I’ve always been a rabid reader. I can never say I read only for enjoyment. I wouldn’t say I’m a pleasure reader at all. I read because I must. I yearn for the knowledge, the story, the myth, the mystery. I’ve always been mad for the fictional world, the drama, the lust, the destruction, the philosophy, and how it’s all in this universe that can only be illustrated through your dreamy imagination. Maybe that’s why I’ve always kind of hated self-development books; it’s fluff with none of the grit or imagination that liberates us in a sense from the heaviness of this existence.   I’ve often found myself dreaming of the aesthetic side of how a character would be in real life. How they would exist in this physical space around them, the fabrics that they would wear, and the style they would choose. That’s inspired me frequently to want to make something palpable, bring those words to life in design. It might be linked to my idea that how a person dresses themselves or how they must dress for their environment and story reflects so much more than just a visually pleasing (or not) presentation for the reader. The way a fictional character dresses speaks to their environment, their mental state, their role in relation to the unfolding of events they are involved in or around them.   So, in this week’s blog I’m going to get into a few of my inspirations for designs that I’ve done in the past year or so, and who inspired them.   On The Road by Jack Kerouac:  Denim Bags with Bleach Art

Published in 1952, On The Road by Jack Kerouac would drive a generation insane. No, actually multiple generations, including my own and including myself. I discovered this book when I was 16 while volunteering as a library aide in my school library, and I was doomed, or blessed, or both. More than punk rock, more than the hippies, this book dug into my brain and embedded itself for my entire youth. The unbridled lust for life romanticised in the character of Dean is more profound than just throwing on a beret and drinking an espresso. The “beatnik” concept of Dean (not referring directly to Neal Cassady) is repeated multiple times in the book as Dean tears his clothes, dancing wildly in too-big trousers not for fashion, but because of raging through life on the road too frantically to worry about looking chic. In essence, completely effortless and undeniably impactful.    

Denim is an important aspect of his character, as jeans were the apex of anti-traditional-values-attire of the time. So when I decided to create some bags with a lush black denim I’d recently found, I used phrases directly taken from this book. Dean was mad… for everything. The bags that followed as part of this collection are meant to embody that frantic, vibrating excitement for life… mad for art, not for the clean corners of traditional design.   The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin: The Moonage Daydream bag idea If you’re a serious David Bowie fan who has quite literally looked up his book lists, you’ve probably read this one. At least that’s what I did. The first time I read this book, years ago, I was transfixed by the descriptions, the anxiety, the emotion of what we (and others) see as loyalty, love, and even as gender identities.  In The Left Hand of Darkness, the “otherworldly" is worn in everyday life on a planet that is always cold and aggressive. The attire worn by Gethenians is reflective of that. Blues, silvers, icy tones… cold colours for a freezing planet. The question of gender doesn’t exist in this world, where the beings there don’t have a permanent gender; fashion is not gender affirming in any way. I had this in mind when designing my silver Moonage Daydream bag. (that’s also a David Bowie song, as he was also allegedly a big fan of this book) The silver-weaved fabric is strong and smooth; if fabric could be ice, this would be the one. This bag, however, won’t melt in the sun and will look sleek and sexy on the shoulder of any and every gender.   Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson: The Dog Solitude Scarf As a huge Gibson fan, and having re-read his Sprawl trilogy multiple times (I cried during the beach part in Neuromancer), I have made more than a few designs inspired by his vivid storytelling.   Mona Lisa Overdrive is the third and final book in the legendary Sprawl trilogy. Dog Solitude is one of the important locales in this book; a barren dystopian field where The Factory is located… and where some of the most important parts of the story take place. A small group of misfits and maniacs have isolated themselves to this toxic former landfill. Their style there is based on raw functionality, as those we meet there are forced to dress in chaotic, layered, mismatched styles to survive in the volatile landscape they call home.  

If you take anything from this blog, it should be to read these three books. They will change your perspective and maybe even your life! 

<3 Hev