If there’s one fabric I’m willing to define myself by, it’s Ann Demeulemeester’s floral print wool from a few years back. (Extensive research has been unable to confirm the specific season — maybe it was produced in more than one?) It’s a stunning, specific print — the flowers look like they belong on the graves of a couple who drowned themselves in a love-suicide pact, mourning a romance not of this earth. There’s simply no mistaking these flower petals for your great aunt’s tablecloth. Ann produced pants, jackets, shirts, waistcoats and hoodies in this material, and who can blame her? When a design like this exists, it must be celebrated.
I tried tracking down a pair of Ann’s floral pants for over two years before finding them. During my search, my friend and fashion-enabler Wesley Eisold (famously of Cold Cave, among other impressive musical acts) purchased the fabric in hoodie form, clearly captivated by the print himself. It was a serendipitous realization that we were both in love with the print — join my lower body with his torso and the perfect male is complete. He’s been wearing it longer than me, so I asked him some questions about his acquiring and wearing his flowered cloak.
Do you remember when you first saw your Ann Demeulemeester floral coat? Was it love at first sight?
Yes, and intrigue and admiration. I could imagine myself wearing it, though it would take some time before I was able to own it. Hydrangeas symbolize love and enlightenment, a couple of qualities I needed more of.
What attracted you to the coat? I’d imagine you don’t own many other garments like it.
I always wore military issue parkas growing up in greens or blacks or camouflage. I was attracted to the idea of the flowers as camouflage and the contradiction in that idea. I don’t know the intention of the design, but that’s how I interpret it on me.
Wearing it out in public for the first few times, were you nervous at all? It’s a pretty bold design.
Oh very, but I also thought it was so beautiful and delicately menacing that something like a flower could feel so heavy.
Do you feel different at all while wearing it? I’d imagine wearing it might put you in a certain mood.
I have a pretty fascistic approach to my clothes as the rest of my life is often in shambles, so a lot of sharp and linear blacks. I save this piece for the rare days when I feel the need to express more. Clothes are a weapon against the conformity of our bodies and the world we live in. I find comfort in looking how I feel.
