Taueret Manu and Erin Burrows on the floor at Re/Dress
Maybe if more workweeks ended with a sugar buffet, New Yorkers wouldn't be so crabby on the subway.
Taueret Manu and Erin Burrows the wonders behind Glutton for Fatshion Zine have put together a a party to celebrate the zine's coming out. They'll be rocking Re/dress NYC as part of the real fashion week stuff (as opposed to Official Fashion Week stuff, which seems to relevant to about 2 percent of actual people) going on at the store.
Expect zines, natch, but also a fun DIY fancifying station (bring your own shirt or buy something there), cocktails (for a teeny suggested donation), baked goods, a sugar buffet, plus performances and dancing with DJ Sirlinda! Things start up at 8 pm: the store is 109 Boreum Place in BK.
Burrows and Manu on their project and the party:
How did you come up with the idea for the zine? And why at this moment?
Taueret- I was talking to my boss, Deb (of Re/Dress NYC), about radical alternative media with a focus on accessible size acceptance and fashion. I ws kind of in a restless place and needed something to do. So, Erin and I got together and thought about the type of fat activism that appeals to us.
Erin- I can say I came on board at full steam because a politics of intersectionality that begins with asking questions about impact is one that I can fully stand behind. It's fun to be able to open up to an audience that you feel is going to take your words seriously and actually get something out of your effort. I made my first zine when I was 17, and continued to make them through college. For me, Glutton is a growth and extension of that process from single issue politics (mainly feminism) to understanding how all of these issues are interlocked and interdependent.
What made you think “this is the time Glutton for Fatshion needs to exist?”
Erin- Taueret and I both work at Re/Dress - we've seen hundreds of people come into the store and for the first time realize how hot and fatshionable they really could be outside of the constrains of mainstream retail. I know that for me it was an entirely liberating experience to stand in front of rows of plus-size vintage and see possibilities, not limitations, based on my size. We took this seed, this experience, and moved it onto paper and brought with it all of our other convictions. Fatshion for us is not just about clothes, but a way of standing out and standing up.
Was it hard to select which submissions to include? Did you get lots of interesting stuff? What surprised you most about the submissions?
Erin- I think we both agree that we would have loved to see more contributions. The most interesting things are in the zine, but we did handpick what we best felt stayed true to our message and theme.
Taueret- Someone submitted a piece about how they are a cultural minority and don't have any privileges or power because they are white, middle class person in a town of mostly Latin American immigrants. That was real interesting. We also have more fun things like a paperdoll, crossword puzzle, a graffiti stencil, and cupcake recipe!
Wait, there's more...
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