So, my brief is to review the Marian Clayden exhibition. "As a woman what do you think of the clothes? No art speak." For a bit of context you should know that I love clothes. I collect them. I’ve been collecting clothes for over twenty years and I only thin out the mistakes. No regular clear outs, no capsule wardrobes for me. I’ll give one example; I do a lot of vintage (read: charity) shopping. I bought a mac twenty years ago knowing that I’d be biding time till I wore it. Feeling the moment, I started wearing it in earnest last year and this gives me great pleasure. I don’t ally to a type or style (consciously) and I am as democratic with clothes styles and genres as I am about my friends or the people I like.
So, I think I’m prepared with my angle. Do I like this woman’s clothes and would I wear them? Let’s go. Marian Clayden is something of an icon. To do her a grave injustice, she is a tie dye specialist who along her way dressed many A-listers; Sophia Loren, Liz Taylor, Diana Ross, Barbara Streisand, to name a few. Born in 1939, she came from Up North, born in Preston and studied in Nottingham before moving to Australia and then the States in 1967 where her life moved into glorious technicolor, just like her printing designs and skills. From the outside it seems she moved from industrial North into a blessed place just in time for the hippy revolution.
Now to the clothes; the exhibition at Bonington Gallery is something of a mixture. The first things to see are later pieces - a very nice felted pancake hat and cap in monochrome greys and some triangular towers. Tick yes. I’d take them all. They wouldn’t look out of place at the Lustre exhibition at Lakeside and are much later pieces from 2004. Very nice. Beside these are some party frocks that are older (from the nineties) and these make me think of my Goth days. As part of the original eighties UK scene we always considered our grotty moth-eaten authenticity to be superior to the more shiny, clean US counterparts. These dresses remind me of this, but I clearly see a connection to today’s version of Goth, more respectable and tailored. No to those dresses, but yes to the accessories.
Turn the corner and I am overwhelmed by ‘Devoré’. Devoré is when you have a fine silken ‘mesh’, and across this soft mesh there are velvety stencilled patterns in rich colours. Except, the name and process Devoré came way after these clothes I see now. I start to understand that Marian perhaps pioneered this technique that, as I remember, fairly saturated good quality/top end department stores in the late eighties and early nineties. It’s the perfect fabric for the more mature lady. Tasteful shades with a fluid structure to hide many ills. Matronly. They are tasteful, stately pieces that I wouldn’t go for. Ever. Apart from one Grecian number that could be perfect for a posh do, or amazing as a smart maternity evening dress.
So, by now, I’ve clocked up a pancake hat, a cap, some tower figures and a maternity frock. I turn around and see the best thing in the room. You can’t wear it, but your wall could: 84 ropes. 84, two metre-long, thick, tactile ropes that have been hand-dip dyed in retro colours and they hang in a line together to form a stunning rectangle. Absolutely gorgeous. Retro because they are from 1974. Delicious. Super tasteful brown, greys, yellows. I would pay good money for this. I would swap my collection so far for these. This woman was good, very good and I feel excited. Could I have a go and do this at home maybe?
Back to the clothes, but before I do I catch a good strong hit of silk screen skills. There are large silk screen prints that are very beautiful. One of them reminds me a little of The Caterpillar by Picasso and I start to feel a bit woozy. No art speak. I’m not down with all of these clothes (‘As a woman would I wear them?’) but I’ve got a bit of that thing going on in the pit of my stomach, which is usually the point when you get the credit card out. So there is one ‘bucket’ style coat that right now is bang on the money. Black with gold pattern, beautiful shape and cut. Yes. Wrap that and I’ll have the driver collect later.
There are some really fine silk printed dresses here that are very lovely but the only one I’ll go for is a fringed shawl. Stunning, beautiful. The kind of thing that could transform anything out of the ordinary, or wicked with a pair of jeans and good boots. One other - a sheer long dress (housecoat style) three to four simple boiled humbug sweetie style buttons at the top. She’s used a technique of using Perspex shapes above and below the fabric for a negative shape and the result is a lovely geometric triangle with a circular hole. All super-sheer in light shades of grey fading to whitish. Sublime. Definite yes. I see many occasions to out this. It goes into the basket, and if I have to tot up at the end and something has to come out, it isn’t this.
Tie-dye time. In my aforementioned grotty goth days, tie dye was washed out purple ‘shapes’ mostly, maybe a bit of DIY batik for the more exotic. Not this. If you like your tie-dye and maybe looking for an authentic super-charged hit then this is, hands down and I’m not just saying it, the finest example of an intricate multi-coloured tie-dye ‘spectacular’ I have ever experienced and it is gorgeous. Mirrored patterns in vibrant shades that undulate with the breeze. Absolutely stunning. This and the ropes are the stand out pieces in the room.
There are other items and a video, but I’m on a word count. There’s a little table with some things on, two boxes with silk tie-dye covers, and a mask, a stiff moulded mask with flow of colour and line. I glance at the mask and get an instant eighties moulded mask hit (Perrot dolls and Venetian things on people’s walls). But it wasn’t from the eighties, it was from the early seventies. Of course. It takes a good while before things get into, across and within the mainstream. At least a decade. Whether she was pioneering, leading or inventing, one thing is for sure, this woman was definitely and actively right in the middle of it.
As I go to leave, there were things that I could overlook or be less interested in. But I feel up and inspired and I like this way of seeing a show. As I leave think to myself, what more could you want from a fast shopping trip exhibition?
Marian Clayden: A Dyer's Journey Through Art & Fashion runs at Bonington Gallery until 16 May
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