Wednesday, July 18, 2012

"THE WRINKLE MANIFESTO"

Most of these pictures are from Phileppe Halsman's "The Jump Book." It might just as well have been called "The Wrinkle Manifesto," because that's what it is: a visual argument for bringing back loose clothing that wrinkles easy.

Current fashions (above) don't wrinkle much. They make the wearer look good, but that's the problem. They make the wearer look too good. How boring!


It's selfish to dress for yourself. The truly social person dresses for the amusement or enlightenment of the people he encounters on the street. Nobody wants to see a street full of generic people, all without obvious defects. Why leave home if that's all there is to see outside?  


This woman gambled and lost. A gust of wind came up and blew her dress too high..but I don't think many people minded, at least not many men. I admire her for wearing a dress that wasn't risk free. 



Now, don't get me wrong...I'm not suggesting that we do away with tailoring and wear bedsheets. The best clothes from the Wrinkle Era (the 1930s and 40s) were all made from good fabrics and were all nicely tailored...but the tailoring was alternately loose and tight...it never did away with risk. 



It's true that wrinkles sometimes make the wearer look bad, but so what? To put on loose, wrinkly clothes is to take a risk, and that's what life is all about. "A harbor is a safe place for ships, but ships were not made to stay in harbors."




The Golden Age of Wrinkles ended sometime in the mid 50s. That's 50s Rock and Roll personality Dick Clark above. Dick did a great jump but his skinny trousers failed to flap and wrinkle at the right time and a potentially beautiful picture was lost.


Clark could have had this (above).



6 comments:

Joshua Marchant (Scrawnycartoons) said...

Wow!! What a great argument for loose wrinkle-prone clothes, the photos alone make the case. Those suits are gorgeous!

Right now I'm just learning to draw basic cartoon wrinkles that wrap tightly around cartoon skin, like wrinkles on Tom and Jerry's eyebrows. But all cartoonists should aim for the Scribners wrinkle masterpiece scene from Coal Black.

Even though wrinkles (especially clothes!) are a bugger to animate I think they're too naturally funny and visually interesting not to draw. Like John says about sexy girls, it's a gift I wish to bestow the audience. Good post!

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Joshua: There's a lot of cheats in those wrinkles around Prince Charmin's legs, but you get the impression of accuracy, and that's the important thing.

Roberto: Sorry your comment on Indiana Jones wasn't published. I thought the subject needed more thought than I had time to give it so I moved it to the back burner and did this post instead.

I'll reinstate your comment when I finally post about Jones.

kurtwil said...

Nice theory!

FYI it takes _mondo_ polys and work to get decent wrinkles in CGI clothing. Still, a skilled 2D animator in the spirit of Scribner can pull off stuff way more expressive.

Scribner was lurking inside my head while adding hero's pants wrinkles/ bulging eyes for an otherwise dull animated remake of COUNT OF MONTY CHRISTO (gave crew a good laugh but became producer-imposed outtake).

Anonymous said...

No apologies needed, Eddie. I was just wondering what had happened to that post. On a positive note, I took the final exam to my Intro to Sociology class and I'm taking my Intro to Philosophy final next Thursday, which is also on my 18th birthday, so that's kinda coincidental. Overall, I've gotten a lot of out of college already because of all the work I've put into it, even if it's a class I know I won't ever need like sociology.

Unknown said...

That's an excellent theory, Eddie! It's made me rethink about fashion~

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Roberto: Why did you take sociology? I don't see the educational value in it. School isn't about getting a degree, it's about education.