Oscar Wilde once said that “conformity is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” Conventions relating to what we wear often stray into the motifs of our forebears. How are we best to combat this then? In creating gender neutral and diverse garments, shapeless, formless and unflattering is the result we seek to avoid but almost always arrive at. Unisex is so unsexy! Enter Mason Kane Thomas. The fashion designer is presenting his capsule collection and exhibition Cissy Boy until 1 July at Yorkshire Artspace’s Exchange Place Studios.
Mason's collection of ‘themwear’ may be better classed as weapons of choice for the war on blandness. Wearable sculptures, flesh carapaces and butch femme adornments for all Queer bodies. The monochromatic palette belies the vibrancy present within the texture, narrative and weight of history woven into the collection.
I ask Mason if the pieces are his way of communicating in a world where words are sometimes difficult. “I’ve always communicated visually,” he explains. “As a kid with dyslexia and being autistic, imagery has always been a way of me communicating things. When I was experiencing an emotion like sadness or happiness, I would draw pictures and leave them around the house as visual cues to say how I was feeling.” This want for understanding is evident in the Pride sketches and hand-stitched Pride flag on the walls. They're an acrostic poem devoted to inspiration and a visual archive through couture.
