KALTBLUT presents GARçONNE. Photography by Flavio Leone. Model is David Beer. Styling by Christoph Cong Fässler. All designs by „maison blanche by Yannik Zamboni“. The editorial was made the 100th anniversary of the „Textilerevue“ commissioned by the STF Schweizerische Textilfachschule Zürich (Swiss Technical Textile School Zurich). The assignment was to create a look with the inspiration of the decade 1920-1929. Project and idea by Noémie Schwaller from www.textilrevue.ch // @textilrevue_ch
maison blanche believes it is necessary to address the discourse of taboo topics by means of conceptual fashion and to create a stage for interaction. Socio-political issues, the defamation and repression of minorities, especially the lgbtqia+ community, as well as gender issues and feminism, form the content of the collections. maison blanche makes queer anti-fashion. queer within the meaning of different, abnormal or not according to expectations. its subversive content is reflected in the deconstruction and deposition of codes. it forms a side-stream to the mainstream and serves subcultures. maison blanche`s anti-fashion takes the liberty to create its own (ab)normal. it shits on the maxims of action and codes of behaviour of the masses but influences them. it rewrites unwritten rules, completely detached from the oppressive ideas of social ideologies and the fashion industry. maison blanche condemns the common practices of the fashion industry and therefore wants to establish itself far away from this circus. maison blanche conceives fashion, especially skirts & dresses on a man‘s body and thus aims to expand the rules of conduct. As a wearer, it wishes much more than a certain gender, people of all genders with a similar mindset.
Garçonne:
The term „Garçonne“ refers to a twentieth-century fashion trend that manifested itself during the „roaring twenties“ (also called „les années Folles“ or „Golden Twenties“) between 1919 at the end of World War I and 1929, the beginning of the economic and social crisis. Beyond the specific style of the 1920s, the phenomenon of Garçonne that emerged from the emancipation of women and the demand for equality reflects a cultural mutation of the representation of the female gender that prefigures the contemporary woman (Wikipedia definition [French], freely translated by – maison blanche – )
GARçONNE is a cry to give space to gender, and indeed to all forms of gender, and to accept and value them. Not only do we already know the third sex, that of the intersex, but there are many different ways of perceiving and living gender. Gender identities range from agender, androgynous, gender fluid, non-binary, transgender, gender nonconforming, multigender, pangender, polygender, two-spirit and many more. We, as part of society, are responsible for the change. GARçONNE is meant to unite feminist people in the fight for equality of all genders in a society that is still patriarchally constructed and controlled and which teaches, normalizes and celebrates patriarchy. Human history has known more than two sexes since the beginning of time and isn‘t the simplification to two sexes and/or gender a curtailment of the rights of all others?
Inspired by the spirit of Garçonne, the energy and power of 1920s feminism for change, this look was created to break social norms and the binary gender system.
GARçONNE:
Is a breed of human being which is not conforming with the societal gender-norms and qualifications nor let themselves put into a binary system. GARçONNE likes to fuck the gender binary and expresses it by using whichever toilet they want, showing off on streets, dressed with whatever they feel comfortable with. GARçONNE is a species of different genders triggered by modern emancipation for all gender identities. They demand a change of societal behaviour, the binary gender system and expresses themselves according to fashion & style which is often referred to as „the gender fuck“.
Material concept:
Only materials where used which are second hand and/or vintage, stock and archive material and remnants. The idea was to get along with what is available already, not due to financial reasons, but due to the idea of sustainability. Conscious use of materials and the environment. In particular, a lot of wool was used as it was a standard material in the 20s, especially in winter clothing.
aspects of sustainability
in today‘s time of super consumerism and overproduction in a throwaway society, it is a must to design and produce sustainably. it is of great importance to acting sustainably during the entire textile cycle. for the areas of the textile cycle that affect the consumer, i.e. use, maintenance, and disposal/recycling, maison blanche makes a sustainable recommendation. for maison blanche, there are four spheres of sustainability.
ethical/moral;
in principle, maison blanche only uses goods produced in Switzerland, if possible. nevertheless, raw materials often come from abroad. suppliers as well as producers must be able to prove that the materials are ethically/morally acceptable. this means it is known exactly where the raw materials come from (traceability) and there was no exploitation of humans, animals or the environment (fair wages, animal-friendly keeping and shearing of sheep/ animals and environmentally friendly dyeing and treatment of substances/materials). due to a design and production process which takes place entirely in Switzerland, these intentions can also be controlled and adhered to when realizing one‘s own collection. as a matter of principle, no furs or leathers are used.
socio-political;
maison blanche does not produce clothes in the conventional sense, there are „en masse“, but conceptual fashion which should have a socio-political impact and thus be socially relevant and demand and promote a rethinking. by addressing taboo issues and/or manifested patterns of action, socially oppressive norms, rules and standards are questioned, expanded and/or redefined. maison blanche is committed to the interests of minorities, especially the lgbtqia+ community.
ecological;
maison blanche uses only organic or recycled cotton and is committed to an ecological mix of materials. fibers such as hemp, kenaf, jute, flax and ramie are always used in the collections to reduce the importance of cotton. all used materials should be produced in an environmentally friendly way and should leave the textile cycle in exactly the same way. maison blanche is committed to up-and recycling and incorporates these elements into the looks and collections. for packaging & shipping, we always try to use the most environmentally friendly way.
economical;
maison blanche produces in small quantities and only as much as can be sold. items which are not sold are recycled, up-cycled and reused. the collections are based on each other and do not compete with each other. the growth of maison blanche is controlled and if necessary slowed down so that ethical/moral, socio-political and ecological goals do not degenerate into commercialism. maison blanche produces and sources from small swiss entrepreneurs if possible and promotes them. it is a major concern to continuously respect and adhere to all four spheres of sustainability.
Project and idea by Noémie Schwaller @_noemies
Photography by Flavio Leone / flavioleone.ch / instagram: @flavio.leone
Photography assistant Chris Daeppen / www.chrisdaeppen.com / instagram: @chris_daeppen
Model is David Beer signed @scout-model Zurich / Instagram: @david.banc
Styling by Christoph Cong Fässler / christophcongfaessler.com / instagram: @cong.cf
Styling assistant Yannik Zamboni / www.maisonblanche.swiss / instagram: @yannikzamboni
Credits Fashion & Concept:
All designs by „maison blanche by Yannik Zamboni“ / www.maisonblanche.swiss / instagram: @yannikzamboni & @maisonblanche.swiss
Designers assistant and right hand is Christoph Cong Fässler / christophcongfaessler.com / instagram: @cong.cf
Sewing assistant Timéa Luana Panier/ Instagram: @was_bringts_mer
Implementation of the screen printing by Martin Schlegel / Instagram: @tdstextildruckerei
Conceptual inputs by Anna Rosenwasser / Instagram: @annarosenwasser
Commissioned by the STF Schweizerische Textilfachschule (Swiss Technical Textile School Zurich) on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the „Textilrevue“ / www.stf.ch / Instagram: @stfcommunity
