Otherwise known as Patricia, a designer/artist of incredible pedigree, who operates out of the NYC area. I've been following ArtLab's work on etsy for a very long time now, and have always found her designs fascinating, haunting, like a creature from a Tim Burton film, except perhaps less stylized and more faded.
I first mentioned one of ArtLab's pieces, "Disjointed Series No. 6," in an old Wearability Challenge post for Jen McCabe.
Honestly, I think conceptually many of her items skate the edge of wearability, as most of them are probably just a tad too unnerving to go out and about without feeling a little self-conscious about it. But in a way the pieces are intensely wearable, made of luxurious, comfortable fabrics that move easily with the body, and assembled in rather modest, if totally unconventional, ways. And few can find fault with the neutral color palette that makes all her clothing look as if it had sprung up from the earth.
I especially love ArtLab's way of naming her pieces. So poetic and dream-like:
- Andromache's Deconstruction
- Athena's Head Covering
- I heard you call my name, in a dream
- Blues before sunrise
- Revolutionary Girl
- Obliquely crossing