FRAY Magazine: REGENERATION Edition

Fall 2022

Issue 4

cover by erick buendia

DEAR READER...

What is the simple definition of regeneration? The renewal, regrowth, or restoration of a body or bodily part, tissue, or substance after injury; a normal bodily process.

Fray Magazine was conceived of and created during a period of lockdown and isolation on campus; fashion, clothes and collaboration brought us together when physical closeness was not an option. Our relationships to people and ourselves became fragmented, and Fray helped to renew, regrow, and restore these injured connections. The past three issues have been organized, edited, and put together by a team of students who no longer occupy space here; this Fall 2022 issue represents Fray’s future, resilience, and desire to regenerate.

The REGENERATION Edition is Fray Magazine’s fourth issue, and it’s our best one yet. This fourth issue has allowed us to regenerate Fray as a concept and incorporate more voices than we ever have before. We mended old clothes, saved ourselves and the environment, reformed generations of fashion, and made new and unique choices. REGENERATION would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our collaborators, team of organizers, and layout editors.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Regeneration as Mended human nature... maisy lewis fitted sheet... siggy soriano and victoria cornejo Regeneration as Saved viridescent... pelumi sokunbi and imogen frazier ... it's a (drag) home... norman slate Regeneration as Reformed dress up!... anika kewalramani "earth rise" illustration... alec black bringing the past to the present.. teddy abt Regeneration as New positive feedback... owen forbes evolution of queerness - a polaroid series... liam mackenzie interviews by jake gale

TEAM Organizers

Ruby Baden-Lasar Anika Kewalramani Siggy Soriano Victoria Cornejo Mia Foster

Layout Editors

Norman Slate Maisy Lewis Gaile Ng Pelumi Sokunbi

COLLABORATORS pelumi sokunbi norman slate liam mackenzie owen forbes

michelle valentine

maisy lewis

michael fadugbabe

oluchi chukwuemeka mimi landes jenny ongele katie meyer olivia rosas

kailer brothers

asher minkoff

sarah liu

ella kramer

bella rosenblatt ella kramer

leo kaplan

vansh kapoor

julia foley

amari stuppard abbi abraham

avery kelly dani monteys

mckenna blackshire

mirembe mcduffie-thurmond

laila kewalramani

imogen frazier thibeaux hirsh

charit narayanan

kofi agyei-yeboah

jake gale

minyoung huh keren miranda

alec black

ava carbonara

isa miranda

isabella lozada teddy abt

swaraj rai

erick buendia

carolyn neugarten lily hoeflin

jess jara williams

wesleyan theater department

SAVED /saved/

adjective

HUMAN NATURE

My project is challenging the notion that beauty is confined to one type of person. I shot my photos on film, developed and printed them in the dark room, and embroidered my printed photos with flowers to convey the idea of growth and regeneration of beauty standards.

-Maisy

Models: Ava Carbonara, McKenna Blackshire, Avery Kelly, Dani Monteys, Abbi Abraham, and Siggy Soriano Photography and embroidery: Maisy Lewis

Special thanks to Thibeaux Hirsh, Jenny Ongele, and Lily Hoeflin

Photography + Creative Direction: Victoria Cornejo Siggy Soriano

Swaraj Raj

Jess Jara-Williams

Isabella Lozada

Pelumi

Siggy. Sophomore. She/Her. J: Can you tell me a little about your least recent piece?

S: This is a t-shirt my friend Ryan got me for my eighteenth birthday. It’s a plain white t-shirt that says FIERCE on it. He’s a very straight white man, and I introduced him to a lot of gay terminology. But I kept saying things like, fierce and slay to him all the time. So he iron on-ed the word FIERCE on a big white t-shirt for me! He got me an extra-large because he knows I like to wear oversized things, which I thought was really sweet.

J: Do you wear it often?

S: I wore it to a function last year, and people didn’t really get it. I also cropped it way too much so it’s like, not fierce anymore. I cropped it right when I got it, but I cut it too short. So I don’t wear it that much anymore. It’s also like they might not get the irony.

J: Do you remember what you paired them with?

S: Yeah. I had these black-and-white pants I’d wear them with, but my style has sort of evolved past the piece.

J: What’s your most recent piece?

S: I thrifted this over fall break while driving back to campus. I was in New Haven and went to Savers, and I got this. I was looking through the mens' sweaters out and didn’t see it at first, but then I went another round and I saw it!

I think because of the light color I associate it with my current style. It’s sort of coquette-core, but with a masculine twist on it.

J: Have you been wearing it a lot?

S: Yeah, it’s really comfortable. My only big V-neck. I wore it yesterday and another time last week. I like to pair it with a white shirt underneath, with dark jeans and black shoes.

Victoria. Sophomore. She/They.

J: So this is your least recent piece?

V: Yeah, I thrifted it last year. I found it last year and thought it was so cool, but I haven’t worn it yet. I just haven’t thought of what to wear it with yet. I love the pattern and texture of it. It reminds me of an archive piece, sort of from a different era. I love the abstract shapes and stuff.

J: How would you describe your current style, and why do you think it’s been hard for you to integrate this piece into it?

V: I feel like right now, I'm realizing that when I shop, I only buy statement pieces but no basics, so I end up with a bunch of stuff that I don’t know what to do with, but when it’s in the store I’m like “I need this."

J: What’s your most recent piece?

V: I made this for Halloween! I was a Heavn by Marc Jacobs model. It’s my own take on the star sweater. I crocheted the star onto this shirt, which was also a statement piece I didn’t know what to do with! I wore it with some star details on my eyes and pink ribbons, and it was really fun!

J: How did you feel going out? Did people get it?

V: I loved it! I got a lot of compliments on my outfit, and one girl even walked up to me and told me they knew I was a Heavn model. That was really cute. I felt really powerful and I took photos that night and I looked really cool.

J: Do you think you’ll wear it again?

V: Hmm probably not, but I’ll definitely keep it for a long time and tell my kids about it!

MENDED /mend/

verb

makeup / michelle valentine, norman slate, nolan lewis photography / norman slate

... it's a

(drag)

home

Norman. Sophomore. Any Pronouns.

J: Tell me a little about the oldest piece in your wardrobe.

N: This is one of my Mom’s old bridesmaid's dresses from the seventies! I don’t really wear this piece out much, I think the last time I wore it out was for a bingo night! It’s really pretty, and there’s a skirt that comes with it but it has a rip in the ass right now so I have to stitch it up before I can wear it again.

J: How long have you been wearing it for?

N: Only a year or two, but it had been with a bunch of old clothes in my attic where me and my sister used to play dress-up as a kid, so I have a lot of memories of it. We used to dress up in these giant dresses, and we finally grew into them!

J: What do you usually pair it with?

N: Pants, or something red.

J: What do you think drew you to this piece out of all the clothes in the dress-up closet?

N: I think the crazy, clownlike quality to it! I can’t imagine anyone actually wearing this, but they did I guess. These big shoulder pads are not very flattering on anyone. I thought it would be cool for drag, actually. That’s why I brought it here. I thought it might make for a good photoshoot or something. I don’t think it’s particularly beautiful, but it’s like something you’d see on a runway.

J: What’s the most recent thing you got?

N: So, Michelle made this.

J: Oh word. Michelle, what was the idea behind this?

M: I just wanted something really hyperfeminine and sexual in a sort of powerful way, with very very bold colors. I like to involve anything with transness and trans identities, and hyperfemininity. With drag, I love to just make things obnoxiously unrealistic.

J: Norm, why’re you drawn to it?

N: I think this is my first actual corset, like for drag. It’s a really special item to me, since it was a gift from Michelle. Michelle actually taught me how to walk in this! It’s a perfect color scheme for me, and I love to wear it with a big brown skirt. I hope I get to wear it for a long time.

J: You've gotten into drag this year, right?

N: Yeah, last summer. I got top surgery, and before then I didn't really feel comfortable doing drag. And the second I got surgery, I was ready to really experiment with gender. Like if I was born like this, how I could’ve grown from there.

REFORMED re·​ formed

adjective

DRESS UP! LOVE, ANIKA

Here’s to embracing and nurturing the discomfort we may feel for the disconnects to our cultures. I hope for dress up to soothe the process of finding cultural fabrics and clothing intimidating, welcoming the fear and honest confusion. I hope that everyone apart of this project felt beautiful and in touch with their respective cultures. Here’s to normalizing and reclaiming a unique process of reformation and regeneration, and may it inspire you to play dress up some time soon.

Kofi AgyeiYeboah

29LT Makina

REFERENCE SHOT ...

...A portrait from my christening . "I felt Royal." - Kofi, dressed beautifully in a Kente .

Shot by Jenny Ongele, Directed & Edited by Anika Kewalramani

reference photo... reference pho

reference photo... reference photo...

"I was nervous at first as I have always had a complicated relationship with my body and how i'm seen ... as i started getting into it, i felt more connected with myself.

- Minyoung, wearing a jeogori

Minyoung Huh

"

Shot by Jenny Ongele, Directed & Edited by Anika Kewalramani

HIS IS MINYOUNG . WHO IS MINYOUNG

THIS IS MINYOUNG . WHO

Shot, Edited & Directed by Anika Kewalramani

Reference Photo ...

Reference Photo ...

"A dated photo of my aunt and uncle, Bharat and Deepika Kewalramani, ... today I felt a

natural confusion and exciting discomfort, but most of all, empowerment. ..." - Laila, encompassed in sun & sari .

Laila Kewalramani

Reference Photo...

"I felt really empowered by my vulnerable younger self .. and reclaiming aspects of my cultre "

Isa Miranda

Shot, Edited & Directed by Anika Kewalramani

erence Photo...

Reference Photo...

's what g goin on ?

Shot, Edited & Directed by Anika Kewalramani

Keren Mikanda

reference photo...

" mom said the picture was maybe 3 yrs old ... she had just come back fom Africa , summer of 2006 .

reference photo...

reference photo... reference photo...

"i felt beautiful ... i always knew my mom as beautiful . i hold so much love for her beauty as a young woman ... it's crazy that I've reformed that baby in the photo to a beautiful young woman just like my mom. "

REFERENCE PHOTO REFERENCE PHOTO Olivia Andrews

Olivia wearing a busuuti

Shot, Edited & Directed by Anika Kewalramani

Illustration by Alec Black

Fashion:

Bringing the Past To the Present

By: Teddy Abt

Using the past as inspiration in fashion isn’t a particularly rare choice, in fact, it's a staple of the industry. While originality is an intrinsic part of making a collection, there isn’t much left to invent when working with a medium that’s existed for millenia.. Nearly every textile, silhouette, color, and construction has already been used, so true originality is found few and far between, if it is even possible at all. It’s only logical that fashion designers then resolve to look at the past for inspiration, forming the basis of the twentyyear trend cycle: the theory that fashion trends work in a cyclical nature.

While there is a lot of evidence to back this theory, it is not entirely accurate to portray fashion as simply bringing back the fashion of previous decades. Instead, it’s an appropriation of how we think people in those eras dressed. This is most evident in the resurgence of Y2k, where bits and pieces of somewhat accurate styles are taken from relatively niche people from that time period, and then applied to the entire decade. In high fashion, brands like Blumarine, “rebooted the Y2k era” according to Vogue, but when comparing their Spring 2022 collection to the actual fashion of the early aughts, they aren’t quite the same. This is because Blumarine isn’t taking inspiration from the early 2000’s as a whole, but rather early 2000s Destiny’s Child and Paris Hilton.

This phenomenon isn’t only limited to the recycling of the modern. For example the corset trend, which owes some of its success to the popularity of Netflix’s Regency perioddrama Bridgerton. Shortly after its release, searches for corsets rose 123% according to the Daily Telegraph. However, in looking at the “Bridgerton-inspired corsets” that were trending resemble nothing close to the actual corsets worn during the early 19th century.

Instead, they are simply modern takes of a Victorian corset, Tudor-era pairs of bodices, and modern bustier tops.

Blumarine's SS 2022 ready-to-wear collection "Beat", worn

by Adit Priscilla

Much of the recycling of fashion trends are interpretations, not accurate portrayals. This raises the question of why trends are reproduced but not accurately replicated. The easy answer is to say that historic clothing is actually impractical and oftentimes ugly. On a deeper level, we use fashion to romanticize the past, making things we imagine as being beautiful new again through contemporary designs.

We certainly aren’t the first to bring back the fashion of an earlier period in an attempt to romanticize it either. Just like as we romanticize the Regency era, the people of the early 19th century romanticized the Greeks and Romans, which can be seen in a rise of neoclassical architecture to interpretations of their fashion As we come to better understand the rise and fall of trends, a deeper social critique arises in its romanticism of the past. The romanticization of the past can be problematic.

Making idols of the fashion of heiresses like Paris Hilton or colonialist monarchs may be more dangerous than we think.

The elegance of the early 19th century fashion was also heavily influenced by Joesphine Bonaparte and her imperialist husband. Some designers, however, take a different approach. British designer Vivenne Westwood first rose to prominence as the designer for the punk band Sex Pistols. Her radical antiauthortarian views paired with her turn to the past for inspiration cultivates a commentary on the fashions which she recycles.

"Portrait of Félicité-Louise de Durfort, Maréchale de Beurnonville" by Merry Joseph Blondel, 1808

While other designers have romanticized history, Westwood has plundered it since the “Pirate” Collection of 1981. The collection takes inspiration from pirates of the 17th century, with colorful asymmetric garments. Westwood critiques the European plundering of the Americas, evident through the usage of Indigenous American patterns on the garments. She takes pieces of historical garments and alters them to create a entirely new pieces, reconstructing to cultivate entirely new meaning.

Unlike the modern corset trend, Westwood took history’s bourgeois undergarments and subverted them in her 1985 collection “Mini-Crini.” She subverts the coded modesty of the 19th century crinoline into something sensual, describing her creation as a mixture of “representing a mythology of restriction and encumbrance in woman's dress and an equally dubious mythology of liberation.” She approached the corset in a similar fashion, using the undergarment as an outer garment. While we’ve become desensitized to the corset, it was historically analogous to a bra, so Westwood’s subversion of it can be seen as a subversion to the rules of society.

Westwood applies sexuality to an area of history that is typically devoid of any, almost to the point of abrasiveness. In her 1994 Spring/Summer collection, titled “Cafe Society”, a topless Kate Moss walks down the runway in heels, a micro-mini skirt, and 18th century powdered hair, while licking on an ice cream bar. Westwood does not appropriate these garments in reverence, but as a way to make a political statement. She takes something old and then applies a new meaning to it that it hasn’t had before, as she puts it, “ "I take something from the past that has a sort of vitality that has never been exploited— like the crinoline—and gets very intense.

In the end, you do something original because you overlay your own ideas.”

Kate Moss for SS 1994, Cafe Society by Vivienne Westwood

Mini-crini, corsets, and rockinghorse ballerina shoes from Vivienne Westwood's FW 1987-1988 Harris Tweed collection, worn by Stella Tennant and Lily Cole for Vogue

Another mini-crini_corset combo from Westwood. The MET says 1985-1990, but not the specific collection

Teddy. Freshman. She/Her. J: Tell me about the oldest piece in your closet.

T: This is a sweater I’ve had since I was eight that I’ve just continued to wear. It’s a boys' sweater I think, and I've been wearing it since before my transition.

J: Do you remember when you got it?

T: It was a Christmas gift, 2021 I think. I actually hated it when I first got it because it was so itchy, but now it’s too small to wear anything under it, so I’ve just gotten over the itchiness.

J: How do you think that piece has fit into your closet as your style has changed?

T: Well when I first got it my parents were picking out my clothes for me, and then when I transitioned a lot of those clothes I don’t wear anymore, so a lot of my wardrobe’s completely changed. But this sweater I’ve always had– it used to be more oversized, whereas now it’s more form fitting, which I like as well.

J: What do you think it is about this piece that stuck with you during your transition?

T: I think the color of it a lot, and I used to paint a lot, so all my other clothes were paint stained. I dunno, I guess I always liked it. I wore it throughout middle and high school, too.

J: What’s your most recent piece like?

T: There’s a big interesting story to it. I just bought it around a month ago online, on Brandy Melville. I know I shouldn’t support fast fashion, and there’s a lot of bad things about Brandy Melville. They’re not sizeinclusive. I think there’s some story about the higher-ups only wanting photos of teenage girls in their outfits. I like it, but I’ve stopped buying it as much. I try to go to thrift stores but it’s still hard, so I try to buy less clothes.

J: What about that piece drew you to it?

T: I like the neckline. I was watching a period piece and they had a lot of square necklines and I was like, “I wanna do that.” I was searching for that neckline when I went shopping.

J: What do you think the main difference between your style now versus your style when you got your oldest piece is. I know you were like eight, but…

T: Yeah. I guess that the main thing is I only wore like, sweaters and pants as a child, even up until high school I would not wear short sleeves. I also couldn’t wear jeans for a while because of a texture issue I have with the buttons on the back of it.

J: What brought you into the world of short sleeves?

T: I was just insecure about my body, which I think a lot of people are in middle school. I’ve gotten less insecure about my body and also like, I’d be in the hot summer sun in a sweater, and that was too much.

J: What are elements of your style that you’re trying to grow?

T: I really want to wear more textures, like I love velvet.

And I love historical fashions, and I’m trying to figure out how to bring that into a more modern outfit.

NEW new·​ er / new·​ est

adjective

PPOOSSIITT II

D B E ACK E F E V

by Owen Owen Forbes Forbes by

The clothes clothes we we wear wear The are are aa presentation presentation of of how how we we feel, feel, what what makes makes us us comfortable, comfortable, what what gives gives us us confidence, confidence, and and ultimately ultimately an an expression expression of of creativity. creativity.

Thus, Thus, after after aa couple couple weeks weeks of of satisfaction satisfaction II inevitably inevitably feel feel stuck stuck on on what what on on earth earth II am am going going to to wear. wear. This This project project pays pays tribute tribute to to the the cycle cycle of of feeling feeling unsatisfied unsatisfied with with my my style style and and drawing drawing inspiration inspiration from from my my friends. friends. Each Each model model has has styled styled their their outfit outfit with with their their own own clothes clothes and and tastes, tastes, with with only only one one criteria, criteria, to to take take some some form form of of inspiration inspiration from from the the model model who who preceded preceded them, them, creating creating something something like like aa fashion fashion game game of of telephone, telephone, or or aa positive positive feedback feedback loop. loop.

Photography: Owen Forbes Models: McKenna Blackshire, Pelumi Sokunbi, Charit Narayanan, and Mirembe Mcduffie-Thurmond

Owen Forbes. Sophomore. He/Him. J: What is the oldest piece you have in your wardrobe?

O: The oldest piece I have is this striped chore jacket from my family friend’s clothing brand in Morocco. It was gifted to me in ninth or tenth grade.

J: Oh cool! What was your style like back then?

O: I pretty much exclusively wore like, I was coming out of my soccer boy phase, so I would wear a lot of athletic pants with like, a quarter-zip and running shoes. From there I went onto some skinny jeans like Levis with sneakers and a sweater. That’s probably what I wore in high school when I got it. I was sort of lacking in high school when I got it.

J: How do you think you were able to keep the jacket relevant within your wardrobe?

O: I think a part of it is luck. I outgrew a lot of stuff from my old wardrobe.

The jacket has such an easy-to-wear silhouette, and back then this was the highest-quality piece of clothing I owned. Not that that matters all that much, it just made it easy to pair with other things. I mean the jacket itself isn’t particularly experimental, but it’s not a quiet jacket. So as I started wearing more different kinds of clothes, it became easier to pair. I also got more interested in vintage fashion, and vintage chore jackets, which this one takes inspiration from.

J: How do you think you were able to keep the jacket relevant within your wardrobe?

O: I think a part of it is luck. I outgrew a lot of stuff from my old wardrobe. The jacket has such an easy-to-wear silhouette, and back then this was the highest-quality piece of clothing I owned. Not that that matters all that much, it just made it easy to pair with other things.

I mean the jacket itself isn’t particularly experimental, but it’s not a quiet jacket. So as I started wearing more different kinds of clothes, it became easier to pair. I also got more interested in vintage fashion, and vintage chore jackets, which this one takes inspiration from.

J: Can you show me your newest piece?

O: My newest piece is this pair of pants I got on Grailed. They’re from a brand called Kapital. I pulled the trigger on buying them while in an art history lecture, which is the danger of long classes! I got them about a week ago. I’m always addicted to pants, and these are a little out there. People have told me it looks like my pants are falling down. I just like that they’re something you wouldn't see any day, and I love clothes where the craftsmanship is obvious, which is why I love Kapital, even though the prices can be heinous.

Issue Four

FRAY's REGENERATION EDITION

Wesleyan's First Fashion Magazine

12 - 2 - 2022