The Patent Apron.
I will be honest, I love this apron!
It is/was a modern take on a tried and true garment.
First made in early 1999 or late 98?or Actually before?
It clicks on and off and it has a huge pocket secreted away in it´s folds.
The 2 sizes: Short and Long(er) will fit most people.
It is not just for the kitchen** ,it can go anywhere you do.
… especially if you need a pocket.
Or maybe I also love what it represents.
sisters are doing it for themselves
It has been busted out of servitude. It was only meant for the kitchen, but now it can be a statement to wear an apron OUTSIDE the kitchen as a symbol of DEFIANCE and FREEDOM
Last year customer asked me to make her a new one, as her's was nearly 15 years old.
When I made it again, it was like seeing an old friend.
To my surprise, IT IS STILL SHOCKING!
I really don´t understand ?
Thank you to :
cover girl: @jona.berchner and
Sandra, Paco, Julian, Elio, Anna, Nino, Ronda and Sean for the photos
**SIGH...
Short History/Context
Before the apron I had invented Pocketbelts.
I first made the pocket belt in 1994 as an answer to a challenge to make a new product.
Most of the folks I showed the pocketbelt to thought it was a bit weird.. Or It made them look fat; Or thought it was too much like a bum bag... Or (fill in the blank) ..There is always resistance to anything different ( something to do with evolution).
Nevertheless, I did sell some pocketbelts in small boutiques and even sold a few to “Trend setters”
In 1998 Prada came out with Pocketbelts. I am not saying they copied, these things are in the air sometimes.
I made the Stokx and the Patent Apron as a reaction to the phenomenon, that suddenly pocketbelts were cool ,and I needed a new product.
I made an apron and thought ,with some satisfaction, that it would take a while for it to become mainstream. It seems as if I was right.
The Aprons represented the link between a bag and a garment. I wrote a lofty little text and tucked it into a large label that was sewn on 3 sides.
The apron led me back to clothing. The Stokxrock was made to wear under an apron and the Patent Apron became the Patent rock.
The aprons also fed me one winter. A “place to be seen”restaurant saw one of my aprons and requested a special design for their staff.
Since then I have called myself a “clothing" rather than a “fashion” designer.
I like to solve problems.
Back in 2000, Pocketbelts were replaced by ridiculous little handbags.
I decided then and there that I am not shallow enough to be a fashion designer.
Oscar Wilde puts it beautifully of course:
“Fashion is ephemeral. Art is eternal. Indeed what is a fashion really? A fashion is merely a form of ugliness so absolutely unbearable that we have to alter it every six months!” *