Well, I started having the confidence to really push myself and my fashion. I started getting pairs of jeans, cutting them, fraying them, soaking them in the sink until they puffed out and looked worn, then I would run them through the dryer before I even put them on for the first time. The idea of bricolage, taking a garment and adding your own personal touch — these were all techniques I was working on at home at this time. My mother always said, “I don’t care what you wear as long as it’s a complete outfit, a complete thought.”
And that’s something you still carry with you today.
I live by it.
So what does that mean to you — a complete look, a complete thought? Take me through that construction process.
I think of everything from the underwear, out. Anything that touches my body that deals with the outfit — all of it — it’s been thought of. From the underwear, to the socks, to the pants, to the belt, to the shirt, to the shirt that goes over that shirt, to the jacket that could possibly go over that, to the change of shoe if I have to have one, to the bag, to the wallet, to the change purse that could possibly go in the wallet.
And even back then, I was thinking beyond just the clothes; I was thinking about the form and function of the outfit in the intended space. A lot of people don't think about that — they just think about what they're going to wear. I not only think of the clothes, but I think of where I’m going and who is going to be there to see what I’m wearing. Not just dressing, but dressing to hit the most access points possible for the people seeing the outfit — that idea was instilled in me very early on. An outfit can say a lot more than words.
A friend once told me, “Oh girl, you don’t have any style.” And all I could say was “Excuse me?” Then she said, “Babe, babe, calm down. You don’t have style, you have an effect. I can see what you wore, and then I can see the area you’ve been in after you’re gone, like ‘oh, Xander was here’.” So I thought about that, and that’s what I’ve been working on my entire life without realizing it. All these major transitions in my life have led me to have this effect.