are regularly rented by stylists and sold privately to designers such as Ralph Lauren and Alexander Wang to name a few. Ty's vision is to share these pieces with the public to enjoy and WEAR rather than be torn apart for reproduction research. There is much life left in these garments that were built to last a life time, and Ty hopes people will continue to wear and repair these beautiful garments.
