Ornament is the leading magazine celebrating wearable art. Explore jewelry, fashion, beads; contemporary, ancient and ethnographic.
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41 ORNAA ORN O MENTNM 35.5 ORNAMENT 35.5.2 35 3 5.201 0 0122 SHIBORI DYEING PROCESS showing linen fabrics after an over-dye, in its final rinse. Opposite: 3D SIGNATURE SCARF of silk chiffon; hand-dyed itajime shibori, formed, stitched, 2011. Photographs by Bob Packert. interplay between black and white in her flowing coats and vests, one can easily trace the trend of putting seeming opposites together into one. Nguyen's creative journey follows that organic process many artists can relate to. Her mother, a teacher and a quilter, was Nguyen's first introduction to textiles. Nguyen's recollection evocatively conveys her mother's propensity for organization. "As a child, I remember admiring the colored spools of thread arranged by my mother for quilting and sewing. The spools were arranged by color and I could stare at those colors for hours—the silk-covered cotton threads I continue to use today." One can imagine threads of crimson, dark greens, bright yellows, and subtle burgundies hanging off a spool board. Due to this early influence, Nguyen has been sewing "for as far back as I can remember." The progression was straightforward: stuffed animals, pillows and quilts, then on to her own clothing. "I poured over fashion magazines looking for inspiration. I sketched designs. I remember staying up late to finish sewing outfits for special occasions at school— mostly dresses and accessories." The procession from teddy bears to dresses proceeded eventually to profession. Nguyen received a degree in studio art from the College of Charleston, South AMY NGUYEN. ASYMMETRICAL VEST of paper-like silk organza; hand- dyed itajime, deconstructed, pieced, stitched, 2011. Carolina, with a minor in art history and theater, where she would be employed as the college's costume shop supervisor. After that, she began freelancing, supported by additional income from music and art store jobs. Her freelancing work in sewing and fashion design brought her into contact with Mary Edna Fraser. Fraser, an adept batik artist, saw some of Nguyen's paintings and suggested transferring them to fabric. "I am ever so grateful for her encouragement," Nguyen remarks. "So I began to dabble in silk painting—I had access to supplies at the art store where I worked—gutta and liquid dyes. I fell in love. I began to explore other dyeing techniques and when I moved to New York City shortly after, I continued my dyeing on cloth." Nguyen's artistic path divides and entwines like a helix. At each stage, the past reverberates with the present, and a new development adds to the whole. From her mother to sewing, from Fraser to cloth dyeing, and then on to the New York University's Department of Design for Stage and Film, Chair Susan Hilferty and Japanese fashion. Hilferty often wore Issey Miyake's sculptural dresses, and these structural, gravity-defying pieces were a delight to Nguyen. Working there also introduced Nguyen to another famous Japanese clothing artist, Itchiku Kubota (see Ornament Vol. 32, No. 1). Because of her interest in Japanese