Strath Shepard Visits Anna Telcs’s Fashion Exhibit “The Dowsing”

Everyone knows the story of The Tortoise and the Hare. The overly confident Hare is ultimately defeated by the slow, yet aggressively patient Tortoise. Recently, the manufacturing and distribution of clothing has taken on the initial speed of the Hare. The pace of fashion has accelerated beyond imagination. Retailers are pumping clothes out faster than the masses can buy it. Anna Telcs, a Seattle-based clothing and costume designer, is doing just the opposite. She is slowing fashion down.

Telcs’ The Dowsing exhibit is on display at the UW Henry Art Gallery Feb. 23 through May 5. At the Test Site, Telcs will regularly invite guests to join her in an open dialogue to discuss the variable economies of fashion and manufacturing.

Last week’s guest was Strath Shepard, creative director for men’s online at Nordstrom. Born and raised in the Northwest, Shepard has worked for the likes of Martha Stewart, Visionaire, and V Magazine. He also is the founder and creative director of Pacific Standard Magazine. Shepard offered dual viewpoints, as he has seen both sides of the industry. Nordstrom’s Savvy department has recently changed to entice the more modern, budget-friendly, H&M type.

The dialogue between guests centered around fast fashion and the emotion behind a clothing purchase. Both Shepard and Telcs agreed that nothing could be sold from either end of the industry without the consumer creating an emotional attachment to the object. “While we [Nordstrom] are targeting people with a more disposable income, we still have to make you want it,” said Shepard.

Telcs’ work explores “the intimate connection between mind and material expression.” She references Frank Alvah’s 1924 book The Psychology of Dress as an inspiration. Even though her focus is “romancing the antiquity of things,” it is clear she is still in tune with the consumer mindset.

While Telcs’ attention to embroidering, smocking, and pleating may seem like a thing of the past, she also believes fashion should be democratic. Her runway-style presentation at the Red Square is free and will have three live performances. The Dowsing’s live performances begin on March 22 in the University of Washington’s Red Square. The next open dialogue is March 28 with Nin Truong.

Anna Telcs’ vision, like the Tortoise, is aggressively patient. She questions existing perceptions of fashion while going at her own pace. While the Hare sleeps, Telcs edges forward.