We, as humans, are conscious beings who have the ability to decide on how we perform who we are to others. Especially women, who for so many years have been constrained by social ‘boundaries’, are thus given even more incentive to have learned and developed performance as second nature.
Les Engageantes SS20 Collection
We are forced to ask ourselves then: is it ever possible to know whether or not a woman is truly performing herself? We are shapeshifters, changing ourselves from one situation to the next, whether for belonging or for attempt at uniqueness, we may never know.
This blurring of identity and embodiment of personas has been the focal point behind Olivia Rubens’s Collection I, Duplicitous Lives. The collection makes reference to some of the works by Cindy Sherman, who plays other people, and no one in specific, in her self-portraiture.
Similarly, Rubens references the works of Nadia Lee Cohen, Juno Calypso, Neal Slavin, Laurie Simmons and Mary Ellen Mark, to name a few. Further, she uses the mask as a reference to masking of identity, the creation of a new one, and a sense of belonging or community despite differences when wearing it.
Lastly, she makes reference to Victorian portraits of children, eerily constrained with their toys or made to look like miniature adults, and pageant girls as a contemporary iteration of this, bringing to light the familiar question of nature versus nurture.
Olivia Rubens has herself fought to be who she is despite her being put down, doubted, or undermined by many who stood in her way. Against all odds, she has battled her way to being unapologetically who she is.
Rubens stands for every womxn who has fought her way to the boardroom, to the studio, or to rising to any occasion. Why be like anyone else when you can be authentically you?
She is neither limited by age, nor cultural background, nor by gender. She is principled as hell, herself to the nth degree, and unapologetic about it. With a focus on knitwear, Rubens works locally in London with small companies to knit her garments, and with Manusa in Pistoia, Italy who employ refugees and women with fragilities.
She uses materials and processes that do not harm the planet, such as organic wools, dyed by her natural dyer in Ireland, AppleOak Fibreworks, certified alpaca from Peru, Chilean artisan-made hand spun yarns, locally farmed mohair from Newforest, water-based hand- painted organic peace silks, jersey made from recycled water bottles, GOTS certifed organic cotton, artisan-made recycled glass beads from Africa, and closed loop certified Tencel.
Rubens is grateful for her sponsors, DenimX who develops innovative materials from recycled denim and bio plastics, and Filmar who is a leader in sustaining and growing community and organic Egyptian cotton with its facilities in Egypt, teaching 150,000 students about sustainable cotton farming, at the forefront in research and development.
Rubens would also like to thank the Suzanne Rogers Fashion Institute for its continued support of emerging Canadian talent. Further, a key collaboration with an Estonian accessories designer, JNGLSNTMSSV, allowed for the integration of beautifully made pieces made from recycled plastic.
Lastly, the backbone of this collection is supported by the Octavia Foundation, with whom Rubens has created a youth initiative at their community centre, What do you meme?, working with kids to express their values about self-esteem, cyber bullying and identity expression through conversation, artwork and mask creation.
Octavia generously donated unsold clothing from their stock floor in their charity shops to Rubens to upcycle and create new materials for the collection.
