[NOTE: IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT EACH FASHION TRIBE, START HERE]
The earliest tatts were found on Ötzi, the 5,300 year old Iceman discovered in 1991 frozen in the Alps. His body was covered from tip to toes with 50 Copper Age tattoos made by cutting the skin and rubbing in charcoal. The resulting lines and crosses on his joints (right) and areas on the back correspond with areas of the body where acupuncturists apply their needles to alleviate pain. Yes, it looks like ole' Ötzi was possibly a walking, talking & inked acupuncture chart. In many cultures, tattoos have been used to mark everything from a rite of passage to spiritual devotion, fertility, as a sexual lure (tramp stamps, anyone?), badges of bravery, the mark of an outcast, slave, or criminal, as a talisman, a pledge of love, for religious purposes and to identify status within a community. The word originally entered English when the explorer James Cook returned in 1771 from his first visit to New Zealand and Tahiti, where the art of the "tattaw" flourished. (image at top right)
And once the apocalypse hits the fan, if life devolves into a violent Mad Max free-for-all, how do you mark your status in a post-apocalytpic world? The old ways. Tattoos. (Plus some showy feathers, shells and shark teeth thrown in for good measure.) Tattoos, particularly old school ones like the Sailor Jerry inspired embroidery on the Maison Martin Margiela Spring 2014 runway above, definitely bring to mind a time when being inked meant you had a pretty rough side. However, before sailors and other tough new-world types appropriated them, Berber woman of North Africa traditionally tattooed their wrists and faces (below) after their first menstrual cycle, their mothers, aunts or family friends marking a girl's transition into womanhood.
(image via source)
Instead of inking a single Amazigh - the singular form of what the Berbers actually call themselves, Imazighen, which means "free people" (the term "Berber" derives from the Ancient Greek for "barbarian") - the young women would be tattooed in groups. Obviously, this group activity was a social occasion, the woman sharing a tradition and passing it down.
(images via source)
However, as more Imazighen converted to Islam, traditional tattooing began declining in the 1970s. In its place, increasingly intricate embroided headcoverings and "veils" or tahruyt and jewelry now fulfilled the social and "expressive" functions. It's said that no two veils are alike.
(images via source)
(images via source)
I thought the way Margiela interpreted the embroidered veil as a "wig" was quite cool. Made from embroidery and small found-objects - rings, chains, metal beads, cabochons, rounds made from tin cans, glass beads, half and whole glass tubes, crystals & keys - it looks particularly modern and eyecatching:
The fine handiwork looks both precious and aggressive at the same time:
(image by Emmanuel Sarnin via source)
I also found the face-obscuring masks made of silk organdy quite intriguing, how they managed to create anonymity and be kind of show-offy - at the same time. They were embroidered in Margiela's Paris atelier using glass beads and crystals.
(image by Emmanuel Sarnin via source)
The combined effect of Margiela's tattoos and embellished wig/veils is very post-apocalyptic and for me, conjuring up visions of a noble nomadic tribal chieftain (male or female), inked and headdressed to communicate status within the community. The tabi boots (these Margiela ones were made from a metallic twill) reference Japanese sartorial culture; the distinctive split-toe foot covering is thought to date from the 15th century, when Chinese cotton imports made it affordable for all classes in society to wear socks.
In short, the thoughtful side of dressing for life apres-apocalypse - which is the specialty of the Apocalytical tribe, as I discuss in this podcast:
Music: Kevin MacLeod, Incompetech.com
- Lesley Scott
(image by Emmanuel Sarnin via source)
FOLLOW FASHIONTRIBES ON TWITTER!
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK!
FRIEND US ON FOURSQUARE!
HEART OUR TUMBLR!
