Modern Minimalism: Tina Chow and Beyond Sarah Commane discusses the style icon Tina Chow, a lady who pioneered the minimalist look, providing inspiration to Maison Martin Margiela and influencing masses of fashion followers.
‘Yes I’ve been naughty’ was Tina Chow’s response to questions of her battle with HIV; she never hid her illness nor the fling with notorious bisexual playboy Kim d’Estainville, during which she contracted the disease. She became the first well known hetro-sexual woman to die from AIDS and her death, like her life, could be seen to defy stereotype. She was an androgynous beauty who thought out the 70s and 80s were both personally and sartorially progressive. She has become known for her gender-bending personal style and her stunning design aesthetic. Bettina Louise Lutz (aka Tina Chow) was born in Ohio in 1951 to a Japanese mother and German- American father, and they moved to Japan in the 1960s. Both Tina and her sister Bonnie became successful models, becoming the faces of Shiseido. Tina went on to become the muse of many including Karl Lagerfeld, Issey Miyake and Andy Warhol. It was Warhol who encouraged her to design, considering her an equal and much more than just a muse; he recognised her creative vision and introduced her to healing crystals. Healing crystals along with bamboo were the two main materials used in her work. Her parents were obsessed with collecting bamboo and her childhood home was filled both inside and out with it. Her work was deeply personal blending her Japanese heritage, with her personal experiences of pop culture in New York.
Tina blended the formal aesthetics and cultural nuances of both east and west to create a beautifully progressive and enduringly modern design vision. She was the antithesis of the 80s that we have all come to know, rejecting garish colours and metals and embracing crystals, brass and bamboo. Chow summed up her design aesthetic and personal style by saying ‘I like the idea of wearing very personal jewellery and not much decoration.’ Her Jewellery design incorporated traditional Japanese basket weaving techniques and uncut healing crystals. Tina refused to cut the stones arguing that ‘uncut stones are so wonderful, why muddle with them?’ While Chow was, and still is, a widely respected designer, her personal style was equally inspiring. ‘Tina had an innate elegance and never needed any designer to do anything for her. In fact she did a lot for us,’ said Giorgio Armani about the style icon.
Her personal style was a blend of minimalism, masculine tailoring and elegance all actuated with statement jewellery. She played with the idea of borrowing from your boyfriend before anyone else; she was often seen wearing menswear and had a particular love of black Kenzo trousers which she had remade every season. Her uniform was typically a plain white t-shirt, tailored trousers, a masculine cardigan, and a few pieces from her extensive designer jewellery collection. She also collected Haute Couture clothing; she was especially fond of Balenciaga, Dior, Vionnet and Fortuny, all of which was auctioned off after her death. Tina was so respected as a style icon that when a fashion magazine (either Vogue or Harper’s, the details are unclear) asked ten designers to pick a muse to be photographed with, eight out ten picked Chow. There’s a really great anecdote that emphasises her popularity in 1980’s New York: she created a craze amongst gay men to sidepart their hair and don her uniform of white tees, a grey cardigan, flat-ironed Kenzo trousers and ballet flats and exclaim ‘today I’m Tina Chow.’
46