Creating Beauty, Design and the Past

I spend a lot of time thinking about shapes and forms. Hours upon hours developing and trying to find out what the thin hair of difference is that creates genius vs mediocrity. With so much mediocre crap out in the world I am always terrified that I might step over the abyss and make or design something that is "mediocre" . Believe it or not as I was discussing with my friend John Chapman the other day, the difference between simple genius and today's fashion is often the concept of purpose. In the past every design, every line and every single cut seemed to be full of purpose. There was always a practical reason for each idea in a garment. The creativity was often the secondary thought. First you make a perfect garment, then you embellish it. Trying to understand that thinking in an age of computing and computer design is next to impossible. The task is daunting at best. I've spent the better part of the last 3 months trying to create new designs in the Zeitgeist of those long dead designers and it has been a fascinating process. We have had to unthink many of the ideas built into these jackets and unthink the way modern patterns are made. It is and will be a very scary process. I have been reticent to even share the results with my family. Hopefully I will have a jacket so beautiful that others will encourage me to bring it out into the world!