The editors; Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits and Leanne Shapton. Pictures / Heidi Julavits and Leanne Shapton.
The editors; Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits and Leanne Shapton. Pictures / Heidi Julavits and Leanne Shapton.
A new book with more than 600 contributors examines and celebrates women’s relationship with clothes. Zoe Walker talks to the editors.
In what way is this stuff important, if at all? This is the final question in a survey devised by writers Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits, and Leanne Shapton, the women behind the fascinating new book Women in Clothes.
The survey - with questions such as "What are you trying to achieve when you dress?" and "Do you address anything political in the way you dress?" - was how the book came about; a collection of thoughts on clothes through conversations, drawings and essays. Heti, Julavits and Shapton set out to make an intelligent, thought-provoking book about women's fashion - or the "philosophy of style" - rather than the usual, empty style guides.
More than 600 women responded, including artists Cindy Sherman and Miranda July, writers Zadie Smith and Lena Dunham. Food writer Ruth Reichl talks about dressing in disguise to review restaurants; human rights journalist Mac McClelland discusses ethical consumerism; smell scientist Leslie Vosshall the intimacy of fragrance, while other women share their clothing collections (grey sweatshirts, Peter Pan-collared shirts, handmade dresses).
It's an intimate, and hefty tome - more than 500 pages - made to be dipped in and out of; opened at random for inspiration. Is this stuff important? Well, everybody gets dressed in the morning.
Heidi and Sheila had worked together on The Believer magazine, and Sheila and Leanne had worked together on a couple of books, so we knew we'd all get along. What also helped was that we all had different editorial strengths and different relationships to clothes.
How would you describe your own relationship with fashion? Did it change after you finished the book?
Women in Clothes, (Penguin, $50). Picture / Babiche Martens.
We define this book as being not about fashion, but about style and clothes, as it does not focus on the "fashion" world. All three of us have a different relationship to clothes after making the book. Sheila is more content with the level of interest and disinterest she has in clothes. Heidi is more interested in women who are not vying for attention with their presentation and Leanne tries to shop more ethically and more thoughtfully.
What, of all the questions in your survey, is the one that you were most interested in?
One of our favourite questions was the series: "Please describe your mind. Please describe your emotions. Please describe your body." It was partly a way to get to know the survey respondent better. But also: our relationship with clothes is not just about our relationship with our clothes, but with our feelings, our thoughts, our bodies, so that series of questions turned out to be very useful.
How did you choose the women who feature in the book? Is there anyone who you wish you could have included?
We wish we could have included every woman on the planet. We did not actually choose the majority of the survey respondents - they came in after sending the survey out on social media and through journalists and contacts in other countries. For longer-form contributions (projects, essays, poems, etc) we approached women whose work we admired and who we were interested in and felt might do something original.
Whose response or take on dressing or fashion struck you the most?
Women in Clothes, (Penguin, $50). Picture / Babiche Martens.
We all cite the interview with the Cambodian sweatshop workers as making a huge impression. Asking them about the clothes they wear helped relate to them in a more individual way. Also the interview with human rights activist Mac MacClelland was both funny and politically inspiring. On the other side of the spectrum, Young Kim's survey answers were enlightening and moving, and came from someone who loves fashion and is very discerning about designers and the art behind clothes.
The book has really connected with readers: why do you think it has such an impassioned response?
It may be because the foundation of the book is a series of questions that everyone knows the answer to. It's a topic anyone can be deep or shallow with, that everyone who wears clothes and has preferences, can relate to and share.
Women in Clothes (Penguin, $50.) Find out more and complete the survey yourself at womeninclothes.com
