Der Nachhall der Fabulous Fashionistas ist – well, fabulous! Bei Twitter wird viel debattiert ueber Mode und aelterwerden, und bei der Konferenz Mirror Mirror in London Ende Oktober waren sie auch grosses Thema. Eine der Fashionistas – Sue Kreitzman, gebuertige New Yorkerin lebend in London – hat eine besonders klare Aussage: alles geht, bloß kein Beige!
Bekannt wurde Sue durch ihre Kochbuecher, denn sie hatte eine sehr erfolgreiche Karriere als Autorin. 1998 allerdings entschied sich Sue, ihr Autorenleben zu beenden, und stattdessen Kunst zu machen. Ein absoluter Kurswechsel, ein ganz neues Leben. Die Arbeiten sind sehr persoenlich und Spiegel ihres Charakters und ihrer Lebenseinstellung. Und so sind sie vor allem eins: bunt!
Durch die persoenliche Note in ihrer Arbeit und ihrem Kleidungsstil inspiriert Sue ungemein. Experimentierfreudig, weltoffen und ein wenig frech – einfach wunderbar. Und so freue ich mich besonders darueber, dass es die Moeglichkeit fuer ein Gespraech mit Sue gab:
Very nice to meet you, Sue! I’ve known about you and your work for some time and have been fascinated, for instance, by the features of you on Ari Seth Cohen’s Advanced Style Blog. But it was primarily because of Fabulous Fashionistas that I thought about contacting you: what an inspirational documentary, I absolutely loved it! What made you want to be part of it?
I was approached by director/producer Sue Bourne. She was looking for interesting, feisty, colourful, achieving women of a certain age for her project. How could I say no??
One of the things you said on Fabulous Fashionistas was ‘Growing old is a privilege, an adventure. You think about death but you choose life – just don’t wear beige, it might kill you.’ Can you comment?
My mother died in her early 50’s, my father as well. Every year I live beyond that (and I am now 73) seems like a miracle. And life is, literally, time travel. The longer you live, the more changes you observe, the more people you meet, the more adventures you have, the more interesting it all is. The texture and colour of life is endlessly fascinating.
My mother chose to end her own life. This is beyond my comprehension. I am – as a result of my mother’s action – obsessed with death, but, unlike her, I choose life every time!
The beige thing is self explanatory. It is an evil non-colour that bleaches the life force right out of you. It makes me ill.
Apart from not wearing beige, do you have a dresscode?
Colour, colour, and – oh yes … colour.
Your clothes are art as much as clothes. What does that mean to you?
Everything I wear has to have deep meaning. It has to be made by someone I love, or by me. I like bringing art (real art!) to the streets, on my back.
Are your clothes meant to send a particular message? If so, which?
Don’t be a slave to fashion. Style is all. And art!
Your style has evolved a lot over time, but does time as such have anything to do with that evolution?
The older I am, the freer I am. I can do what I please now. I always wore colour, but now I can go wild!
Now I love my glasses and I have a whole bunch of them, some quite colourful. But even I probably wouldn’t go for the type of bold glasses you go for. What do your glasses mean to you?
Well, of course, I need them to see. And I think that they are wonderful accessories for the face. At this point, they are an important part of my persona. Any colour, as long as it’s red!
What’s your favourite ‘fashion-quirk’?
‚Home made‘ jewelry (home made by me!), very wild.
What would your fashion/style advice be for your 20-year old self?
Be true to yourself. Avoid fashion fads and yearly changes. Wear what you like – and be comfortable!
Thanks very much, Sue, for talking to me!
Mehr ueber Sue’s farbenfrohen Stil und das Zusammenspiel von ihrer Mode und Kunst gibt es in Ari Seth Cohen’s Advanced Style Blog.
Sue’s Kleidung auf dem Foto: Jacke von Lauren Shanley, Schmuck von Gail Klevan.
