Skin Graft
Spur of the moment fashion
Fashion Spread |
Fashion - Other |
By: Brooke KelleyPhotos: B Topo+ Sep 10, 2006 at 3:45am |
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Last year, when Cassidy Haley and Jonathan Cota separately attended Burning Man, an artist gathering in the desert, they had no idea that they wouldn’t be leaving alone. Both guys, Jonathon Cota and Cassidy Haley, attended for common reasons -- fashion, music and performance. Their camps were conveniently located nearby one another, and when their eyes finally met, they were more than just attracted. Although mutual friends between the boys had already suggested that the pair meet up, it didn’t take a genius matchmaker to figure out why they are still perfect for one another a year later.
While a healthy love was brewing under the surface, something else was in the works as well. There was no pin point moment where the boys decided to start a fashion label. They just created clothes together, started taking orders from friends, and
before they knew it, their client list included: Steven Tyler, Pink, Alanis Morisette, Papa Roach and Perry Farrell from Jane's Addiction. The list goes on. A huge stretch from their days working at the egg donation facility, the boys now create full time for their own label--Skin Graft Designs.
“I never took fashion seriously. It always come natural to me. I just evolved into this. I almost didn’t even realize it. My friend introduced me as a fashion designer once, and I thought, ‘yeah, I guess I am huh," said Jonathon.
Using a tapestry of bones, feathers, skulls and skins (including cow, lamb, snakes, deer, ostrich and toads), the guys weave intricate and involved designs. Each piece is put there for a specific purpose, and everything is done with careful intention. Their jackets are thirty hours in the making, and the boys are not afraid to stay up until 4AM to finish a project.
Their work does not adhere to fashion trends in the market, and if you stumbled upon something already en vogue within this collection, it would be a complete fluke. While labels like Calvin Klein spend a bundle of money to survey their target demographic to discover what the public wants, Cassidy and Jon strictly create the fashions that come to mind on the spur of the moment. They don’t follow the rules, they create from scratch, and what happens, amazingly enough, is a completely new style that consumers are dying to try on.
High-end L.A. boutiques are interested in selling their stuff, but you won’t find Skin Graft Designs located in any store, mainly, because they can’t produce it fast enough. Their next step is to make their styles available to everyone, but until then, you’ll have to settle for special orders on these fine leathers, directly from the source.
So far, PETA has not called them up, but there really is no need. The duo has a complete respect for animals and life. To balance out the fact that they do borrow skins, the boys rarely eat meat. So while you may find a cow hide in a drawer in their office, you certainly won’t find ground beef in the fridge.
The first thing you’ll see when you enter their office is a fabulous white gown, patched and strapped together with white strings. To the right, high above your head, you’ll see a collection of high fashion headpieces donning industrial wires and skulls as well as a bodice made from skins, but despite this, the boys really do have a complete respect for all life. Their art is more of a way of celebrating and paying homage to nature and all things organic.
They started off taking forgotten leather jackets and revamping them, but as time went on, their work evolved into creating the pieces from scratch. This is partly due to the fact that they design custom, costume-esque
pieces which require them to start at the very beginning.
Their inspiration comes from their personal collection of drawings and comic books. And if you listen very closely, every item they make tells an epic tale of love and romance and life. They are constantly fusing elements of design with music and performance.
Cassidy focuses on his pop rock electronic music while Jon, a break beat DJ, finds inspiration in merging multiple records into one new sound. When they are not creating tunes, they are still in the spot light, either fire dancing or stilt walking. Their waking hours are, essentially, one big conglomeration of art.
You might have happened to find yourself at the fashion show they produced last April. Or maybe you were walking way beneath them at Global Village as they performed high above the crowd on stilts. Perhaps you caught a glimpse of their work at Burning Man last year, but one thing’s for certain: once you see the amazing things they create, either via fashion, music or performance, you’ll walk away a changed person.
We live in a society that tells us to wear Gap and listen to the radio and do as we are told. We are asked to forget about that voice inside of us that begs to follow the road less traveled. But after three minutes on the Skin Graft website, or a tour of likely the most fabulous office in or near down town L.A., you’ll want to forget about society and do it your own damn way.
Their legacy is this empowered and inspired aftertaste that urges you to do and be something more than you were yesterday. Their art has a way of bringing forth a side of you that perhaps existed only in a tiny dark corner. But when you see what these guys can do, you’ll be inspired to create something better. If you’d like to remember what it feels like to be completely, artistically free, check out their work. No matter what Glamour Magazine says, we think it’s a “do."
Related Links:
http://www.skingraftdesigns.com/
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