Kim Gordon has many strings to her bow. Former member of Sonic Youth, author of the incredible memoir Girl In A Band and visual artist, she’s recently collaborated with & Other Stories on a clothing line that features her own graphics. Check below for pictures of her daughter Coco fronting the uber-cool campaign and well as our chat with Kim about the line.
This isn’t your first foray into fashion – there was X-Girl in the 1990s – what about the medium do you love?
Kim: “I like the communicative aspects of it, the signage. I can kind of read somebody by what they are wearing or just how clothes and fashion can be an armour. You can hide who you are. I feel like women can change the environment around them by what they wear and that’s interesting.
What does this line have in common with X-Girl?
“X-Girl was pretty specific to the time and doesn’t really have anything in common with this collection. Maybe it has the spirit of it, but nothing specific. This is more about the graphics.”
Where did the initial seed of an idea for the graphics come from?
“It started with & Other Stories sending me an image of some of my art that they had seen and liked. And then we went from there. I’ve done some work with metallic watercolours before, and wanted to use it for this concept but do it in a way that you’re not supposed. Loading watercolour on rice paper, almost destroying the paper. I decided to do pronouns because I like the idea of a word, and the sense of drama surrounding it. Thinking of a word can create an atmosphere, and there’s a certain mystery about it.”
Did you listen to music while working on the designs?
“I often listen to music when I create. It helps me to focus and enhances the experience. While creating the artworks for this co-lab, I listened to Steve Gunn, I like his music a lot. But also, a band called Heron Oblivion. The singer sounds a lot like a folk singer in a way, but has an old voice. Their music is kind of dirge-y and psychedelic.”
If you could have any figure from history wearing these clothes, who would it be and why?
“Angela Davis, she was a political spearhead and a striking woman. I like that association.”
What’s your favourite piece from the collection, and how would you wear it?
“I really like the blushy pink hoodie with the abstract blue and also the shorter pink sweatshirt that says ‘her’.”
