skirtcafe.org

I know it sounds nuts, but before you dismiss this idea out of hand.....

What if.....

We've got a bunch of creative types here who can design and sew a skirt.

What if we collaborated and put on a fashion show on the sidewalks of New York during fashion week. Its been done before by other aspiring designers.

"Men in Skirts @ Seventh on Sixth" Ordinary blokes as models - from paunch to panache?

That sounds just great, Sapphire, BUT do you think that we could think up a skirt that has not been made before? I would think that is impossible. What is possible, is presenting a skirt, now, that may have been made before, but is long forgotten. Sometimes it is not the design, but the moment it is presented that is of importance.

I myself would not know where to begin.

But still it is a good idea, because it is not only the idea, which many may have, but the guy or gal that actually presents it, at the right moment that wins.

I have actually had a few times this last half year that I knew about a fashion show that I thought, well if they saw me now in my skirt, and asked me, although new for me, wouldn't it be great to walk on the catwalk, between all those women, as a man in a skirt! (one of those fashion shows was also with men's fashion ). maybe I'd freeze on the catwalk, but I don't know. v.

Peter v.

[D]o you think that we could think up a skirt that has not been made before? I would think that is impossible.

This is not about coming up with completely new designs, or even concepts, but (I suspect) new ways of integrating skirted garments into common everyday male wear. I do not believe that we need new designs; the skirt is one of the oldest garments going and has served (blimey! continues to serve!) both sexes for millenia. Why fiddle needlessly with (evolutionary) success?!

It is a given fact that some designers have developed skirts specifically tailored to the male form (MIDAS, CitySkirt, and others) but, I'll submit, that outside certain highly-constrained circumstances skirts are primarily a "unisex" garment (as opposed to the 1960s' usage of "unisex" to define androgeny). There's evidence all 'round the world on that count in the form of sulus, sarongs, djebellas (sp?), and whatnot. Note that I left the Scottish kilt out. That was deliberate; kilts are universally accepted as ubermasculine (where's an umlaut when you need one?!) garment and, so, are regarded as discrete from mere "skirts".

I'd be more than happy to "strut my stuff" on any known catwalk whilst wearing a skirt. I'm a bit past my prime, but the sentiment stands even though 5th Avenue would blanche at the notion.

I like the idea. The skirt itself doesn't have to be so groundbreaking, having a guy wearing it will be new enough for so many people.

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Thank you for understanding the idea!

No, the skirts don't have to be any kind of futuristic sci fi gear, or anything of that ilk.

We just have to brainstorm looks that work on guys, anything from hiking, to walking the dog, to business appropriate to evening wear, find a low cost way to advertise just prior to fashion week and schedule the event opposite the show for a major designer. No tents, just regular guys in stylish, non threatening, believable skirted outfits on the sidewalks outside Bryant Park.

It should not be staged as a "protest" but rather as a tasteful fashion show.

What's the schedule? I mean, working bakwards:

1. When is Fashion Week?
2. When would we need to get promotional material out?
3. When would skirts need to be finished and models working with them?
4. When would we need to have final outfit designs and models recruited?
5. When do we initially recruit for designs and models?

crfriend wrote:

[D]o you think that we could think up a skirt that has not been made before? I would think that is impossible.

I'd be more than happy to "strut my stuff" on any known catwalk whilst wearing a skirt. I'm a bit past my prime, but the sentiment stands even though 5th Avenue would blanche at the notion.

You wear skirts now, so with regard to that, there is no reason not to wear them on the catwalk.

I think that more mature catwalking men amongst younger, would be ideal to show that skirt wearing is for all ages. If only handsome young males were to show, then we would be again creating our own problem, because everybody would relate to what they get to see, and that would be that skirt wearing is stylish for young men, leaving others out of the picture.

To prevent that it is neccessary to catwalk a selection of all ages.
It is for all ages, so show it as such.

Peter v.

sapphire wrote:Thank you for understanding the idea!

No, the skirts don't have to be any kind of futuristic sci fi gear, or anything of that ilk.

We just have to brainstorm looks that work on guys, anything from hiking, to walking the dog, to business appropriate to evening wear, find a low cost way to advertise just prior to fashion week and schedule the event opposite the show for a major designer. No tents, just regular guys in stylish, non threatening, believable skirted outfits on the sidewalks outside Bryant Park.

It should not be staged as a "protest" but rather as a tasteful fashion show.

This is very good, Sapphire, but there is a snag or two, is it allowed to be done on the side walk, and the people to be reached are also sitting inside, they are the ones who should be prickeld to become active in the fashion world to promote skirt wearing as well. But of course the general public that passes or is on their way inside to see the official show, will also see the action outside.

Sounds great, only a question of organising it.....

But the seeds ( thought ) of actually doing it are sewn.

Peter v.

Hi Peter,
It has been done before by aspiring designers.

There is a potential legal problem with obstructing the passage of pedestrians. Perhaps that could be overcome by obtaining a license for "performance art"

The "big shots" will be in their tents and the ordinary people don't have access to the fashion week show.

Or (evil thougt) we could move our show one block west onto Seventh Avenue and do our performance right across the street from Parsons the New School of Design (where Project Runway is shot) Coincidentally, that would put our performace right on top of the Fashion Walk of Fame.

Ooooo I'm being bad....

sapphire, isnt it nice, ... to be "bad"once in a while?

I don't know New York, but your thinking seems to be very on the spot. Sounds very feasible. If that were actually to be done, it would ( should) be a big success. And get news coverage too.

Peter v.

It's a great idea -- you wouldn't even need to design skirts. The point would be that they are acceptable -- I'm sure enough of us have something which looks cool or can be combined with something else to make it look different or new.

I'd be interested!

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I wonder if it wouldn't be worth trying to petition Paul Gaultier and other established men's skirts fashion designers to join the show? If we got even one of them in, it would be awesome!