Messenger - Vol. 1, No. 1, Page 13 Fall 1991 Unorthodox fashion creations win acclaim Karen E. Schaeffer and Jane Matranga, faculty members in the Department of Textiles, Design and Consumer Economics, were determined to find just the right combination of materials for their nationally acclaimed fashion creations. So, they skipped off to some mighty unconventional places to buy the likes of neoprene rubber and pigmented-polyvinyl-chloride-coated copper, or what is commonly known as telephone cable wire. "Area hardware stores and plumbers thought we were nuts," says Matranga, a young, effervescent Indiana-native who designed a graffiti-scrawled, body-length coat. "They looked at us coming through and said, 'Oh, there's those two kooky broads again!'" Their perseverance and unorthodox design of an outfit called "Empress of Neoprene" and the "Urban Camouflage" coat has raised eyebrows. They were selected to participate last fall in the Center of Contemporary Art's Artwear Fashion Presentation in Miami. And their designs also were exhibited in Denver during a national competition sponsored by the Association of College Professors of Textiles and Clothing (ACPTC). "Actually, what we did was interpret a very traditional type of costume, which is a combination of Thai and Tibetan native costumes, into ethno-, techno-, chemo-kinds of materials," says Schaeffer, referring to the "Empress of Neoprene," a flowing, oriental-looking outfit made of neoprene rubber, telephone wire and balsa wood. Schaeffer, an associate professor of fashion merchandising, fashioned the robe from black neoprene rubber with Matranga's assistance. Shoulder and side seams are joined with an adhesive. Neoprene banding on the front, neck, armhole and hem edges are glued. And robe decorations, which include brass, are caulked into place. The headdress consists of rubber tubing which was coiled, tied and formed into a conical shape. The top of the headdress is open and decorations were attached. "The challenge in this project was using materials that were non-textile and customarily not used in garment construction and combining them into an aesthetic costume," according to the professor's accompanying document submitted to judges at the North Miami Museum and Art Center, sponsors of the Miami presentation. Matranga's graffiti-covered coat is just as special. "Mine, I thought was timely because it's called 'Urban Camouflage' and a lot of people have a problem that way. They don't like graffiti," says Matranga, who was captivated by wall-scrawling while studying for a master's degree in fashion design at Philadelphia's Drexel University during the mid-1980s. "Their attitude is that it's really defacing urban landscape. But on the other hand, there are other people who say wall-writing or subway painting is as valid an art form as anything. "So, I'm trying to play with whether it's an art or is it defacing property," says Matranga about a coat that explores the merger of painting and garment construction with an accent on the surrealist art movement of the 1930s and contemporary urban art forms. The full-length, canvas-weight, twill garment features multi-level pockets and collar. The side-front closure is made of old chain, worn leather, a piece of rusted iron, an old nail and part of a glass bottle. The brick wall design and graffiti are hand-painted and the silk twill lining is dyed the color of bricks and quilted in a brick pattern. Their handmade creations were not made for manufacturing, but for aesthetic and artistic reasons, and the two professors are considering new projects. Matranga says her next may examine environmental issues. "I might do an undersea coat, a mountain or any landscape," she says, "to make people aware of the beauty of the Earth!" Schaeffer has an idea, too. "I'm thinking about something for next year, like making a necklace out of old pen points from fountain pens," she says. "I'm very excited about that." --Donald Scott