Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Yoko Ono


Fashions for Men

It seems that, in addition to her many activities in the fields of avant-garde art, music and filmmaking, and apart from her controversial marriage to John Lennon (arguably being one of reasons for the Beatles split up), Japanese artist, author, and peace activist Yoko Ono has also tried her hand as a fashion designer.

In fact, Ono sketched some menswear designs as a gift for her late husband John Lennon on the occasion of their wedding in 1969. 

The drafts have recently been translated from the paper into "real life" clothing, tailored by Opening Ceremony

The limited-edition line of 18 styles will be launched at the retailer’s stores in short. The designs look quite daring even today, and show no signs of  having been drafted in the late sixties.













Sources



2 comments:

  1. Sorry, Yoko. Those designs looks absolutely HORRIBLE! The only impression I got while looking through them was that a) she was trying WAY too hard, and b) how disrespectful and objectifyingly insulting the "handprint" on the crotch is.

    If this were a women's line, it would be likely rejected out-of-hand for objectifying women. What message is she trying to send? That it's okay to grab men in their private parts? That you can "ring" a man's nipples, akin to the way you can twist a woman's nipples to "tune in to Tokyo?" It's no less degrading, and in the 21st century, no less disgusting.

    I hope the fashion world and the public at large both reject Yoko Ono's attempt at fashion and see it for the flop that it is. A big thumbs-down from me!

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  2. Thanks for your comment, Jim. Actually, I agree with every single remark of yours. I'm no fan of Mrs. Ono: I don't care much about her artwork (if you can call it so), I think her incursions into music were embarrassing, to say the least, and I do blame her for the disintegration of The Beatles.

    That being said, "objectifying" males in this fashion back in the 60s must have been a bold statement. No less degrading, no less disgusting than depersonalising women... but quite stirring (and she has always been known for attempting to disturb the peace of mind of her public). Today the crotch-prints look to me more naif than aggressive (and I'm sure that naivité is not what she intended).

    Going back to the designs themselves, the things I do "rescue" are the "missing shoulders" (and the see-through spaces around the waist), as well as the "male bra", nipples and all (I love the idea of males wearing bras as a purely ornamental piece of clothing). Take care, and thanks again for your input, insightful and clever as always.

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