...provides the rental of My Personal Collection of 

Vintage, One-of-a-Kind, Tambour, Deco, Beaded, Glam garments from 1900 through 1990.

Several women and men work for weeks to produce a single garment.

 

It all started with an Antique, beaded handbag from France.

A handbag, circa 1890, made from black and brown silk, beaded with hundreds of metal beads, shaping Poppy flowers. Upon first touch, I marveled in its visual and tactile beauty.  The silver metal beads were lightly oxidized in places, and the lining of the bag was quite shredded, but the major essence sustained, dripping of superior craftsmanship, and quality materials.  This beaded Poppy handbag remains my inspiration piece to this day.

The Broad Search: beaded.

I go mad for anything beaded.  Everyday fashion is casual, weightless.  Wearing a fully beaded garment, or one that uses beads as the primary embellishment, is like wearing an armored car.  The weight of the garments, the texture, awakens your senses to the fact that you are wearing a Piece Of Art.

A beaded dress has its own movement in opposition to the wearer: it shimmies, it shakes, it swifts, it swishes… Beaded dresses also create sound!  When you move, the beads strike each other, they tap on tables, and spill like rain on your chair as you sit, clickity-clacking when you cross your legs.  Sequins appliqué are easily transformed into three-dimensional designs, and patterns.  When embroidered flat, sequins become a smooth, reflective sheet, that can resemble liquid latex painted on skin.

The Inspired Search: Tambour.

This type of embroidery has a long tradition in several cultures, and is considered an Art form.  I thought it only right I learn the technique, if I was going to take on the custodainship of so many great Works, I would need to understand the Subject, and the Process, in order to restore, and properly care for, these now Vintage garments.

Provenance.

"Could I wear that?"  Maybe, but this kind of Glam is not for the weak!

My intention for Gossamer Gang, is to provide a unique service, to a niche market of clients.  I do buy regularly, however, I have no intention of becoming a big warehouse operation, rent-a-tux type business, rotating tons of beat-up inventory.

My personal goal, is to feed the pedigree of these Vintage pieces by allowing you to borrow them from me, to be appreciated by more people, seen in public, in projects by other artists and performers, and recorded in print, or other medium.

~Marie Oubliette