+collections so far: Autumn/Winter '07, Spring/Summer '08, Autumn/Winter '08 (coming soon!!!!)

Writer and historian Shiela Breckman interviews Jesse Finkelstein about JF & SON's Autumn/Winter '08 collection.

Shiela: I just received the draft of your fall lookbook. What is all this falling about—other than of course the Fall collection?

Jesse: All of the looks are named after the world’s tallest towers, so there’s a cheeky reference to jumping off of buildings. There’s also an allusion to being on the brink of something and actively jumping into it rather than abjectly falling into it.

Shiela: You’re partly telling a story about change, and the ability to create change, but how does this idea relate back to fashion?

Jesse: For JF & SON we're exploring a vision of the future. Every fashion company, intentionally or unintentionally, proposes an ideal that their clothes exist within. Currently, the most successful brands have given us a picture of the future which is uninhabited by change; where randomness is contrived, beauty calculated, and people resemble adolescent cyborgs. Before 9/11 this vision made complete sense, because it assumed the complete success of liberalism; albeit in a slightly menacing way. But times are changing and designers are now forced to account for a future that is far less inevitable.

Shiela: So what is JF & SON's vision and how is it articulated through the clothing?

Jesse: We're still in the process of figuring that out. We tend to focus on form, material, and function, but not at the risk of losing whimsy or imagination. It’s important that the clothes reflect a balance between play and antagonism.

Shiela: I think the Canvas dresses are a good example because they're so armor-like yet delicate. The coats function like fortresses and the digital printed dresses look like camouflage for a city of lights. So I definitely see this antagonistic or battle-ready element in the line. But at the same time, I wouldn't say the collection is too dark or sinister. The colors are often bright and the prints seem traditional and blithe. Even the digital Lantern dress, whose print is a manipulated image of Baghdad’s skyline, is innocent looking. So you’re definitely getting at something.

Jesse: JF & SON imagines a future that is unpredictable; therefore the need for dresses that protect, but not at the expense of loosing their playfulness. At the end of the day, a dress is a machine to play in.