Thursday, December 29, 2011

Antler Widow Dress

I consider myself a fairly normal person. Well I suppose that's up for debate but I can tell you with complete assurance that it hasn't been very normal that night after night I've been having dreams about a particular Alexander McQueen dress. "Antler Widow Dress" as it is called is from the spring/summer 2006-7 collection and has somehow weaseled it's way into each and every one of my nighttime escapes. While it makes for quite the visual, it seems that none of these dreams have been particularly easy to navigate. In one dream I'm living in an old victorian home and it is summertime; as I am standing in a dark hallway the sconces on the wall burst and start to catch fire. The hallway of this home is adorned with peeling damask wallpaper and when I look down there is a flood on the wooden planks below and my bare feet are wading with heavy lace through even heavier waters. This is quite the diversion from the reoccurring dream where I'm at center stage only to recognize that I've suddenly forgotten my lines, the later being one I now regrettably miss. I'm not complaining about being adorned from head to toe in the genius of the late McQueen but I will say that night after night it's started to become shall we say, mildly overwhelming. Like all great art "Antler Widow Dress" adds drama to my dreams, gives them direct storyline, flair, emotional heartache and even a little unprecedented mischief. While I am grateful for my vivid dreamtime and the influence it has had on my art I am not wearing the dress without repercussions of the widow herself. Like all great art the clothes of a designer such as McQueen are no different as they carry a story, an essence. While he was able to breathe life into all of his work (in my opinion in a way that has yet to be matched), I think that true art never rests. True art haunts, is alive and has a pulse in a way that it becomes part of who you are. I awoke this morning with relief only to find that I had not been haunted by the ruffles of lace and the lucite antlers yet in retrospect I recognize that a dream is only part of the day.


“I get my ideas out of my dreams… if you’re lucky enough to use something you see in a dream, it is purely original. It’s not in the world — it’s in your head. I think that is amazing.”
― Alexander McQueen

4 comments:

jess said...

Fabulous post. That dress is incredible - both beautiful and haunting. So glad we got to see it together at the McQueen exhibit!

Erica Mazzeo said...

Thank you Jessi!!!! I'm so grateful we saw it as well :) xoxoxooxoxox

Anonymous said...

Hi Erica this is an outstanding beautiful gown!! Love you Grandma

Erica Mazzeo said...

Thank you Grandma!!! I'm so glad you figured out how to post!!! xoxoxoxoxo Love you