ELEMENTS SERIES #03 - LIGHT

I SPOKE WITH ERIKA, WHO STUDIES EVOLUTION & ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR.

HER WORK FOCUSES ON HOW REDUCED MALE PHEROMONE PRODUCTION AND AN INCREASED FEMALE SEX RATIO PROMOTE SAME-SEX SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR IN MALE INDIAN MEAL MOTHS.
SHE EXPLAINED THAT THESE BEHAVIOURS ARE NOT ANOMALIES, BUT PART OF THE NATURAL SPECTRUM. THEY EMERGE WHEN SIGNALS OVERLAP, WHEN CUES SHIFT, WHEN SOCIAL CONDITIONS CREATE NEW PATTERNS OF INTERACTION. THE PRESENCE OF LIGHT IS CONSTANT IN THIS, IT SHAPES ACTIVITY, CYCLES, AND ENCOUNTERS.
MOTHS NAVIGATE BY IT. THEY COURT UNDER IT. THEY ARE MISLED AND GUIDED IN EQUAL MEASURE BY IT. LIGHT DOESN’T CAUSE THEIR BEHAVIOUR, BUT IT FRAMES IT. IT IS THE STAGE ON WHICH ATTRACTION, RECOGNITION, AND COMPLEXITY PLAY OUT.
LIGHT IS NEVER NEUTRAL. IT BENDS, DISTORTS, AND DIRECTS. IT CAN HEIGHTEN CLARITY OR COLLAPSE IT. A STREETLAMP REWRITES THE NIGHT. A SHARD OF DAYLIGHT REFRACTS THROUGH GLASS, TURNING SOLID FORM INTO FRAGMENTS. A FABRIC CHANGES VOICE DEPENDING ON HOW IT CATCHES ILLUMINATION. MATTE ABSORBS, NYLON SCATTERS, WATER REFLECTS.
DESIGN, TOO, IS BOUND TO LIGHT. IT IS NOT ABOUT TAMING IT, BUT WORKING WITH IT. TO REVEAL FORM. TO HOLD ATMOSPHERE. TO REMIND US THAT PERCEPTION IS FRAGILE, ALWAYS SHIFTING WITH THE ANGLE OF A SHADOW OR THE BRIGHTNESS OF A ROOM.
ERIKA STUDIES HOW BEHAVIOURS TAKE SHAPE WHEN SIGNALS MOVE BEYOND OUR SIMPLE CATEGORIES. HER MOTHS REMIND ME THAT LIGHT, TOO, RESISTS SIMPLE DEFINITION. IT CAN REVEAL AND ALSO TRANSFORM IN WAYS WE DON’T HAVE TO UNDERSTAND. AND I THINK THAT’S BEAUTIFUL.
LIGHT GUIDES.

LIGHT UNSETTLES.

LIGHT CREATES POSSIBILITY.

ELEMENTS SERIES #02 - TEXTURE

THERE ARE SURFACES THAT PUSH BACK.
STONE, BARK, CLAY. EACH ONE SPEAKS ITS OWN LANGUAGE – CRACKING, SNAGGING, STAINING. THEY LEAVE THEIR MARK NOT ONLY ON FABRIC, BUT ON FUNCTION. NOT JUST WORN, BUT INFORMED.
THESE ARE THE PLACES WHERE TIME BECOMES VISIBLE. NOT IN NUMBERS, BUT IN LINES. IN FRAY. IN SCRAPE.
IN THE FIELD, TEXTURE ISN’T AESTHETIC. IT’S AN ARCHIVE. EVERY CONTACT IS A RECORD: THE BRUSH OF A DRY BRANCH. THE DRAG OF CLOTH OVER SHALE. THE QUIET CATCH OF A SEAM ON A ROUGH EDGE. EACH MOMENT ADDS DATA.
WE DON’T DESIGN TO AVOID THAT CONTACT. WE DESIGN TO ENGAGE IT. THIS SYSTEM WAS BUILT FOR ABRASION: MATTE FABRIC AGAINST TERRAIN. SEAM AGAINST SURFACE. GARMENT AGAINST GEOLOGY.
WE TEST NOT TO WEAR THINGS DOWN, BUT TO UNDERSTAND. TO OBSERVE HOW MATERIAL REACTS. HOW IT ADAPTS.
BECAUSE IN TERRAIN, NOTHING IS SMOOTH.
AND THAT’S THE POINT.

ELEMENTS SERIES #01 - SILENCE

I RUN ALONE A FEW TIMES A WEEK.

NOT BECAUSE I’M CHASING ANY PARTICULAR PACE. BUT BECAUSE QUIET MORNINGS HAVE BECOME A TERRAIN I KNOW HOW TO NAVIGATE.

THE CITY HAS JUST STARTED TO STIR, BUT THERE’S STILL AN EMPTINESS TO THE STREETS. A QUIET PAUSE BETWEEN THE RUSH OF THE EARLY COMMUTE AND THE FULL NOISE OF THE DAY. I DON’T LISTEN TO MUSIC. I PREFER THE SILENCE.

SILENCE IS MISUNDERSTOOD AS EMPTINESS. IT’S NOT. IT’S SPACE. AND SPACE IS WHERE THINGS HAPPEN.

IT’S WHERE I NOTICE THE WAY RAIN BEADS ON STREETLIGHTS. THE SMELL OF DAMP PAVEMENT, THE SOUND OF THE WIND BLOWING THROUGH EMPTY SIDE STREETS. IN SILENCE, THINGS SPEAK LOUDER. WIND AGAINST NYLON, GRAVEL UNDER RUBBER, THE SHIFTING WEIGHT OF FABRIC AGAINST SKIN. THESE SMALL SOUNDS CUT THROUGH THE STATIC OF A CROWDED WORLD.

NORTHERN CHARM® STARTED, IN MANY WAYS FROM THIS SAME PLACE. A STRETCH OF QUIET. A PAUSE LONG ENOUGH TO QUESTION THE SHAPE OF THINGS.

SILENCE REVEALS WHAT MATTERS.

I DIDN’T START MAKING CLOTHES TO PROVE ANYTHING. I STARTED BECAUSE DESIGN FEELS DIFFERENT WHEN IT LEAVES THE SCREEN AND BECOMES PHYSICAL. SILENCE GAVE ME THE HEADSPACE TO SEE THAT.

MY DESIGN STYLE LIVES IN THE SILENCE BETWEEN THINGS. THE TENSION BETWEEN NATURAL AND MAN-MADE. BETWEEN DURABILITY AND DELICACY.

I THINK ABOUT THIS OFTEN WHEN I RUN. THE WAY THE SKY SHIFTS FROM FLAT GRAPHITE TO PALE BLUE. THE WAY A SIMPLE SEAM CAN CARRY A LINE OF QUIET BEAUTY. THE WAY STILLNESS CAN BE AS NECESSARY AS MOTION.

SILENCE ISN'T JUST AN ABSENCE OF NOISE. IT'S A DESIGN TOOL. IT'S WHAT ALLOWS IDEAS TO BREATHE.

SILENCE IS PART OF THE WEATHER. IT'S WOVEN INTO THE DAMP MORNINGS, THE OVERCAST SKIES, THE MOMENTS
BEFORE A STORM.

IT'S WHERE THIS BRAND BEGAN. AND IT'S WHERE IT KEEPS RETURNING.