Artist Rebecca Kressley (rebeccakressley.com) was attending Stephen Eichhorn’s “Various Fades” opening at Johalla Projects.
Tell me about your dress. I purchased this in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, at Concetta’s Closet. I was running out of time to find a dress for a wedding; the owner, Dana Hanson, was so wonderfully helpful and her collection is amazing. She has wonderful taste. This dress was made in Thailand in the 1960s.
Do you always go for unique handmade items? Yes, and I suppose that has to do with where unique vintage pieces are found. Like with Dana at Concetta’s Closet, she shared her expansive knowledge and contextualized all of these crazy pieces as I tried them on. It was a really rewarding experience. Also, I’m not usually excited about shopping, so it makes things easier when there is only one of any item—if it doesn’t fit, the decision is made for you. Speeds up the process.
What are your styling guidelines for gallery openings? I’m not sure that I have any, but an opening is a great place to experiment. Maybe your pants would look better as a hat? Maybe try kicking off your shoes and wearing them as gloves? You know: try something new.
If you were magically transported to one of Stephen Eichhorn’s collages, what would you wear? That would be some serious magic. He would have to pick the outfit, right? —Interview and photograph by Isa Giallorenzo
Journalist Isa Giallorenzo was born in São Paulo, Brazil and has elected Chicago as her beloved home since 2009. She runs the street-style blog Chicago Looks and wants to see this town become one of the fashion capitals of the world.
